Plaintiff is the manufacturer of high-end military style watches, known as MTM Special Ops watches. Defendant, retailer Amazon.com, does not sell these watches, but when a potential buyer inserts “MTM Special Ops” onto its website, a message will direct the person to related searches of “MTM special ops watch,” and show images of watches manufactured […]
“A Strong Spirit Transcends Rules,” Prince.
This is what happened: A young mother placed a 29-second video of her two little children in the kitchen dancing to Let’s Go Crazy by Prince on YouTube. She titled the video “Let’s Go Crazy #1.” During the video, the mother asks her 13-month old “what do you think of the music,” and he bobs […]
Copyright Infringement.
Plaintiff is a stock photography company that serves as a licensing agent for dozens of photographers, authorizing third parties to use copyrighted photographs. Plaintiff brought an action against a textbook publisher it claims exceeded its license by publishing more books than permitted under the license. The trial court ruled that plaintiff, as a licensing agent, […]
Big Girls Don’t Cry….They Sue.
In 1988, a lawyer/journalist entered into a written contract to ghostwrite the autobiography of one of the original members of the band Jersey Boys. After the work was completed, but prior to publication, the lawyer/journalist died in 1991. In 1999, the band member executed another agreement, this time granting the exclusive rights to two other […]
Copyright Misuse.
Costco purchased luxury watches from a company in New York who had purchased them from an overseas company who had purchased them from the manufacturer, and sold the watches in its U.S. Costco stores. Omega, the Swiss manufacturer of the luxury watches, sued Costco for copyright infringement, specifically the importation of copyrighted work without the […]
Misappropriation Of Likeness: “People Will Stare. Make It Worth Their While.” Harry Winston.
Plaintiff is a company that specializes in the protection of personal image rights, and is the assignee of two models who are not parties to the action. Plaintiff sued defendant for common law and statutory misappropriation of likeness based on defendant’s unauthorized display of the models’ images in connection with advertising cosmetic medical services. The […]
Copyright Action Over The Film “Raging Bull” Timely Filed.
In 1980, MGM released and registered a copyright in the film “Raging Bull,” and continues to market the film today. The owner of the screenplay copyrighted in 1963 filed a copyright infringement action against MGM in 2009. A federal district court granted summary judgment to MGM under the doctrine of laches, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed. The […]
Privacy Rights Of Nonparty In Copyright Infringement Action.
Defendant operates in internet service through which users may upload and retrieve digital music files. Plaintiff brought an action in the New York trial court, alleging defendant infringed on copyrights afforded under New York common law. A nonparty publishes an online newsletter and published an article reporting an artist accused defendant of copyright infringement. Following […]
Unfair Competition Action Decided By U.S. Supreme Court.
Plaintiff sells the only style of toner cartridges that work with the company’s laser printers, but ‘remanufacturers’ acquire and refurbish used plaintiff’s cartridges to sell in competition. Thus, plaintiff gives its customers a discount on new cartridges if they agree to return empty cartridges to plaintiff. Each cartridge has a microchip that disables the empty […]
Ninth Circuit Reversed, Based On Longstanding Copyright Practices.
Plaintiff, a stock photography agency, registered large numbers of photographs at a time. Plaintiff licensed a publishing company to use pictures it had registered, and brought an action against the publishing company based on the payment of inadequate fees. The district court dismissed the claims on the ground that the registrations of the photographs with […]