The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed that pay-per-click advertisers may be liable under the Lanham Act for “click fraud.” WickFire, LLC v. Laura Woodruff et al., Case No. 17-50340 (5th Cir. Feb. 26, 2021)...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 Ninth Circuit affirmed a dismissal of trade secret claims, finding that although misappropriation of a trade secret prior to the enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) does not...more
On November 20, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law Senate Bill S5959D, a law that is highly important for New York based recording artists, actors, and other celebrities. The new law recognizes post-mortem...more
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 reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment, finding that the plaintiff had sufficiently pled trade secret misappropriation by identifying its trade secrets and how they...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a declaratory judgment complaint related to patent validity under the federal abstention doctrine because the issue had been decided in state court....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 Ninth Circuit revived a software owner’s copyright infringement suit because the district court erred in granting summary judgment of no infringement by failing to analyze whether the accused...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
Without addressing the merits of the claim, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a trade secret misappropriation action based on lack of personal jurisdiction, finding no...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded a decision issued by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), holding that its decisions in Arthrex and VirnetX also apply to ex parte examinations at the...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s dismissal of a trademark dispute for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, noting that the dispute arose under contractual standing, which...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a denial of a jury trial demand in a trademark infringement lawsuit where only a claim of disgorgement of profits was at issue. JL Beverage Company, LLC v. Jim Beam...more
Addressing issues of design patent infringement, copyright infringement, trade dress infringement and unfair competition, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the US Court of Federal Claims attorneys’ fees award for patent infringement by the United States solely based on its actions during litigation. Hitkansut LLC,...more
Addressing whether attorneys’ fees may be awarded in a patent infringement lawsuit where an accused infringer successfully invalidates claims in an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal...more
Addressing issues related to the disgorgement of profits and attorneys’ fees in a trademark infringement lawsuit, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a denial of such fees and profits. Safeway Transit LLC...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision to dismiss a first-filed declaratory judgment complaint, finding that equitable considerations warranted departure from the first-to-file...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that patented articles must be marked in order for the patentee to recover pre-notification or pre-complaint damages. Arctic Cat Inc. v. Bombardier Recreational...more
3/16/2020
/ Appeals ,
Calculation of Damages ,
IP License ,
Notice Requirements ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Marking ,
Patents ,
Remand ,
Vacated ,
Willful Infringement
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
Addressing an issue of software subject matter eligibility, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment on the pleadings under 35 USC § 101, finding claims related to error checking...more
12/23/2019
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Appeals ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Reversal ,
Section 101 ,
Software
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