PROTECT-IP is a bill that has been introduced in the Senate. It and its counterpart in the House are moving quickly through Congress. The Protect IP Act is designed to stop websites that are "dedicated to infringing activities" whether they are located within or outside of the United States. Often… more >
Several recent decisions highlight the strategic importance of coordinated worldwide copyright ownership and protection as a tool against unauthorized dealers and resellers. The Second Circuit in John Wiley & Sons Inc. v. Supap Kirtsaeng, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 16830 (2d Cir. N.Y. Aug. 15, 2011) recently fell in step with… more >
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a copyright case involving “unauthorized” sales of legitimate (non-counterfeit) Omega watches that were made in Switzerland for sale in Europe but imported by Costco for sale within the United States. At issue is whether the “first sale doctrine” prohibits Omega from suing… more >
On March 2, 2010, the Supreme Court in its unanimous decision reversed the Second Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision on“drive-by” jurisdictional rulings. Consistent with the majority of previous circuit court decisions, the Second Circuit had found federal copyright registration was a subject matter jurisdictional prerequisite for filing suit. The Supreme… more >
The largest copyright-infringement case in Canadian history is taking place currently. The defendants are members of the Canadian Recording Industry Association and have themselves complained for years how Canadian consumers disrespect copyrights. The defendants include Warner Music Canada, Sony BMG Music Canada, EMI Music Canada, and Universal Music Canada. The… more >
The sale of counterfeit goods by sellers based in foreign countries has, unfortunately, become a familiar problem to many companies. Fake goods originating from countries such as China and Thailand are increasingly making their way directly to buyers in the U.S.. The foreign counterfeiters sell their illicit goods to U.S.… more >
Something happened on June 18 that is too hard to ignore: Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset. Maybe you have already read about it in the news. If you haven’t heard about the decision, if you have ever shared music online, or if you have a business or idea based on file… more >
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; but not always. In the fashion world, flattery often comes in two forms. First, the designers regularly take their inspiration from older designs and thereby flatter the prior designer. Knock-off manufacturers also “flatter” the new designers by almost immediately copying their designs. However,… more >
Open source data from an organization is open to the public for use, by way of public licensing to that effect. Copyright holders who participate in open source licensing conceivably have no economic rights being violated when a licensee does not comply with the license. But what is the definition… more >
On Tuesday March 13, 2007 media giant Viacom took its ongoing "negotiations" with Google and the recently-acquired YouTube to the next level, filing its complaint for copyright infringement, seeking damages in excess of $1 billion. Viacom and the affiliated co-plaintiffs which operate Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and BET television networks (among… more >