Thank you for reading the February 2024 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the advertising rights of luxury resellers and important updates to the Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy...more
3/1/2024
/ Brand ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Counterfeiting ,
Damages ,
Discovery ,
False Advertising ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Petrella v. MGM ,
SCOTUS ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
On February 21, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. et al. v. Nealy et al. The case involves whether plaintiff music producer Sherman Nealy may recover damages for...more
2/23/2024
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Damages ,
Discovery ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Petrella v. MGM ,
SCOTUS ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act
Thank you for reading the May 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Taco Bell's attempt to cancel two TACO TUESDAY trademark registrations, and a precedential TTAB decision...more
6/1/2023
/ Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc v Goldsmith ,
Artists ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Copyright ,
Drug Paraphernalia ,
Functionality ,
Generic Marks ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Transformative Use ,
USPTO
It has been nearly thirty years since the US Supreme Court has considered whether a creative work qualifies as a transformative use under the Copyright Act. The last time was in 1994, when the Court in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose...more
5/19/2023
/ Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc v Goldsmith ,
Artistic Works ,
Artists ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act ,
Transformative Use
On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 10 a.m. EDT, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, No. 21-869. William H. Milliken, a director...more
In 1884, the Supreme Court upended the view that reproductions made by a machine could not qualify for copyright protection. The Court held that a “machine-made” image, meaning a photograph, titled Oscar Wilde, No. 18....more
Thank you for reading the March 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss copyright registration eligibility in relation to non-human authorship and new legislation surrounding...more
3/30/2022
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Authorship ,
Biopharmaceutical ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Applications ,
Copyright Office ,
Copyright Registration ,
FDA Approval ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Medical Research ,
New Legislation ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Registration ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Photographs ,
The Copyright Act
In a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court in Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P. held that a copyright registration is valid even though it contains inaccurate information—as long as the copyright holder lacked...more
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court granted Unicolors' request for review of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P. (9th Circ. 2020). According to Unicolors, the Ninth Circuit’s...more
The June 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses recent litigation surrounding copyright registration invalidation and implications of the increase in trademark application filings at the USPTO....more
6/29/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Office ,
Copyright Registration ,
Evidence ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Intent to Defraud ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Patents ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Second Circuit recently decided whether artist Andy Warhol’s series of silkscreen prints and pencil illustrations titled “Prince Series” was a fair use of photographer Lynn Goldsmith’s copyrighted photograph of musical...more
4/6/2021
/ Artists ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Derivative Works ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Paintings Sculptures and Engravings ,
Photographs ,
Substantially Similar ,
The Copyright Act ,
Transformative Use
Because copyright applications are not substantively examined, unlike patent and trademark applications, obtaining a copyright registration is typically viewed as relatively easy. Indeed, only a minority of copyright...more
The Switch by Nine. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified when a copyright owner can sue for infringement, settling the conflicting interpretations of the Copyright Act’s “registration” requirement, which we...more
4/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Applications ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Registration ,
Damages ,
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v Wall-Street.com LLC ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act
Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the test for determining when a three dimensional design for a “useful article” is copyrightable, resolving an issue that had divided the federal circuit courts for years....more