On September 2, 2020, a California federal judge denied musician Taylor Swift’s motion to dismiss copyright infringement claims related to the lyrics in Swift’s hit song Shake It Off. On remand from the Ninth Circuit, the...more
On 30 June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V. that “Booking.com” is eligible for trademark registration because consumers do not perceive “Booking.com” as a generic name....more
7/8/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Booking.com ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
Generic Marks ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO
On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts that copyright protection does not extend to the annotations in Georgia’s official annotated code. In the case, Georgia v....more
4/29/2020
/ Annotated Case Law ,
Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org Inc ,
Government Edicts Doctrine ,
Legislative Duties ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Code ,
The Copyright Act
On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Iancu v. Brunetti that the Lanham Act’s prohibition on registration of “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks violates the First Amendment....more
6/28/2019
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
While still an emerging technology, more companies are implementing blockchain technology to manage supply chains, track goods, prevent counterfeiting, increase security, and ensure traceability....more
Clarifying ten-year-old precedent on personal jurisdiction in patent declaratory judgment actions, the Federal Circuit recently held in Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. v. Plano Encryption Technologies that sending a patent...more
In a decision that clarifies one controversial aspect of copyright and fashion law, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that certain design elements of cheerleader uniforms may be eligible for copyright protection. The...more
The Ninth Circuit recently construed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) provision that requires a debt collector to send a validation-of-debt notice within five days of “the initial communication” with a...more
In our annual review last year “Sports Industry 2015: A Year of Unprecedented Landmark Change”, we predicted that the battle against media piracy would be a key area for rights holders in 2016, highlighting “social media...more
5/5/2016
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Digital Media ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Videos ,
Piracy ,
Popular ,
Social Media ,
Sports ,
UK ,
Video Recordings
Is the availability of class-wide arbitration a “gateway” question for courts, or are arbitrators charged with such a decision once a matter is compelled to them? In Dell Webb Communities, Inc. v. Carlson, the Fourth Circuit...more
In Avila v. Riexinger & Associates, LLC, No. 15-1584, --- F.3d ---, 2016 WL 1104776 (2d Cir. Mar. 22, 2016), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals construed the scope of Section 1692e of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act...more
The Sixth Circuit (the “Court”) recently sided with a defendant-debt collector in a putative class action in which the plaintiffs claimed that the defendant’s calls to their cell phones violated the Telephone Consumer...more
On March 31, 2015, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed SB 542 into law. This new law amends frequently litigated sections of the West Virginia Consumer Credit Protection Act (“WVCCPA”), W. Va. Code section 46A, in...more
The United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari to decide whether a statutory violation alone, unaccompanied by any actual harm to the plaintiff, is sufficient to establish Article III standing. See Spokeo, Inc. v....more
There are significant differences between individual (or “bilateral”) arbitration and classwide arbitration that can substantially affect the nature of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism. Individual arbitration can...more