The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Eleventh Circuit’s holding in Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy that copyright plaintiffs bringing timely claims of infringement may recover damages for acts occurring outside the three-year...more
A recent decision from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board may make bars and alcoholic beverage brands think twice about their trademark selections. In In re Caymus, the Board upheld a refusal to register TABLEAU, based in...more
In the wake of several Congressional hearings over the past year on AI and intellectual property, Representative Adam Schiff (D-California) has introduced the Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act of 2024 (H.R. 7913). ...more
5/3/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Office ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
The Copyright Act
A whole host of creators have filed suit in the U.S. alleging that AI companies improperly used the creators’ content to train AI programs. In most cases, the creators don’t know for sure whether the AI companies copied...more
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, an appeal of the Eleventh Circuit’s determination that a copyright plaintiff can recover damages for infringement occurring more...more
2/26/2024
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Petrella v. MGM ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement ,
Statute of Limitations ,
The Copyright Act ,
Warner Chappell Music v Nealy
Seyfarth Synopsis: Collaborations with athletes, actors, and singers have always been a great way for companies to grow their brand recognition and create profitable products. With the Super Bowl (and, of course, its famed...more
2/16/2024
/ California ,
EDD ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Influencers ,
Labor Code ,
Social Media ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Work Made For Hire Doctrine
There is a little-known provision of the Lanham Act (the US Trademark Act) that packs a potentially big punch. 15 USC § 1051(e) provides that if a non-U.S. entity registers for a trademark in the United States without...more
On June 30, the Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, issued a highly anticipated decision in United States Patent and Trademark Office et al. v. Booking.Com B.V. answering the question whether a trademark consisting of a...more
7/9/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Booking.com ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
Generic Marks ,
gTLD ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO
Trademark offices around the world have adjusted their practices in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many trademark offices extended or suspended deadlines...more
In recent weeks, trademark offices around the world have made announcements and adjustments to their practices in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. ...more
5/20/2020
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Asia Pacific ,
Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
EU ,
Government Agencies ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Latin America ,
Middle East ,
USPTO ,
WIPO
In recent weeks, trademark offices around the world have made announcements and adjustments to their practices in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. ...more
5/4/2020
/ Argentina ,
Asia Pacific ,
Brazil ,
Business Closures ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trademark Protection ,
Singapore ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
WIPO
While much of the focus of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act relates to economic stimulus, the Act also granted temporary authorization to the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark...more
4/2/2020
/ America Invents Act ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
SCOTUS ,
USPTO
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 23, 2019, the 10th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress in China (NPC) amended the Chinese Trademark Law. The changes are intended to combat the problem of...more
Back in 2015, we covered the divided holding of the Ninth Circuit in Golden v. California Emergency Physicians Medical Group, that a “no re-hire” provision in a settlement agreement could constitute a restraint of trade in...more
A recent California Court of Appeal decision held that the receipt, retention and dissemination of confidential information by a whistleblower’s attorney is protected by the state’s anti-SLAPP statute. MMM Holdings, Inc. v....more
5/10/2018
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
False Billing ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Puerto Rico ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Whistleblowers
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 22, 2017, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in the Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, Inc. case, affirming and holding that “a feature incorporated into the design of a ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A new federal civil cause of action is now available to trade secrets owners seeking to pursue claims of trade secret misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”). To take full advantage of...more
5/12/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Confidential Information ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Ex Parte ,
Immunity ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Private Right of Action ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Congress passed federal trade secrets legislation today. On April 4, 2016, the Senate passed S. 1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”). Soon after, on April 20, 2016, the House Committee approved S. 1890 by...more
On April 4, 2016, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”). Soon after, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) released a statement in which he applauded...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Limitation on an actor’s ability to work in certain films struck down as an unlawful restraint of trade.
California, mecca of the film and media production industries in the U.S., is notorious for...more
The Senate Judiciary Committee recently released Senate Report 114-220 regarding the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”). A background on and recent developments of the DTSA are discussed more fully on our blog....more
Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a voice vote in favor of the passage of the now amended Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”). At this point, the Committee has not yet revealed when the current version of...more