By Ryan Smith and Thomas F. Zuber of Zuber & Taillieu
The Ninth Circuit recently upheld the validity of conditional software licenses which avoid the pitfalls of the first sale doctrine. In Apple, Inc., v. Psystar, Corp., No. 10-15113, 2011 U.S. App. WL 4470623, (9th Cir. Sept. 28, 2011), the Ninth Circuit upheld a permanent injunction against Psystar due to its… More...
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed contributory trademark and copyright infringement claims against a web hosting company which hosted an allegedly infringing website. In Louis Vuitton Malletier, S.A. v. Akanoc Solutions, Inc., Nos. 10-15909, 10-16105, 2011 U.S. App. WL 4014320 (9th Cir. More...
In a dramatic ending to a dramatic case, the Ninth Circuit reversed and vacated the enormous award Mattel had received in its claims against MGA for wrongfully procuring and manufacturing “BRATZ” dolls, to which Mattel claimed the copyright. In Mattel, Inc. v. MGA Entm’t Inc., ___ F.3d ___, More...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed that contractual protections for artistic works may be enforceable even in the absence of valid federal copyright protection for those works. In Benay v. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., 607 F.3d 620 (9th Cir. 2010), the Ninth Circuit More...
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals joined the Fifth and Seventh Circuits in holding that a completed application filed with the U.S. Copyright Office suffices for “registration” for litigation purposes. In Cosmetic Ideas, Inc. v. IAC/Interactivecorp. 606 F.3d 612 (9th Cir. 2010), the Ninth More...
The Federal Circuit has ruled that the government’s use of a photograph of a government-commissioned sculpture on a postage stamp does not constitute fair use of the copyrighted sculpture, nor is the government co-owner of the copyrights. In Gaylord v. United States, ____ F.3d ____, 2010 WL More...
Nine years after its decision in New York Times Co. v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 (2001), the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Section 411(a) of the Copyright Act does not limit a federal court’s subject matter jurisdiction to certify a class and approve a settlement that includes class members with More...
The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a webcasting service that provides users with customized internet radio stations is not an “interactive service” under 17 U.S.C. section 114(j)(7), and therefore need not pay individual licensing fees to sound recording copyright holders. In More...
The Ninth Circuit essentially held that a website operator accused of copyright infringement can be hailed into court in the copyright owner’s home venue if the infringer knew that the copyright owner resided there when he infringed. In Brayton Purcell LLP v. Recordon & Recordon, ___ F.3d ____, More...
When the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York enjoined the sale of a book billed as a sequel to “Catcher in the Rye” (written by a different author), it found that the purported sequel heavily infringed on the original’s copyright. In Salinger v. Colting, ___ F. Supp. 2d More...
A federal court looked to Facebook’s Terms of Use to determine that a third party’s access to Facebook’s user data, though authorized by the users themselves, still constituted unauthorized access. Moreover, because Facebook alleged that in accessing the data, the third party “scraped” More...
