Features

Federal Circuit Reinstates Oracle's Copyright Infringement Claims Against Google, Rejecting Fair Use Defense
On March 27, 2018, in <i>Oracle America, Inc. v. Google LLC</i>, the Federal Circuit overturned a jury verdict in favor of Google from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. In doing so, the court revived Oracle's claim that Google's use of Oracle's open-source Java language code did not constitute “fair use.”
Features

Supreme Court Eyes Relaxing Rule on Foreign Patent Damages
<b><i>Despite Possibility of 'Chaos,' Presumption Against Extraterritorial Application May Give Way to Simple Proximate Cause Test, Justices Suggest</b></i><p>The U.S. Supreme Court seemed to be mulling a flexible test for foreign patent damages last month, with the categorical presumption against extraterritoriality taking a back seat.
Features

Copyright Law in the Age of Twitter
<b><i>A Recent Decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Involving Twitter May Have Significant Implications for Online Publications</b></i><p>The exponential growth of social media, and the inevitable conflicts that result, is leading to more and more litigation. In many instances, courts are being asked to apply laws crafted before the Internet era to these modern disputes.
Features

Brexit and IP: Finally Some Real News, and What It Means for Attorneys
Much has been written about what will happen to EU-wide IP rights after Brexit — and whether, and how, the protection given by those rights will be maintained in the UK. Finally, we have some clarity about what is going to happen.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Declaratory-Judgment Action Based Under Rule Against Piecemeal Adjudication<br>Federal Circuit Affirms Non-Infringement Finding Despite Defendant's Discovery Violation
Features

Bankruptcy Impact on Trademarks, Distribution Rights
It's not uncommon for rights licensees in the entertainment industry to find themselves in a rights dispute when a licensor files for bankruptcy.
Features

Walking the Fine Line of Fair Use: The Second Circuit's Decision in <i>Fox News v. TVEyes</i>
Only a small fraction of television news broadcasts are made available online. For a party to monitor and view all news coverage of an event, it would essentially have to watch and record all news broadcasts 24/7. That's exactly what media-monitoring service TVEyes did. There was no dispute that TVEyes had copied Fox News's content. Instead, the issue was whether TVEyes's service constituted fair use.
Features

The Ripple Effect of Rejecting Trademark Licenses
<b><i>The First Circuit Widens the Controversy</b></i><p>In <i>In re Tempnology</i>, the First Circuit held that the debtor's rejection of a trademark license strips the nondebtor licensee of any right to continue to use the trademarks. In so doing, the court takes the same approach as the Fourth Circuit and rejects the approaches advocated by the Third and Seventh Circuits.
Features

A Reasonable Royalty Rate Must Be Tied to Facts
<b><i>Exmark Manufacturing Company Inc. v. Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group, LLC</b></i><p>The rate of the reasonable royalty awarded to a successful patent plaintiff must be based on the facts of the case. A damages expert cannot merely pay lip service to the <i>Georgia-Pacific</i> factors and then “pluck” a royalty rate from thin air.
Features

How Ticket Software Lost Trade Secret Protection
Trade secret protection applies only to confidential information. In almost all circumstances, broadcasting to the world the intricate details and applications of a trade secret extinguishes whatever “property right” an entertainment industry holder once possessed. What is a sufficient method of contractually notifying a software user of the trade secret status of certain information is a closer question.
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