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: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District Court of Texas has sentenced Timothy Kyle Dunaway, 24, of Wichita Falls, Texas, to 41 months in prison for selling counterfeit computer software through the Internet in violation of criminal copyright infringement laws, particularly 17 U.S.C. Sections 506(a)(1)(A) and 2319. The software… More...
Holding: Internet search giant Google, Inc. has announced that on October 28, 2008, it reached a groundbreaking settlement agreement with The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers (AAP). The settlement would expand online access to millions of in-copyright books and other written materials in the U.S. from the collections… More...
Holding: As part of the continuing sage between "Barbie" doll-maker Mattel, Inc. and "Bratz" doll-maker MGA Entertainment, Inc., Mattel won a jury verdict of $100 million for copyright infringement and contract damages, an amount way below its demand of $1.8 billion. In particular, the jury in the U.S. District Court for… More...
Holding: In this copyright dispute between "Barbie" doll-maker Mattel, Inc. ("Mattel") and "Bratz" doll-maker MGA Entertainment, Inc. ("MGA"), a jury sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California found that Mattel's former employee conceptualized the Bratz character and name while he was still under contract with Mattel.… More...
Holding: The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued sanctions against owners of a karaoke bar for performing copyrighted songs without necessary licenses. According to the District Court, the logical interpretation of "public performance" is a performance at a place open to the public; proprietors are generally liable… More...
Holding: The parties agreed to the entry of a consent decree in this copyright infringement case involving plaintiff J. Carlos Ferguson’s original landscape painting. Specifically, defendant Rockwell Hopp, an art dealer, agreed to provide a certificate of authenticity for any piece of art sold by him to every purchaser. Further, defendant… More...
Holding: In this action for declaratory relief, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled against plaintiff heir of an author of children’s books and co-plaintiff Disney Enterprises. Specifically, the district court held that the plaintiffs’ copyright termination notices seeking to cancel license rights first granted under a… More...
Holding: In this case for copyright infringement, defamation, trademark infringement, unfair competition and business practices, and breach of contract, a jury, sitting before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, issued a plaintiff’s verdict in the amount of $192,000 in favor of plaintiff Sundance Image Technology, Inc. (Sundance),… More...
Holding: In this case for trademark and copyright infringement involving proprietary technologies in manufacturing “customized stone profiles designed to look like natural stone,” the jury after trial rendered a plaintiff’s verdict, awarding plaintiffs the total sum of $22,034,775.00, broken down as follows: the amount of $15,000,000.00, later reduced to $2,488,750 by… More...
Holding: In this case for trademark and copyright infringement involving materials for test prep course, plaintiff and defendants came to a settlement, both agreeing to a permanent injunction that would prevent defendants from reproducing and distributing plaintiff’s copyrighted examination review materials and using plaintiff’s trademarks. More...
