On Monday, G&M Realty, a real estate development company, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a $6.75 million damages award that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered in favor of a group of graffiti artists after G&M Realty, without warning, whitewashed the artists’ work, which had been displayed
The Fourth Circuit Issues Litigants A Strong Reminder Of The Risks Associated With Failing To Preserve Evidence
On July 16, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision highlighting the critical need for litigants to preserve evidence once notified of a potential lawsuit, and the serious ramifications associated with failing to do so. See QueTel Corp. v. Hisham Abbas, et al., No. 18-2334 (4th Cir. July
Ninth Circuit Expands Access to Attorneys’ Fees in Copyright Cases
Our colleague, Melissa Scott, recently wrote an alert on an opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals about access to attorneys’ fees in copyright infringement cases. The underlying copyright dispute in Doc’s Dream, LLC, v. Dolores Press, Inc., et al. related to the video recordings of a deceased minister’s sermons, but the significant
Suit Takes Aim at Internet Archive, Spurs End of National Emergency Library
An update from Kaitie Eke, one of the firm’s summer associates:
A copyright infringement lawsuit filed by four major publishing companies against the Internet Archive has prompted early termination of the site’s National Emergency Library, a project that made books available electronically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the project’s conclusion may render some of
The Landscape of Copyright Co-Ownership
An update from Kevin Sandoval, one of the firm’s summer associates:
What started as a copyright infringement claim against the California high school that inspired the television series “Glee” has developed into a conflict that could have ramifications for copyright holders and potential copyright infringers everywhere. In 2016, Tresóna Multimedia, LLC filed a suit against
Copyright for Law Texts Rejected
Following up on an earlier blog post about the State of Georgia’s ability to copyright the annotations to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (“OCGA”), the U.S. Supreme Court finally weighed in last month. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which applied the government edicts doctrine in rejecting Georgia’s infringement challenge against a non-profit
Copyright Office Seeks Changes to Law To Help Copyright Owners
The U.S. Copyright Office recently called for changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Congress enacted 17 U.S.C. § 512 of the DCMA to balance the threat of liability for copyright infringement on online service providers with “the threat of rampant, low-barrier online infringement.” This was accomplished with the use of “safe harbors” for
Cancellations at USPTO, PTAB, TTAB, etc.
On Friday, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it was cancelling all in-person meetings — including all examiner interviews, all meetings between examiners and applicants, and all hearings before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). The USPTO noted that parties will receive further
Trademarks, Copyrights, and Patents
Sometimes it’s back to basics. This time, the simple difference between trademarks, copyrights, and patents. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”) provides guidance.
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of one party’s goods. A service mark is the same but for services, and can
Trick or Treat
Happy Halloween! It is the day (or week, for some) of the year where we venture out pretending to be something we are not. Some may choose to go for a classic costume like a ghost or witch. However, others want to dress up as their favorite character from a TV or movie. But these