When copyrights aren’t a federal case
Ron ColemanCan copyright disputes ever be litigated in state court? It’s generally understood that the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over copyright claims, in contrast to trademark claims. Before you answer,…
The litigation of art
Raymond J. DowdRaymond J. Dowd, author of the Copyright Litigation Blog (and much else!), sent along this note by email concerning a case that would probably interest to mamy LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®…
Pick your poison
Is it infringement or a breach of contract? Is it a license or an assignment? Well, whatever it is, it’s a little complicated, and Pamela Chestek does a good job…
Missing persons
Usually, as the bible of secondary trademark infringement explains, “contributory infringement . . . requires proof of direct infringement by a third party . . . It is not necessary,…
Jus good enough?
Property, intangible: “Jus tertii” – Wikipedia says Latin for “third party rights” – is a claim by a defendant that someone else has rights superior to the plaintiff’s that defeat…
Show me the money
Copyright is happening all over the place! Now, a slight digression from the stemwinder I’m about to release here on fee shifting in copyright cases. I’m going to “hook it…
Oh, won’t you stay?
Say you will? The judge politely declined, actually — per our suggestion. Read all about the happy outcome, and other yeoman work from the self-promotion-with-dignity crowd, at JD Scoop. 😉…
Jenzabar: Blogs are sticks and stones; they hurt me.
Jenzabar, the educational software company Paul Levy and I mentioned last month (and which Overlawyered picked up) in connection with its “trademark as censorship tool” litigation, is back at it…
Likelihood of avoision
I’m in pretty deep in a jury trial — no, not an IP case; more like an IT case, only one conducted under a tent and with three rings and…
Getting the timing right on copyright registrations
Marty Schwimmer: IDEA v PETA (SDNY August 298 2009): Plaintiff, no doubt aware that statutory damages are only available for post-registration copyright infringements that are not part of a continuing,…
Hot fun in the summer time
A little while I ago I uploaded, at J.D. Supra, the three days of trial transcripts from last year’s desert extravaganza, the Designer Skin v. S & L Vitamins trial.…
Ninth Circuit: eBay not a portal to jurisdiction
We spill a lot of pixels here blogging about the question of just how transparent, nay ethereal, eBay is as, say, a facilitator of transactions premised on trademark and copyright…
10th Cir. on DJ’s in TM
Ron and Jane ColemanThe DeMoines firm of McKee Voorhees & Sease has a very interesting looking IP blog called Filewrapper®. Here they report on a Tenth Circuit case clarifiying the applicable standard for…
Can you ring the unrung bell? (Updated)
UPDATE and preface: Almost everyone who has written on the “jurisdiction” issue decided in Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick, 130 S.Ct. 1237, in which the Supreme Court ruled that while…