Intellectual Property
Court Dismisses Trademark & Related Claims Over Product Reference in Fictional TV Show
Kelli L. Sager, Dan Laidman, and Sarah BurnsReinforcing the strong First Amendment protections for the use of real-life products and brands in expressive works, a Los Angeles federal court rejected a trademark and trade libel suit over an episode of “Evil.”
A New World of Intangible Property: NFTs and IP Rights
Milton Springut and Stephanie M. SmithAn exploration of some of the potential intellectual property challenges, strategies, and controversies that may arise around NFTs.
Second Circuit Affirms That Screenshot of Photograph Is Fair Use
Eleanor M. Lackman and Lindsay R. EdelsteinThe court affirmed that Mic’s use of a composite screenshot from a New York Post article to report, criticize, and comment on the article, its subject, and the resulting backlash, was a fair use.
Parody Play “Vape” Receives Positive Review From SDNY
Judith B. BassThe Court found that Vape constituted a fair use of Grease. In addition, the Court rejected Defendants’ claim that Plaintiff had infringed on the Grease trademark in its use of the mark in the opening credits.
Ninth Circuit Reaffirms CFAA Does Not Prohibit Web Scraping in hiQ v. LinkedIn
Grayson Clary, Gillian Vernick and Gabe RottmanThe case was an important early test of Van Buren’s significance for scraping and other data journalism techniques.
Ninth Circuit’s Dark Horse Opinion Clarifies What Music Is Not Protected by Copyright
Vincent H. Chieffo, Julianna M. Simon, and David H. MarenbergAfter almost seven years of litigation, the Ninth Circuit vindicated Katy Perry and other co-defendants by affirming that no reasonable jury could have concluded that Perry’s hit song “Dark Horse” infringed Flame’s song “Joyful Noise” based on the similarities of two 8-note “repeating musical figures” that occur throughout both songs.
Amazon, Penguin Random House, and Leading Authors Win $7.8m Judgment Against International Ebook Piracy Ring
Caesar Kalinowski IV, Liz McNamara, and John GoldmarkThe Ukrainian-based operation was able to operate for years by migrating websites and falsifying domain information to continue illegally distributing thousands of ebooks.
The Copyright Small Claims Court
Michael LambertThe copyright small claims court, designed to provide copyright claimants a quicker and less expensive way to enforce their rights, will hear limited types of copyright claims, counterclaims, and defenses.
Third Circuit: Section 230 Does Not Bar Pennsylvania Statutory Right of Publicity Claim Against Facebook
Dori Hanswirth, Michael E. Kientzle, and Rachel CarpmanThe Third Circuit split with a leading Ninth Circuit opinion holding that internet service providers are immune from all state intellectual property law claims.
Home Renovation Showdown: Summary Judgment for Discovery in Actress’s Copyright Claim
Daniel Kaufmann and Austin M. HagoodThis opinion is significant among Eleventh Circuit case law because it discusses in detail the issues of access, substantial similarity, and independent creation despite finding that each issue separately afforded grounds for summary judgment.