Category Archives: Copyright

Text of ASTM v Public Resource – DC Circ Decision re Fair Use of Standards Incorporated Into Laws

From the decision: Across a diverse array of commercial and industrial endeavors, from paving roads to building the Internet of Things, private organizations have developed written standards to resolve technical problems, ensure compatibility across products, and promote public safety. These technical works, which authoring organizations copyright upon publication, are typically distributed as voluntary guidelines for […]

10,000 Dead Bugs and All Similarly Situated

My colleagues Mel Garner, Rob Isackson, Lauren Emerson and I co-authored an amicus brief on behalf of the New York IP Law Association, filed in a Federal Circuit appea, Syngenta v Willowood. We argued that FIFRA, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, does not preclude application of the Copyright Act, and thus a copyright […]

S Ct: Text of Kirtsaeng v John Wiley on Awarding Attorney’s Fees

Footnote two is a contender for funniest Supreme Court footnote this term. Justia’s Summary: Kirtsaeng bought low-cost foreign edition textbooks in Thailand and resold them to students in the U.S. In 2013 the Supreme Court held that Kirtsaeng could invoke the Copyright Act’s “first-sale doctrine,” 17 U.S.C. 109(a), as a defense to the publisher’s copyright […]

Swatch Defeats Bloomberg's Motion to Dismiss re Unauthorized Transcript of Analyst's Conference Call

From the complaint: Plaintiff Swatch, a Swiss publicly traded company, hosted a conference call for securities analysts. The call was transmitted and recorded by a conference call service. Participants were instructed not to record the call for publication or broadcast. Bloomberg News was not invited or authorized to participate in the call. Bloomberg recorded the […]

"Copyright and Football"

NY Times Freakonomics Blog: Copyright and Football: The theory behind copyright is simple – if we allow anyone to copy a good new idea, then no one will come up with the next one.  The theory makes perfect sense – in theory.  In previous posts, however, we have described how fashion designers, chefs, comedians and […]

"Avoiding The Wrath of Righthaven"

Las Vegas Trademark Attorney: “Avoiding The Wrath of Righthaven”: There has been a lot of discussion in the Las Vegas area (and nationwide) about the numerous copyright infringement lawsuits filed by a Las Vegas company named Righthaven, LLC. As of August 4, 2010, Righthaven had filed approximately 86 lawsuits against various website operators claiming copyright […]

The Burden Of The Past And The American Comic Book Writer (Gaiman v McFarlane)

Plaintiff Gaiman (famous writer) sues Defendant McFarlane (famous comic artist). Defendant hired plaintiff to write some scripts for the SPAWN comic book. Plaintiff creates a new character, Dark Age Spawn. Defendant later uses a Medieval Spawn. Judge, in determining damages, finds that Medieval Spawn infringes Dark Age Spawn. Rainy day fun: compare the copyright analysis […]