Legal Updates for Patent, Copyright & Trademark

Congress Passes the CASE Act: Creating a Small-Claims Tribunal for Copyright Disputes

The CASE Act creates an inexpensive forum for small copyright claims. In effect, a small claims court for copyright disputes.

Supreme Court Rules That Annotations in Official Law Codes Are in Public Domain

Laws and court decisions have always been in the public domain—they must be freely available to everyone. This is because the government officials (legislators and judges) have created them. State laws are published in collections (called "codes") that usually contain not just the laws themselves,

Supreme Court Rules that “Immoral,” as Well as “Scandalous” Trademarks May be Registered

June 24, 2019. U.S. Supreme Court determines that the USPTO cannot block a trademark merely because it believes the proposed mark to be offensive.

Supreme Court Sides Against Class Arbitration

April 24, 2019. U.S. Supreme Court further expands the scope of arbitration agreements, making them easier to enforce.

Supreme Court Limits Awards of Attorneys' Fees in Copyright Cases

March 4, 2019. U.S. Supreme Court limits the scope of the phrase "full costs" in the Copyright Act to exclude non-taxable costs, which are typically litigation-related expenses.

U.S. Postal Service Liable for Copyright Infringement of Las Vegas Statue of Liberty

June 29, 2018 In Davidson v. United States, a sculptor successfully sued the federal government, specifically the U.S. Postal Service, for infringing his sculpture of the Statue of Liberty in Las Vegas by utilizing it on a postage stamp without permission.

Ninth Circuit Won't Hold Giganews Liable for Volitional Copyright Infringement

December 4, 2017 Owners of Internet servers sometimes unknowingly store someone’s copyrighted content. To what extent should storing such content make the server’s owner liable for direct copyright infringement? This question, along with related legal issues, was addressed by the Ninth Circuit Court in Perfect 10, Inc. v. Giganews, Inc.