In a long-standing copyright dispute on its second visit to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Court affirmed the modest damages award from the US Court of Federal Claims, ruling that a hypothetical...more
1/16/2025
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Compensation ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Federal Contractors ,
IP License ,
Software ,
United States
The Supreme Court of the United States agreed to consider whether a copyright registration accurately reflecting a work can nevertheless be invalidated without fraudulent intent. Unicolors Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz LP,...more
The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in the decade-long battle between Google and Oracle over use of copyrighted pieces of Java software in the Android smartphone operating system. Google LLC v. Oracle...more
The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in a sovereign immunity copyright case to consider the abrogation issue in the context of copyright law. Allen v. Cooper, Case No. 18-877 (S. Ct. June 5,...more
7/15/2019
/ Abrogation ,
Allen v Cooper ,
Authors ,
Certiorari ,
Congressional Intent ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Copyright Remedy Clarification Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity
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
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the entry of a default judgment against a copyright infringement and trade secrets defendant who ignored several district court orders and warnings regarding compliance...more
In a case where a licensee granted the right to sue was bounced by the district court for lack of standing, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that under § 501(b) of the Copyright Act, assignees of the bare...more
In a 6-2 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the US Supreme Court has now provided guidance as to whether aesthetic designs, such as stripes, chevrons, zigzags and color blocks of a cheerleading uniform are eligible for...more
3/27/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Fashion Design ,
Graphic Designs ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Separability ,
Sports Apparel ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniforms
In Depth -
Under 17 USC § 505, a “court may … award a reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party.” However, when deciding whether to award attorneys’ fees under the Copyright Act’s fee-shifting provision, 17 USC...more
The U. S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to review a panel decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision that the U.S. Patent and Trademark’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) was...more
2/15/2016
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard ,
Certiorari ,
Claim Construction ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Cuozzo Speed Technologies v Lee ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
SCOTUS
Authors Guild, Inc., et al. v. HathiTrust, et al. -
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, affirming a district court summary judgment ruling in favor of a consortium of authors, ruled that the unauthorized...more
In a ruling that could potentially increase the number of copyright infringement actions, the Supreme Court of the United States has resolved a conflict among the circuits, holding that the equitable defense of laches cannot...more
Alaska Stock, LLC v. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub. Co. -
Joining with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a stock photo agency is the valid...more
Obviousness-Type Double Patenting May Exist When There Is Neither Common Ownership nor Common Inventorship -
Addressing an obviousness-type double patenting rejection, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit...more
4/30/2013
/ Affidavits ,
Claim Construction ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Discovery ,
DMCA ,
Infringement ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Safe Harbors ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO