A company registered its hookah-shaped water container design with the U.S. Copyright Office. A month later, it sued another company because it used the same shape. The federal trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant. The Ninth Circuit affirmed, agreeing with the trial judge that the shape of the container is not conceptually […]
Suit Based On Contents Of Television Script Is Subject To Anti-SLAPP Statute.
Defendant used the true names of his real estate agents in the early drafts of a television script. The agents sued for defamation and false light invasion of privacy. Defendant moved to strike the complaint under the anti-SLAPP statute but the trial court ruled the claims were not covered by the statute. The Court of Appeal […]
Copyright And Intellectual Property.
The Copyright Act of 1976 provides that all civil actions must be brought within three years after the claim accrued. [17 U.S.C. § 507(b)]. The Ninth Circuit joined the Second and Sixth Circuits in deciding a statute of limitations issue in a copyright infringement suit. At the heart of the dispute is the ownership of three […]
Criminal Copyright Conviction Vacated.
Defendant was convicted of criminal copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit labels. The district court gave the following instruction: “An act is done ‘knowingly’ if the defendant is aware of the act and does not act through ignorance, mistake or accident. The government is not required to prove that the defendant knew that his act was […]
State Trial Court Erred In Ordering Plaintiff To Remove An Action To Federal Court.
In a copyright infringement action, which also contained various state law claims, the trial court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint after plaintiff did not comply with the trial court’s order to remove the matter to federal court. In reversing the dismissal, the appellate court stated: “The court’s order of dismissal was based on two erroneous assumptions. The first […]
Fair Use Under Copyright Law Includes Green Day’s Unauthorized Use Of Artist’s Illustration In Concerts.
An artist and illustrator created Scream Icon, a drawing of a screaming, contorted face. A defendant is a photographer who photographed a brick wall on Sunset Blvd. covered with graffiti and posters, including a weathered and torn copy of Scream Icon. That defendant was later engaged to create the lighting, effects and video backdrops for a rock […]
Public Interest In Free Expression Outweighs The Public Interest In Avoiding Consumer Confusion.
Football player Jim Brown brought an action against the manufacturer of a video game that allegedly used his likeness in several versions of a game, for which he has never been compensated. The Lanham Act [15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) and § 43(a)] provides for a civil cause of action against: “Any person who, on or in […]
We Don’t Need No Stinking Commercials.
Fox Broadcasting Co. licenses its shows to companies which sell Fox programs online or stream them over the internet. One such distributor is Dish Network, the third largest pay television service provider in the U.S. Dish retransmits Fox’s broadcasts under a 2002 contract, which provides in part: “Dish shall not ‘distribute’ Fox programs on an ‘interactive, time-delayed, […]
Ingenius Settlement May Be Anti-Competitive Because Of The “Market Power Derived From The Patent.”
A drug company patented a drug [drug company #1] and a generic drug manufacturer [drug company #2] filed applications for generic drugs modeled after the patented drug. #1 brought an action against #2 claiming patent infringement. After the Food and Drug Administration approved the generic product, #1 and #2 entered into a settlement whereby #2 would […]
Before The Time To Appeal Expires Look At The Forest As Well As The Trees!
In arguing about the content of a judgment after the trial court awarded damages for copyright infringement of a design, both sides argued about the appropriateness of an injunction. But the judgment issued by the court did not mention an injunction. Instead of appealing, the plaintiff filed a motion for a permanent injunction, which was denied […]