The Eighth Circuit expanded its jurisprudence on copyright law twice in recent months. Addressing questions ranging from copyrightability to fair use, and arising from separate disputes involving a car dealership's customer intake form and a popular meme, these two opinions round out a body of just seven decisions on copyright law released by this appellate court in the past five years.
- September 01, 2024Holley Horrell
A new appeal landed at the U.S. Supreme Court with potentially billions of dollars at stake for the music, movie and Internet industries. The question presented is whether internet service providers such as Cox Communications, AT&T and Comcast should be held liable for the copyright infringement committed by their users.
September 01, 2024Jimmy HooverFederal Circuit: Affirms Preliminary Injunction on Cancer Assays Federal Circuit: Affirms Judgment of Unpatentability on the Pleadings for Claims Directed to Method of Assisting an Investigator in Conducting a Background Investigation
September 01, 2024Matthew WeissWarren Buffett's wisdom rings true: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." In our current landscape of social media and viral content, a brand's reputation — its most valuable asset — can be severely damaged in mere seconds.
August 01, 2024Allen AdamsonIn a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the Lanham Act's provision that prohibits the registration of trademarks consisting of or comprising the name of a particular living individual without the individual's written consent.
August 01, 2024Howard J. Shire and Justin TilghmanAttorneys and companies alike are witnessing a paradigm shift occurring during the protection of intellectual property assets, encountering more sophisticated solicitations designed to appear as official correspondence from the USPTO, and outright scams utilizing information publicly available through the USPTO for pending trademark applications and existing registrations.
August 01, 2024Damon Whitaker, Jill Chalmers, Matt Minder and Steve TrubacIn an eagerly anticipated decision involving the proper standard for assessing when a claimed design is obvious, the Federal Circuit overruled the Rosen-Durling test that courts and the USPTO have been applying for nearly 30 years, calling the test "improperly rigid" and inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent.
August 01, 2024James L. RyersonThe Act is intended to guard against patent trolling and creates a private cause of action for those targeted by bad faith infringement assertions and contemplates two types of relief: remedies and a bond requirement.
August 01, 2024Catherine Nyarady and Crystal ParkerAs the Paris Olympic Games get underway, trademark attorneys for the International Olympic Committee and Paris organizing committee will be working to protect the Olympic brand.
August 01, 2024Rick MitchellAre Affiliates Liable for Monetary Relief When They Are Not Named Parties to a Case?
August 01, 2024Howard Shire and Justin Tilghman









