Following the introduction of the NO FAKES Act of 2024 in July by a bipartisan group of US Senators, US Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Rob...more
Addressing copyright fair use in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent guidance in Warhol, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit partially reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the...more
4/11/2024
/ Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc v Goldsmith ,
Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Derivative Works ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act ,
Work-For-Hire
As 2023 draws to a close, new developments continue to emerge across the patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret spaces.
Join members of McDermott’s Intellectual Property Group for a year-end review that will explore...more
12/6/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Applications ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Registration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fair Use ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Registration ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Unified Patent Court ,
Webinars
The increasing sophistication of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has had widespread effects on fields ranging from art and film to law and healthcare. The implications for copyright law principles, such as authorship,...more
9/15/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Authorship ,
Comment Period ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Office ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Public Comment ,
USPTO
The Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s decision, holding that the first factor in the fair use analysis favored photographer Lynn Goldsmith because the “purpose and...more
On the second round of a copyright dispute, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded (again) to the district court to apply the “independent economic value test” handed...more
In 2023, we believe that intellectual property issues in relation to the metaverse, blockchain technologies and crypto assets will continue to be an important focus for brand owners and for businesses entering or expanding...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
Addressing fair use as an affirmative defense to copyright infringement, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit amended its recent opinion, reversing a district court’s summary judgment in favor of fair use. The Court...more
In a 6–2 decision authored by Justice Breyer, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s 2018 ruling that Google’s use of Oracle’s Java application programming interface...more
4/15/2021
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Fair Use ,
Google ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Java ,
Oracle ,
Oracle v Google ,
SCOTUS ,
Transformative Use
In a case spanning nearly 40 years of art and touching the estates of two of the world’s most well-known artists, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit clarified its position on the application of the fair use...more
In a dispute over the alleged infringement of a floral print textile design, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the plaintiff’s ownership of a valid copyright, but reversed and remanded for further...more
Presented with a publishing company defendant’s mashup of Dr. Seuss’ copyrighted works with Star Trek in a work titled Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit tackled claims of both...more
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit preserved discovery options for copyright owners fighting online piracy when it reversed the district court’s refusal to allow a subpoena of an alleged online...more
With the validity of a copyright registration at issue, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s judgment after a jury trial and award of attorney’s fees in favor of the plaintiff...more
In a non-precedential ruling by summary order, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against famed comedian Jerry Seinfeld, finding that the...more
Affirming a summary judgment in favor of defendant, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit determined that a copyright infringement lawsuit pertaining to the graphic design on a guitar made famous by a late heavy...more
A unanimous decision from the Supreme Court of the United States in Allen v. Cooper affirmed a previous ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and held that states cannot be sued for copyright infringement,...more
4/4/2020
/ Abrogation ,
Allen v Cooper ,
Authors ,
Certiorari ,
Congressional Intent ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Copyright Remedy Clarification Act ,
Eleventh Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity
Ruling en banc, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated a 2016 jury verdict, finding that the rock band Led Zeppelin and the opening notes of its hit song “Stairway to Heaven” did not infringe the 1967 song...more
Applying the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2017 decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands regarding the copyrightability of non-utilitarian sculptural design features (IP Update, Vol. 20, No. 4), the US Court of...more
10/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
First Impression ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trade Dress ,
Unfair Competition
Addressing § 504(c)(1) of the US Copyright Act, which permits an award of statutory damages in lieu of actual damages for copyright infringement, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit considered a question of first...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s dismissal of claims of copyright infringement, violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and breach of...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit examined issues of vicarious and contributory infringement—along with willfulness—in connection with a copyright infringement case involving a real estate website that featured...more
6/10/2019
/ Cease and Desist ,
Contributory Infringement ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Evidence ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Photographs ,
Remand ,
Vendors ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Websites ,
Willful Infringement
Holding that reproduction of a digital file for purposes of resale does not fall under the “first sale” doctrine of the Copyright Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of...more
2/11/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Damages ,
Digital Media ,
Fair Use ,
Final Judgment ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music Industry ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Right to Control ,
Summary Judgment ,
The Copyright Act
In a dispute alleging that legendary rock band Led Zeppelin copied “Stairway to Heaven” from a song by a different band, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated in part a judgment in favor of Led Zeppelin,...more