Intellectual Property Law

Barefoot Bandit can’t profit from crime spree but studio pays $1M restitution to tell his life story

When the so-called Barefoot Bandit took a plea in 2011, part of the deal was that the then 20-year-old could not profit from his two-year crime spree, ABC News reported at the time. However, a Hollywood studio was allowed to pay $1 million in restitution to victims on behalf of…

Nov 23, 2015 10:30 AM CST

Songwriter sues Huckabee over use of ‘Eye of the Tiger’ at campaign event

The campaign organization for Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is facing a copyright infringement suit over music played at a rally. The event featured both Huckabee and Kim Davis, the controversial Kentucky clerk once jailed for refusing to permit same-sex marriages. Filed Wednesday in federal court in Illinois, the suit…

Nov 19, 2015 5:00 PM CST

YouTube to pay defense costs for some video creators facing takedown demands

Seeking to protect the free speech rights of video creators, and perhaps its own market share as well, YouTube announced Thursday that it is funding legal defense costs for a handful of video creators facing unreasonable takedown demands. “We want, when we can, to have our users’ backs,” Fred von…

Nov 19, 2015 3:50 PM CST

Taylor Swift shakes off copyright suit; judge invokes her lyrics in opinion

A federal magistrate judge in California used Taylor Swift’s lyrics to dismiss a pro se lawsuit filed by a songwriter who claimed the song “Shake It Off” infringed the copyright for his own song “Haters Gone Hate.” In a Nov. 10 order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gail Standish of Los Angeles…

Nov 13, 2015 8:11 AM CST

Our hamster toy looks nothing like Fox News anchor, says Hasbro in response to lawsuit

A hamster toy manufactured by Hasbro Inc. shares a Fox News anchorwoman’s name. But it looks nothing like Harris Faulkner, the award-winning anchor of Fox Report Weekend, and hence her lawsuit against the toymaker must fail, the company argues in a motion to dismiss (PDF) filed last week. Citing the…

Nov 2, 2015 7:05 AM CST

‘Iconathon’ held by the PTO to create symbols for IP concepts

By now, most people are familiar with the symbols that indicate copyrights and registered trademarks. But how do you design symbols for other intellectual property concepts that will become as universally accessible? If you are the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you open up your doors to the general public…

Nov 1, 2015 3:20 AM CST

Chinese companies doing business in the US build barriers to legal remedies

While an increasing number of Chinese companies are doing business in the U.S., China has nevertheless built a legal firewall around its financial services firms by refusing to acknowledge the jurisdiction of U.S. courts and regulatory agencies.

Nov 1, 2015 2:45 AM CST

Judge grants Hulk Hogan’s request to inspect Gawker’s computers

A judge has granted Hulk Hogan and his legal team access to Gawker’s computers, smartphones, and network servers to determine whether Gawker employees purposely leaked confidential information about the former pro wrestler, The Hollywood Reporter reported Thursday. Florida Circuit Judge Pamela Campbell ruled that Hogan and his team could search…

Oct 23, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

Amazon’s display of competitor brands doesn’t violate trademark, 9th Circuit says in reversal

Amazon.com doesn’t infringe trademark rights when it displays competing brands of wristwatches in response to a query for a brand it doesn’t carry, a federal appeals court has ruled. The decision (PDF) on Wednesday by a panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses its earlier…

Oct 22, 2015 10:08 AM CDT

Standing issue gives Jay Z win in infringement suit over ‘Big Pimpin’’

A federal judge has ended an infringement trial against Jay Z over his song ‘Big Pimpin’’ with a ruling that the Egyptian plaintiff did not have standing to bring the claim on behalf of his late uncle. U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder of Los Angeles ruled for Jay Z and…

Oct 22, 2015 8:01 AM CDT

Supreme Court to consider standard for enhanced damages in patent cases

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the standard for awarding enhanced patent-infringement damages is too rigid. The court granted cert Monday in two consolidated cases raising the issue, SCOTUSblog and Reuters report. The Recorder previewed the cases in a Sept. 25 article (sub. req.). The new cases…

Oct 19, 2015 9:53 AM CDT

Google’s book copying project isn’t infringement, 2nd Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has tossed a lawsuit claiming Google’s book scanning project is infringing copyrights. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the digital scanning is fair use because only book snippets show up in search results, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog…

Oct 19, 2015 8:54 AM CDT

Refilming ‘Escape from New York’ plot in outer-space setting violated copyright law, court rules

When the French sci-fi film Lockout was released in 2012, critics noticed how similar the storyline was to the 1981 cult classic Escape from New York, albeit now taking place in outer space. A French court saw substantial similarities, too, ruling that those who made the French film plagiarized from…

Oct 16, 2015 1:20 PM CDT

Apple infringed University of Wisconsin patent, jurors find; damages could be up to $862M

A federal jury has found that Apple infringed a University of Wisconsin patent for improved processor efficiency in chips used in newer iPhones and iPads. Jurors reached a verdict on Tuesday in the liability phase of the trial, report Reuters, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), Law.com (sub. req.) and…

Oct 15, 2015 8:12 AM CDT

Customer suggestion yields ‘formal and legalistic’ response from IP lawyer

An AT&T lawyer said thanks, but no thanks, when a customer emailed his service suggestions. The response from an intellectual property lawyer brought online criticism and an admission from the company’s chairman that the telecom “blew it,” the Los Angeles Times reports. The customer, Alfred Valrie of El Sereno, told…

Oct 15, 2015 7:49 AM CDT