Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Home Topics

Litigation

Features

Attorney's Fees After Octane: More Chances for Defendants to Even the Playing Field Image

Attorney's Fees After Octane: More Chances for Defendants to Even the Playing Field

Rudy Y. Kim

With fewer restraints after Octane, district courts now have broader discretion to grant motions for attorney's fees. But understanding the circumstances under which exceptionality has been found is critical. Recent decisions by the Federal Circuit post-Octane provide some important guidance on when attorney's fees may be available under Section 285.

Features

Swedish Music Industry Views: Part Two Image

Swedish Music Industry Views: Part Two

Stan Soocher

Part Two of a Two Part Article This article discusses, among other things, the Swedish music industry perspective on the European Union's Copyright Directive, the growth of multi-country music licensing hubs and the impact of Brexit.

Features

Kozinski Angle In 9th Circuit's Led Zeppelin Ruling Image

Kozinski Angle In 9th Circuit's Led Zeppelin Ruling

Scott Graham

Defendants Led Zeppelin and its music labels were the winners in the copyright decision by the Ninth Circuit over the song "Stairway to Heaven." But the estate of songwriter Randy Wolfe (p/k/a California) wasn't the only one who got the short end. Among the collateral damage from the ruling was a 2002 precedent written by former Chief Judge Alex Kozinski that endorsed the so-called "inverse-ratio" rule.

Columns & Departments

IP News

Shaleen J. Patel

VARA Lives On: A $6.75M Lesson on Respecting Moral Rights

Features

"Potentially Monumental" Ninth Circuit En Banc Decision in Infringement Case Over Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" Image

"Potentially Monumental" Ninth Circuit En Banc Decision in Infringement Case Over Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"

Robert W. Clarida & Robert J. Bernstein

For the past five years, the copyright bar and the music industry have carefully followed the many twists and turns of the potentially monumental infringement case that asserted that the opening of the iconic Led Zeppelin song "Stairway to Heaven" was copied from the introduction of a little-known 1967 instrumental "Taurus," written by the late Randy California. In March 2020, a unanimous en banc panel of the entire Ninth Circuit affirmed portions of a prior three-judge appellate ruling that "Stairway" did not infringe the Spirit song — and in the process resolved some thorny issues involving substantial similarity and copyright scope that will be important for future litigants

Features

Kozinski Angle In 9th Circuit's Led Zeppelin Ruling Image

Kozinski Angle In 9th Circuit's Led Zeppelin Ruling

Scott Graham

Defendants Led Zeppelin and its music labels were the winners in the copyright decision by the Ninth Circuit over the song "Stairway to Heaven." But the estate of songwriter Randy Wolfe (p/k/a California) wasn't the only one who got the short end. Among the collateral damage from the ruling was a 2002 precedent written by former Chief Judge Alex Kozinski that endorsed the so-called "inverse-ratio" rule.

Features

CASE Act Explained Image

CASE Act Explained

Ryan W. Morris

The Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement Act is a proposed congressional amendment to the current copyright statute that would create an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims and other legal proceedings.

Features

A Primer on Rights in Video Game Avatars

Andrea Perez

Recent lawsuits have grappled with the fair use of one's likeness in video games, attempting to apply established order to a changing field.

Features

Followup: PBS Wins Verdict In Suit By Fired TV Show Host Tavis Smiley Image

Followup: PBS Wins Verdict In Suit By Fired TV Show Host Tavis Smiley

Katheryn Tucker

It was a trial to remember for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner Grace Speights, lead defense attorney for PBS against Tavis Smiley, former long-running…

Columns & Departments

Bit Parts

Stan Soocher

Los Angeles Federal Judge Tosses Out Jury's Infringement Verdict Against Katy Perry in "Dark Horse" Song Case Sales Agreement for Film Assets of Distributor in Bankruptcy Doesn't Affect Separate Lender for One of Debtor's Movies

Need Help?

  1. Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
  2. Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.

MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
    There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
    Read More ›
  • Supreme Court Asked to Assess Per Se Rule Tension in Criminal Antitrust
    In recent years, practitioners have observed a tension between criminal enforcement of the broadly written terms of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the modern Supreme Court's notions of statutory interpretation and due process in the criminal law context. A certiorari petition filed in late August in Sanchez et al. v. United States, asks the Supreme Court to address this tension, as embodied in the judge-made per se rule.
    Read More ›
  • Restrictive Covenants Meet the Telecommunications Act of 1996
    Congress enacted the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to encourage development of telecommunications technologies, and in particular, to facilitate growth of the wireless telephone industry. The statute's provisions on pre-emption of state and local regulation have been frequently litigated. Last month, however, the Court of Appeals, in <i>Chambers v. Old Stone Hill Road Associates (see infra<i>, p. 7) faced an issue of first impression: Can neighboring landowners invoke private restrictive covenants to prevent construction of a cellular telephone tower? The court upheld the restrictive covenants, recognizing that the federal statute was designed to reduce state and local regulation of cell phone facilities, not to alter rights created by private agreement.
    Read More ›