The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling that there was no actionable infringement where an uncompleted building sold under the authority of a bankruptcy court was later completed....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that a photo- and video-sharing social networking service could not be liable for secondary copyright infringement because embedding a photo does not “display a copy” of the...more
The US Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of a motion to dismiss copyright infringement claims as barred by the statute of limitations, affirming the copyright owner’s right to sue even...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit that sought a declaratory judgment on the basis that a notice of termination of copyright assignment under 17 U.S.C. § 203 did not validly...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s order vacating a jury award of damages for copyright infringement and granting judgment as a matter of law, explaining that the musical work alleged to...more
The US Copyright Office issued two final rules for how companies can designate agents to receive claims and how libraries can preemptively opt out of claims before the Copyright Claims Board (CCB). The agency has been...more
The US Copyright Office Review Board (“Board”) rejected a request to register a computer-generated image of a landscape for copyright protection, explaining that a work must be created by a human being to obtain a copyright....more
The Supreme Court of the United States held that lack of factual or legal knowledge can excuse an inaccuracy in a copyright registration under a safe harbor contained in the Copyright Act. As a result, an applicant’s...more
KEY TAKEAWAYS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2022 -
Like so many things in 2021, a few long-awaited copyright developments have spilled into 2022, with anticipated amendments to key provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s conclusion that there is no conflict between an Arizona statute aimed at strengthening privacy protections for consumers whose data is collected by car...more
In January 2021, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act. This legislation incorporates the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020, which includes revisions to the Copyright Act with...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant in a copyright case based on a “minimal usage” or de minimis use defense. Richard N. Bell v....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant, finding no current or future copyright infringement. OverDrive Inc. v. Open E-Book Forum dba...more
Copyright jurisprudence in 2020 was, in many ways, a study in the scope of copyright protection. While certain courts brought century-year-old precedent to the forefront to interpret the scope of copyrights, other courts...more
2/2/2021
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Eligible Subject Matter ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Damages ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Music Streaming ,
Oracle v Google ,
Patent Royalties ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government ,
Trademark Royalties
On December 27, 2020, Congress signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, into law. The omnibus act includes new legislation affecting patent, copyright and trademark law. A brief summary of key provisions is provided...more
1/14/2021
/ Acts of Congress ,
Appellate Review ,
Appointments Clause ,
CASE Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Copyright ,
Ex Parte ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Internet Streaming ,
Lanham Act ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Purple Book ,
Remedies ,
The Copyright Act ,
Third-Party ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Transparency ,
USPTO
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant with respect to a copyright infringement claim related to technical drawings, and reversed the court’s summary judgment grant...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law finding that the musical Jersey Boys did not infringe a copyright held in an autobiography of band member Tommy...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court’s award of statutory damages where the defendant knowingly distributed a photograph without first getting permission to use the photograph. Gregory...more
8/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
BuzzFeed ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Management Information (CMI) ,
DMCA ,
Infringement ,
Photographs ,
Statutory Damages ,
Third-Party
In many ways, copyright jurisprudence in 2019 was a study in contrasts. While certain cases represented a “back to basics” approach, answering fundamental questions such as “When can a copyright owner sue for copyright...more
2/26/2020
/ Amended Complaints ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Office ,
Copyright Registration ,
Damages ,
Fair Use ,
Fee Awards ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
Google ,
Legal Costs ,
Music Industry ,
Oracle ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
The Copyright Act
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated the district court’s dismissal of trademark and false advertising claims and grant of summary judgment on a copyright claim. Evoqua Water Technologies, LLC v. M.W....more
12/6/2019
/ Appeals ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Dismissals ,
False Advertising ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Know-How Directive ,
Proprietary Information ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Vacated
Addressing an issue of damages, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the district court’s grant of punitive damages in favor of the plaintiff, finding “passion and prejudice” mitigated finding of “malice”....more
11/12/2019
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Breach of Contract ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Prejudice ,
Punitive Damages ,
Slander of Title ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tortious Interference
Addressing an issue of whether a letter exchange qualifies as a work for hire agreement under US copyright laws, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed and remanded the district court grant of summary...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court decision invalidating a copyright registration because the registration contained knowingly inaccurate information. Gold Value Int’l Textile v. Sanctuary...more
Addressing whether the fair use defense applies to the use of stock photographs under the Copyright Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that a company’s commercial use of an unlicensed photograph...more
Addressing the use of third-party photographs on a real estate listing website, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found no direct copyright infringement, notwithstanding the display of thousands of copyrighted...more
5/6/2019
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Photographs ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Transformative Use ,
Zillow