Litigation

Federal courts have long disagreed over whether the unauthorized "making available" of a plaintiff's works to the public is sufficient to constitute copyright infringement under the U.S. Copyright Act. Two June District Court decisions demonstrated the differences between the views of the Fourth and Ninth Circuits.

Kirkland & Ellis has notched a win in cutting-edge litigation that questions the protectability of dance steps, what constitutes choreography and the relationship between copyright, and right of publicity and trademark law.

Lease Provision Does Not Bar Conversion Claim for Damages After Issuance of Warrant of Eviction

Federal Circuit Finds Preamble Not Limiting and Claims Reciting Means-Plus-Function Limitations Without Disclosure of Corresponding Structures Cannot Be Determined Unpatentable as Indefinite in an IPR Proceeding Federal Circuit Finds That District Court Correctly Applied the Disclosure-Dedication Doctrine In Granting a Motion for Judgment of Non-Infringement on the Pleadings

Right of Publicity Laws Don't Pierce CDA Immunity Shield Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Wolf of Wall Street Defamation Suit

In the midst the current COVID-19 pandemic, the SEC is paying attention. The Division of Enforcement has made clear that it will act, and act quickly, to stop fraudulent conduct that falls under its jurisdiction related to the pandemic.

The U.S. Copyright Act states that a civil copyright action must be filed within three years of its accrual. How this applies to copyright infringement and to copyright ownership claims, including in the same case, isn't always clear. But two recent federal appeals courts decisions have provided guidance on the differences in accrual for each of these copyright claims.

As millions of Americans turned to television and movies for diversion and comfort amid the coronavirus pandemic and resulting business shutdowns, the companies that create that content were left scratching their heads about how to resume business safely when they are allowed. Davis Wright Tremaine launched a new group in hopes of providing the answers.