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
Adopting its interim rule from December 2022, the US Copyright Office issued a final rule that governs district court referrals, proof of service forms, default proceedings and the appearance of law student representatives...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 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 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
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
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 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
In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the term “full costs” in 17 USC § 505 of the Copyright Act has no special, expansive meaning, but is limited to the costs...more
4/10/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Expert Fees ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rimini Street Inc v Oracle USA Inc ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act
On March 4, 2019, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision authored by Justice Kavanaugh in Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc., finding that the term “full costs” in 17 USC § 505 of the Copyright Act has no...more
3/7/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Expert Fees ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rimini Street Inc v Oracle USA Inc ,
SCOTUS
Addressing the termination right given to authors and their heirs under the Copyright Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit concluded that four siblings could use their right to terminate the transfer their...more