In Maloney v. T3Media, Inc. d/b/a Paya.com, No. 15-55630 (9th Cir. April 5, 2017) (Available Here), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that plaintiff’s state law claims were preempted by section 301 of the federal Copyright Act because plaintiffs sought to hold … [Read more...]
Ninth Circuit Applies Attorneys Fee Analysis from Patent Act to Lanham Act
In SunEarth Inc. v. Sun Earth Solar Power Co., No. 15-16096 and 13-17622 (9th Cir. 2016) (Available Here), the Ninth Circuit adopted Octane Fitness, LLC. v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 1749 (2014) and held that district courts analyzing a request for attorney fees … [Read more...]
DMCA Takedowns Must Consider Fair Use – Automation Optional
The California Federal Appeals Court, by amending its earlier decision, dropped its language regarding wether an automated program can determine fair use of third-party uploaded content. In Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., No. 13-16106 (9th Cir. March 17, 2016) (Available Here), … [Read more...]
Yoga Sequence Not Copyright Protectable
In Bikram’s Yoga College of India, L.P. v. Evolation Yoga, LLC, NO. 13-55763 (9th Cir. 2015), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Bikram Yoga Sequence is not a proper subject of copyright protection. The Court premised its decision on the fact … [Read more...]
Contractual Copyright Attorneys Fees in the Ninth Circuit
In a case of first impression for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the court reviewed whether the Copyright Act of 1976 would preclude enforcement of a contractual attorneys fees provision in copyright-based litigation. The case of Victoria Ryan v Editions Limited West, Inc. … [Read more...]
False Endorsement Under the Lanham Act – Unauthorized Use of Bob Marley Image
In Fifty-Six Hope Road Music, Ltd. et al. v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc. et al., Case No. 12-17502, Feb. 20, 2015 (9th Cir.) the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the district court did not err in denying defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff’s Lanham Act … [Read more...]
For Criminal Copyright Infringement You Must Know That Act Is Unlawful
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a criminal copyright infringement case found that “willfully” under the Copyright Act required actual knowledge of the illegality of the act, and to “knowingly” traffic counterfeit labels required knowledge that the labels were counterfeit. … [Read more...]
“Oh What A Night!” Ed Sullivan’s Charisma Not Enough To Overcome Fair Use Defense For The Jersey Boys’ Use Of A Seven-Second Clip
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the lower court’s summary judgment and award of attorneys’ fees in a copyright infringement case finding that a 7-second clip from The Ed Sullivan Show used in the musical Jersey Boys constituted fair use because of its historical significance. SOFA … [Read more...]
