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...
Holding: In this copyright dispute over software upgrades to video games, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the illegal use or operation of a work by the copyright owner does not preclude the award of actual or statutory damages for copyright infringement. According to the Ninth… More...
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has vacated a dismissal of plaintiff Situation Management Systems, Inc.’s copyright infringement suit against defendants ASP. Consulting LLC and ASP. Consulting Group (“ASP”). The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts found that ASP did indeed copy SMS’s copyrighted training… More...
Holding: Citing a 1918 Supreme Court decision, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that plaintiff Associated Press’ (“AP”) breaking news (sometimes described as “hot news”) is the “quasi property” of a news-gathering organization like AP, and thus subject to protection against a competitor’s interference. According… More...
Holding: In this copyright infringement suit against the producers of the film “Brokeback Mountain” led by Universal City Studios Productions LLLP (“defendants”), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the film makers reduced attorney’s fees. The pro se plaintiff, Janice Scott-Blanton, argued in her complaint that her novel,… More...
Holding: The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has issued an order of injunction that permanently enjoined Bratz doll-maker MGA Entertainment Inc. ("MGA") from manufacturing and selling its controversial toy products. In its order, the district court ordered MGA to immediately stop the manufacture and sales of the… More...
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has found Jean-Emmanuel Renoir (“Jean”), a great-grandson of French artist Pierre-Augusto Renoir (“Pierre”), and Beseder, Inc. (“Beseder”), an Arizona art gallery, liable for copyright infringement for reproducing 10 sculptures created jointly by Pierre and his assistant Richard Guino (“Guino”) 90 years… More...
Holding: In this case, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied injunctive relief to Plaintiff Victoria Ryan, an owner of copyrighted original art works. Earlier, Plaintiff Ryan sold her art works through Defendant Editions Limited West, Inc. ("EWL"), a retailer. EWL cancelled the contract due to lack… More...
Holding: In this battle of fashion shows, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Heidi Klum's Project Runway program did not infringe the copyrighted treatment of Plaintiffs Cynthia Rodriguez and Elizabeth Zwiebach for their show American Runway. Specifically, the District Court gave two basic reasons… More...
Holding: The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered Hong Wei International Trading, Inc. (“Hong Wei”) and Jixong Ni (“Ni”, and collectively, the “Defendants”) to pay U2 Home Entertainment Corp. (“U2 Home” or “Plaintiff”) statutory damages of $670,500, plus costs and reasonable attorneys' fees for unlawful copying… More...
Holding: In a dispute regarding the world-renowned "Harry Potter" book and film series, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that a planned publication of an encyclopedia about these works infringed the copyrights of author J. K. Rowling and Time-Warner, Inc. unit Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.… More...
