tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30132906789283227252024-02-19T00:46:27.251-08:00trademarcusThe Intellectual Property Law Blog of Peter MarcusUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-55695143047799196012019-06-25T16:18:00.001-07:002019-06-26T15:58:02.297-07:00High Court Authorizes Registration of Lowbrow Trademarks<div style="text-align: justify;">
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For the second time in two years, the U.S. Supreme Court has
invalidated a provision of the Lanham Act on First Amendment grounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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In 2017, the Court unanimously ruled in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Matal v. Tam</i> that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO)” had
violated Simon Tam’s First Amendment rights when it rejected his application to
register the name of his band, "The Slants." In that case,
registration was denied based on a provision of the Lanham Act prohibiting the
registration of “disparaging” trademarks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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This week, the high court ruled that a related provision of
the statute that bars the registration of “immoral” and “scandalous” trademarks
similarly violated the First Amendment rights of Erik Brunetti, an artist and entrepreneur,
who applied to register the trademark “FUCT” for his clothing line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In both cases, the Court ruled that these provisions
of 15 U. S. C. §1052(a), infringe the First Amendment rights of applicants because
the law disfavors certain ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
First Amendment provides, in relevant part, “Congress shall make no law... abridging
the freedom of speech.”</div>
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In this week’s majority opinion in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Iancu v. Brunetti</i>, Justice Kagan explained that, under the First
Amendment, the government may not discriminate against speech based on the
ideas or opinions it conveys, and that “viewpoint discrimination” is an egregious
form of content discrimination that is presumptively unconstitutional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It is a “bedrock First Amendment principle” that the
government cannot discriminate against “ideas that offend.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, although the rejected trademarks may be offensive
to many Americans, a law disfavoring “ideas that offend” necessarily discriminates
based on viewpoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Justice Kagan explained that “There are a great many immoral
and scandalous ideas in the world (even more than there are swearwords), and
the Lanham Act covers them all. It therefore violates the First Amendment by
barring such words from trademark registration.<br />
<br />
The Court's decision comes just shy of the 41st anniversary of the July 3, 1978 decision in <i>FCC v. Pacifica Foundation</i>, in which the Supreme Court found the Federal Communications Commission's censorship of George Carlin's "seven dirty words" monologue, and the Commission's restriction of the broadcast of four-letter words, was not based on a point of view but instead concerned the way in which it was expressed. While not a trademark case, in that decision, the Court held the Commission's censorship of Mr. Carlin's monologue based on his use of those words did not violate the First Amendment.<br />
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Four decades later, on the eve of the Fourth of July, the view of the four dissenting justices in that case - Justices Stewart, Brennan, White and Marshall - who believed the governmental restriction of such language constituted an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech, appears to have carried the day. <br />
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The Court’s opinion in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Iancu
v. Brunetti</i> is available <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-302_e29g.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-48158695281452888482016-08-16T08:45:00.003-07:002016-08-16T09:30:05.603-07:00Flattery Will Get You Nowhere: Federal Court Dismisses Winemaker's Insurance Coverage Action Based on Intellectual Property Exclusion<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">A federal Court in Northern
California has dismissed an insurance coverage action based on the insurance policy's intellectual property exclusion. The Court found the insurer did not owe a duty to
defend an underlying case against </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">a </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">winemaker for allegedly selling its wine
under the name of its former president without his consent.</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">Among
the court's findings was that there was no coverage </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">for disparagement </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">because the company's alleged conduct did not
disparage the former president. Rather, </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">the use of </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">his </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">name to sell its products was more </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-align: justify;">a form of flattery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">Paul Dolan is a fourth
generation winemaker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2004, he and a
family named Thornhill formed the Mendocino Wine Group (Mendocino). Dolan initially
served as president and agreed to permit the company to develop wine using his
name as a trademark, so long as he "was able to control the nature and
quality of wine that would be sold under his name." The company then began
selling wine under the Paul Dolan trademark.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">According to Dolan, in 2012, he
was "ousted" from the company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He then filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging claims for (1) a
declaration that the company could no longer use the Paul Dolan trademark; (2)
unfair competition in violation of the Lanham Act; violation of the common law
right of publicity and statutory right of publicity under California Civil Code
§ 3344; and cancellation of the Dolan trademark registration.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">Dolan asserted that he never
intended the company could use his name forever, and he revoked his consent for
the company to use his name in connection with any Dolan trademark. Nevertheless, he alleged, the company continued
to distribute and sell wine under the Paul Dolan trademark, and continued to
use his name to market, advertise and promote its products. His lawsuit against
the company claimed the continued use of the trademark violated his right of
publicity and caused damage to Dolan because it directly conflicted with his
own ability to use his name in connection with wine and related products and
services, and because it falsely suggested the goods the company was selling
and distributing were connected with him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">Mendocino tendered Dolan's claims
to its insurer, Unigard Insurance Company, for coverage under a commercial
general liability insurance policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The policy
stated the insurer would pay "those sums that the insured becomes legally
obligated to pay as damages because of 'personal and advertising injury' to
which this insurance applies. We will have the right and duty to defend the
insured against any 'suit' seeking those damages. However, we will have no duty
to defend the insured against any 'suit' seeking damages for 'personal and
advertising injury' to which this insurance does not apply..."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">The policy also defined
"personal and advertising injury" to mean "[o]ral or written
publication, in any manner, of material that slanders or libels a person or
organization or disparages a person's or organization's goods, products or
services" and "[o]ral or written publication, in any manner, of
material that violates a person's right of privacy." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">The policy contained an
intellectual property exclusion, which expressly excluded coverage for infringement
of copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret, which was defined to mean "'personal
and advertising injury' arising out of the infringement of copyright, patent,
trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights. Under this
exclusion, such other intellectual property rights do not include the use of
another's advertising idea in your 'advertisement.' </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">"However, the exclusion
does not apply to infringement, in your 'advertisement,' of copyright, trade
dress, or slogan."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">Unigard denied coverage of the
claims, asserting the claims alleged in the underlying action did not give rise
to coverage under the policy's insuring provisions and there was no duty for it
to defend Mendocino, and also because coverage was excluded based on the
intellectual property exclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In turn,
Mendocino sued Unigard for breach of contract and bad faith. Unigard filed a
motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
asserting that Mendocino's complaint failed to state a legal claim for which
relief could be granted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court
agreed and dismissed Mendocino's lawsuit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">The Court explained that, under
California law, an insurer must defend its insured against claims that create a
potential for indemnity under the policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dolan's claims were based on his allegations that
Mendocino had misappropriated his likeness without authorization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court found these claims did not create
even a potential for coverage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">The Court explained there are two
types of appropriation claims, which are distinguished by the nature of the
plaintiff's right and the resulting injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first type - - the right of publicity - - is essentially that the public's
reaction the to the individual's name and likeness, which endows them with "commercially
exploitable opportunities." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">The second type of
appropriation brings injury to the feelings. It concerns the plaintiff's peace
of mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is mental and subjective.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">The right of publicity is
considered an intellectual property right that protects a form of intellectual
property which society deems to have some social utility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The "mental and subjective" type of
appropriation, on the other hand, does not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">The Court found that the
exclusion applied to bar coverage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
the policy covered damages for violations of privacy rights, it excluded
coverage for injuries arising out of violations of intellectual property rights,
such as Dolan's right of publicity claim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dolan did not assert a claim based on injured feelings, but only that
Mendocino's use of his name and likeness diminished his marketability and
publicity value and deprived him of his right of publicity - - a violation of
his intellectual property right, which was excluded by the plain language of
the intellectual property exclusion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">Mendocino also argued that
there was coverage because the allegations in Dolan's complaint alleged the
elements of a defamation claim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unigard
countered that there were no allegations of the publication of defamatory
material. Defamation involves a
publication that is false, defamatory, and unprivileged, and has a natural
tendency to injure or that causes special damage, and that the publication is
to a third person who understands both the defamatory meaning of the statement
and its application to the referenced person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Similarly, disparagement concerns a false or misleading statement that specifically
refers to the plaintiff's product or business and clearly derogates that
product or business. Ordinarily, damage caused by defamation involves injury to
a person's reputation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, a
party's attempt to copy or infringe another's intellectual property, without
more, does not constitute disparagement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">Here the Court found Dolan's
allegations did not allege Mendocino's misappropriation constituted a
defamatory statement. Rather, Dolan contended his reputation was harmed because
Mendocino's unauthorized continued sale, distribution and marketing of wine
under the Paul Dolan trademark, which damaged him because it directly conflicted
with his ability to use his own name in connection with wine and related
products and services, and because it falsely suggested the goods Mendocino was
distributing were connected with Dolan. As the court found, while these allegations
supported a violation of the right of publicity, they did not support a claim
for disparagement or defamation. Indeed, the Court found, Mendocino's alleged
attempt to falsely sell its wine under Dolan's name is "more akin to
flattery" than disparagement, and therefore did not trigger a duty to
defend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The Court's observation may find
support in reports that the company subsequently settled with Dolan in a deal
that permitted Mendocino to continue to sell wine under the Dolan name.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">Without a breach of the insurance contract, moreover, there can be no
breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing as a matter of
law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The court therefore dismissed
Mendocino's claims under Rule 12(b)(6), both for breach of contract and for bad
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; line-height: 115%;">The case is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mendocino Wine Grp., LLC v. QBE Ams., Inc.</i>,
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-34704078676958030122016-05-13T05:30:00.000-07:002016-05-13T13:58:17.096-07:00Star Trek Fan Film Producers Lose Effort to Dismiss Copyright Infringement Action<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">During its half-century voyage,
the Star Trek franchise developed a planetary defense system. The defense
system was designed to employ various strategies and procedures in an effort to
protect fictional planets from attack. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
makers of a crowdfunded Star Trek-themed short film recently failed to effectively
employ similar defenses to fend off an attack by the owners of the Star Trek
franchise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Earlier this week, on May 9, U.S.
District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner denied the filmmakers' motion to dismiss,
under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, in which they
argued the plaintiffs had failed to state a claim for which relief can be
granted by the Federal Court.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The lawsuit was brought by Paramount
Pictures and CBS Studios as the owners of the copyrights in the Star Trek
franchise. They alleged in their Complaint that they owned the copyrights in the
science fiction franchise, which chronicles the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise
and its crew as they travel through space during the twenty-third century. The original television
series was first broadcast nationwide in the United States in 1966 and since
that time has been in syndication throughout the U.S. almost continuously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Subsequently five additional Star Trek
television series have been broadcast, totaling more than 700 episodes. There also
have been a dozen Star Trek motion pictures, and the studios are continuing to
develop additional works, including the planned release of an new feature film in
2016 and new television series in 2017. CBS is the owner of the copyrights in
the television series and Paramount owns the copyrights in the films. They also
jointly own certain copyright rights in multiple novels and other works. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the original series, captain
of the Enterprise James T. Kirk met former Starship captain Garth of Izar and
the two of them discussed captain Garth’s victory in "the Battle of
Axanar."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Paramount and CBS recently
learned of the development of an unauthorized production of a short film
entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prelude to Azanar</i>, they
filed suit against its producers for copyright infringement, alleging the film incorporates
numerous elements of their copyrighted works.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In an effort to fend off the
lawsuit, the producers of </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prelude to Azanar</i> </span>filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Rule 12(b)(6) is a
procedural mechanism that allows a defendant being sued in Federal Court to seek an an order dismissing the case on the grounds that the complaint is legally
insufficient and that, as a matter of law, it fails to state legal grounds
justifying relief the court can grant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under
the U.S. Constitution, Federal Courts have limited jurisdiction, and their authority does not extend to every dispute. Where a case
fails to state a legal claim it will be dismissed. It is a potentially cost- and time-saving tool that
allows for the early resolution of a case. If successful, the defendant can
avoid incurring significant legal fees that otherwise would be necessitated by taking and
responding to discovery and preparing for trial. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In ruling on the motion, courts generally will not consider anything but the applicable law and the allegations in the complaint. Indeed, that is the point. Before the parties have to go through the expensive exercise of attempting to discover potentially relevant evidence, argue about and ask a fact finder to evaluate and determine </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">disputed facts</span>, the Court may first evaluate whether a complaint states a legal claim, <i>assuming</i> the alleged facts to be true. If it does not, the case will be concluded at an early stage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prelude to Azanar</i> action</span></span>, the producers of
the short film filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the complaint failed to
sufficiently plead a cause of action for copyright infringement. They asserted
that the complaint failed to give them sufficient notice of the copyrighted works
they were accused of infringing and that certain elements were not protectable
under the copyright laws in any event, such as characters, species, costumes, makeup,
weapons, and starships. They also raised issues concerning whether Paramount had
standing to sue, and various other arguments, including that the lawsuit
constituted an unlawful prior restraint under the First Amendment. However, the
Court rejected every argument and found the complaint sufficiently alleged
viable claims for copyright infringement. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The defense
system did not succeed and the producers of </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prelude to Azanar</i> were unable </span></span>to ward off the studios' attack, at least not yet. But this was n<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">ot a ruling on the m<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">erits and the case is far from over. </span></span>Instead, the battle will continue. Discovery will proceed and the facts and evidence will be developed as the case progresses. Who will prevail on the ultimate issues remains to be seen. </span>As Judge Klausner put it,
"whether Plaintiff's Claims will proper" is an issue for another day.
But at least for the moment, "Plaintiff's claims will live long enough to survive
Defendants' Motion to Dismiss."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Watch this space for further developments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The case is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Paramount Pictures Corp. & CBS Studios Inc. v. Axanar Productions,
Inc. & Alec Peters</i>, U.S. District Court, Central District of
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<span style="font-size: small;">Last month, six days apart, two significant, seemingly independent events shook the digital world. On Saturday, October 10, 2015, The New York Times lost a significant portion of its historical archives to underground flooding. Less than a week later, on Friday, October 16, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued its landmark <a href="http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/b455fb1f-77f3-476f-bb11-94f770839b7a/1/doc/13-4829_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/b455fb1f-77f3-476f-bb11-94f770839b7a/1/hilite/" target="_blank">Google Books decision</a>, finding Google's unauthorized scanning and digitization of more than 10 million books constituted "fair use," and thus did not infringe copyright rights of the objecting authors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Google began scanning and digitizing of tens of millions of books more than a decade ago, with the assistance of major libraries that made their collections available to Google. Through its scanning and digitization of copies of millions of books, Google established a publicly available search function allowing Internet users to search free of charge to determine whether a book contains specified words or terms. “Snippets” of text are displayed containing the searched terms. Google also allowed participating libraries to download and retain digital copies of the books they submitted, under agreements requiring the libraries not to use the digital copies in violation of copyright law. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Certain authors who had not consented to Google's use filed the copyright infringement lawsuit asserting that their published and copyright-protected books were digitized without their permission. In its decision, the Court of Appeals found Google's uses of works were "transformative" fair uses and authorized under copyright law. The Court's decision ends nearly 10 years of court challenges to Google's attempt to digitize the world's book collection. Debate continues, however, as to the Court's reasoning and the impact of the decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Google is obviously pleased with the result, which was authored by Judge Pierre Leval, a heavyweight in copyright circles. In his ruling, Judge Leval also managed to take the judicial equivalent of a selfie. In 1990, prior to his appointment to the appellate court, Judge Leval had written an influential article entitled “Toward a Fair Use Standard.” In his article, Judge Leval proposed a new approach to fair use, the copyright defense that permits the use of a copyrighted work in limited circumstances. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Judge Leval had argued that fair use should be guided by whether the secondary use is employed in a manner or purpose that is different from that of the original work. That is, a secondary use cannot simply repackage or usurp the original work; but if it uses the original work in a manner that essentially treats the original work as "raw material" and transforms it to create new information, aesthetics, insights or understandings, that serves the purpose of enriching society and thereby furthers an important goal of copyright law. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Supreme Court would later cite extensively to Judge Leval's article and transformative use theory in another fair use case, <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/510/569/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Campbell v. Acuff Rose Music</i></a>. In that case, the Supreme Court found 2 Live Crew's song, "Pretty Woman," to be protected by the fair use defense because it transformed, by way of "parody," the Roy Orbison ballad, "Oh Pretty Woman." In his Google Books decision, Judge Leval has now relied on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Campbell</i> case that, in turn, relied on his original article, effectively allowing the judge indirectly to rely on himself as his own authority. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Not everyone is snapping selfies, however. The Author's Guild is far from pleased. The Guild maintains that Google's unauthorized use of the authors' works has damaged, and will continue to damage, their potential future markets and income. According to a <a href="https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/the-wages-of-writing/" target="_blank">Guild-commissioned study</a>, between the years 2009 - - before the e-book market was fully established - - and 2015, writing-related income of full-time book authors dropped dramatically, from $25,000 to $17,500, while writing-related income of part-time authors fell from $7,250 to $4,500. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Guild has criticized the Second Circuit's ruling as "reductive" and is preparing to seek review of the decision by the Supreme Court. However, at this point, it seems like the authors will be swimming against the current.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">But what has this all to do with flooding at The Times? It will not be lost on the newspaper that, as Google previously warned, unless physical copies of important documents are digitized, they risk eventually being lost to history. That is one of the purposes Google has suggested justifies its digitization projects and the newspaper is now living the cautionary tale. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The "Morgue," as The Times' archive department is known, is home to the paper's "dead" stories. It is located below-ground in the building next door to its Manhattan headquarters. Established in 1905, the Morgue was created to maintain the newspaper's archival library, which includes hard copies of <i>fourteen decades</i> of newspaper clippings and several million photographs - - the great majority of which have never been digitized. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On October 10, a news assistant was sent to retrieve a photograph from the Morgue to to accompany, of all things, an obituary. He discovered a waterfall streaming down from the pipes above, drenching portions of the collection. The damaged materials including boxes that held a yet-undetermined number of photographs. The assistant sent for backup but, despite the fast-acting team's ability to rescue most of the collection, some of it was destroyed. The Morgue's manager has not yet been able to quantify the full extent of the damage, but estimates that roughly 10 percent of the damaged photos may be beyond repair.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">In his decision, Judge Leval wrote that the Google Books case had tested the boundaries of fair use. Those boundaries may be delineated more keenly when juxtaposed against the loss at The Times. Copyright law is said to serve the goals </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">of </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">expanding public learning and protecting the incentives of authors to create, which also is intended to further the public good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">The works of authors who objected to the digitization of their books have now become part of the global archive, while a significant portion of The Times un-digitized collection has been damaged and now may be gone forever. Which of these circumstances may better serve the law's objectives will continue to be the subject of much debate.<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-81536955698467123722015-07-24T10:45:00.000-07:002015-11-04T19:33:48.523-08:00What Does the Ninth Circuit Have against the First Amendment?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In 2014, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued
a secret order directing YouTube to remove from its website a highly
controversial political film pertaining to ongoing international political
events and raising issues of immense public interest. The film had sparked global
news stories and generated significant discourse concerning Islamic extremism. Almost
immediately, it also elicited a violent response. Congressional leaders linked
the film's online release to the September 11, 2012 attack on the United States
Consulate in Benghazi, Libya in which the U.S. Ambassador was killed. High-ranking
government officials had publicly addressed the film's impact on foreign
relations. In an address to the United Nations, the President of the United
States discussed the controversial film directly, explaining, “I know there are
some who ask why we don't just ban such a video. And the answer is enshrined in
our laws: Our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech.” Yet the
Ninth Circuit would go on to do just that; in its secret order, the court banned
YouTube from showing the film. The prior restraint remained in effect for more
than a year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">On what principle did the Ninth Circuit rely to justify
this unprecedented censorship of political expression: That the film presented
a significant threat to national security? That it posed a serious risk of interfering
with foreign policy? That it constituted fighting words or presented an
imminent threat of immediate lawless action? No, the court based its gag order
solely on the protections afforded a private litigant under the Copyright Act.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">●</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In 2011, an actress responded to a casting call for
a new film. The film was purported to be an action-adventure thriller set in
ancient Arabia. The actress was cast in a cameo role and earned $500. She
received a few pages of script and her lines consisted of two sentences: “Is
George crazy? Our daughter is but a child....” She was directed to seem
concerned as she delivered the lines.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">But the writer-director pulled a bait-and-switch
and actually had intended to make a different film, an anti-Islam polemic which
ultimately entitled <i>Innocence of Muslims.</i> The crude film depicted the
Prophet Mohammed in a scandalous light. The actress' image was included in
5-seconds of the film with a dubbed voiceover replacing the lines the actress
actually had read, with dialog in which her character now asked, “Is your
Mohammed a child molester? Our daughter's but a child....” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The following year after the casting call, the <i>Innocence
of Muslims</i> was uploaded to YouTube. It was translated into Arabic and drew outrage
across the Middle East, reportedly resulting in violent protests. Shortly after
the Benghazi attack, an Egyptian cleric issued a fatwa against anyone
associated with the video and called upon the Muslim youth in America and
Europe to kill the director, the producer, the actors, and everyone who helped
and promote it. The actress received multiple death threats.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The actress contacted Google, which owns YouTube,
and asked the company remove <i>Innocence of Muslims</i> from the video-sharing
website. She also sent Google five takedown notices under the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act, claiming YouTube's broadcast of the film infringed her copyright
in her “audio-visual dramatic performance.” Google declined to remove the film.
The actress filed suit against Google in the U.S. District Court for the
Central District of California, alleging copyright infringement and related
claims, and moved for injunctive relief on the copyright claim, seeking to bar
Google from hosting <i>Innocence of Muslims</i> on YouTube or any other website
run by the company. The district court denied Garcia's motion for a preliminary
injunction, concluding she had not demonstrated that the requested relief would
prevent any alleged harm (at that point, the trailer already had been on the
Internet for five months) and she had not established a likelihood of success
on the merits because the nature of her copyright interest was unclear and,
even if she could establish a copyright interest, she had granted the film
directors an implied license to distribute her performance as a contribution
incorporated into the indivisible film as a whole. Following the denial of her
request for an injunction, she appealed to the Ninth Circuit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">That the Ninth Circuit's three-judge panel had
little time for the First Amendment was apparent when, during oral argument,
one judge chastised Google's attorney for asserting how seriously Google and
YouTube take their role as a forum for free speech. When the attorney asserted
that position - - and tried to illustrate the First Amendment interests being
served in light of the fact the film had garnered global attention and had had
an impact on such issues as who would serve as the next Secretary of State - - the
judge cut him off, and said he was surprised the attorney was willing to present
such a cavalier argument to the court. (It is unclear whether the judge was
aware that the Ninth Circuit maintains its own YouTube channel on which it
makes oral arguments in its proceedings available to the public.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Then, on February 19, 2014, the court issued its
secret order, requiring Google to take down all copies of the film from its
website and any other platforms under Google's control, within 24-hours, and to
take reasonable steps to prevent further uploads of the film. The three-judge
panel also included the unprecedented further requirement, further muzzling
Google, ordering that "Neither the parties nor counsel shall disclose this
order, except as necessary to the takedown process," until the Court could
issue its formal opinion in the case. Two days later, the same panel issued a
second order explaining that it had issued the February 19 order in advance of
its formal opinion, specifically "to prevent a rush to copy and
proliferate the film before Google can comply with the order." The court also
prohibited disclosure of its second order, until the formal opinion was published.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In just two days, the Ninth Circuit had mandated
that a politically charged film be taken down, barred Google from permitting it
to be re-uploaded, and twice barred Google or anyone else from even disclosing
the existence of the Court's take-down order.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Another week passed before the court published its
opinion in the case on February 26, 2014. The next day, Google filed an
emergency motion, asking the court to stay its take-down ruling until Google
could pursue further court review before a larger, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">en banc</i> 11-judge panel of judges on the Ninth Circuit."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The motion was based on concerns about issuing
a prior restraint in light of the "intense public interest in and debate
surrounding the video...." Google explained that it and the "public
will suffer irreparable harm to their First Amendment and other constitutional
freedoms" if the injunction were allowed to stand, and that the First Amendment
protects "not just the right to express information, but to receive it."
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">That is particularly true, Google offered, "when
the information bears on issues of public concern; the right to receive ideas
is a necessary predicate to the recipient’s meaningful exercise of his own
rights of speech, press, and political freedom." (Internal punctuation
omitted). "If the public cannot access raw material at the center of
public debate," it continued, "citizens cannot make up their own
minds about the pressing issues of the day. That principle is never more true
than here. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Innocence of Muslims</i> has been
the focus of wide debate since it was first posted.... But due to the panel’s
sweeping takedown order, the public will be unable to use YouTube to view the
video at the center of the public discussion." The court disagreed and denied
the emergency motion, but amended the take-down order to permit Google to post
or display an edited version of the film, omitting a segment of the film in
which the purported copyright holder appeared. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Notably, neither the court's opinion on the merits
nor the order denying the stay request addressed the First Amendment, except to explain
that the First Amendment does not protect copyright infringement. See <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Garcia v. Google, Inc.</i>, 766 F.3d 929,
939 (9th Cir. 2014). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the meantime, a
single judge of the larger Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals requested a vote
whether to rehear the 3-judge panel's decision <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">en banc</i>, by the larger panel. However, a majority of active judges
eligible to grant the request voted against doing so and, instead, allowed the court's
ruling on the emergency motion to stand. In effect, a majority of the Ninth
Circuit judges permitted the prior restraint to remain in place for the next
year and three months without requiring any First Amendment analysis whatsoever.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The 3-judge panel's opinion went on to find a potential,
albeit doubtful, novel theory of copyright protection might vest copyright
rights in the actress for her 5-second performance in the video. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Google then petitioned for an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">en banc</i> review and eventually convinced a
larger panel of the Ninth Circuit to reverse the take-down order – which found that
"a weak copyright claim cannot justify censorship in the guise of
authorship." But that ruling was not issued until this spring, fifteen
months after the gag order was issued. By then, the controversy surrounding the
film and public discussion about it had largely quieted. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In a scathing critique of his colleague's conduct,
one judge, Hon. Stephen Roy Reinhardt, writing separately, explained that by
taking these steps the court had </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">not only
tolerated the infringement of fundamental First Amendment rights but was the
architect of that infringement. First we issued an order that prohibited the
public from seeing a highly controversial film that pertained to an ongoing
global news story of immense public interest. Then we ordered that the public
could see it only if edited to exclude a particular scene, thereby conditioning
freedom of expression on a judicially sanctioned change in the message
expressed. We did this primarily because persons or groups offended by the
film’s message made a threat—in the form of a fatwa—against everyone connected
with the film. By suppressing protected speech in response to such a threat, we
imposed a prior restraint on speech in violation of the First Amendment and
undermined the free exchange of ideas that is central to our democracy and that
separates us from those who condone violence in response to offensive speech.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In permitting
the gag order to remain in place for so long, Judge Reinhardt admonished, the
court had done "irreparable damage to free speech rights" and had
"unconscionab[ly] allowed an infringement of First Amendment rights to
remain in effect for fifteen months...." While not minimizing concerns for
the actress' safety, he clarified that such threats nevertheless do not justify
suppressing speech of great national import.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He continued,</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A
function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute....
Controversial or offensive ideas may start an argument or cause a disturbance.
But our Constitution says we must take this risk; and our history says that it
is this sort of hazardous freedom—this kind of openness—that is the basis of
our national strength and of the independence and vigor of Americans who grow
up and live in this relatively permissive, often disputatious, society.... By
censoring <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Innocence of Muslims</i> and
limiting the public’s access to the film, we allowed fear of those opposed to
the film’s message to trump our commitment to a robust First Amendment.... </span>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The loss
of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably
constitutes irreparable injury.... For over a year we violated the First
Amendment by censoring a film that had become part of a global news story of
utmost importance. Every restraint issued in this case, whatever its form, has
violated the First Amendment—and not less so because that restraint was
justified as necessary to afford the courts an opportunity to examine the claim
more thoroughly. Restoring First Amendment freedoms after a lengthy period of
unconstitutional judicial censorship does not cure the problem. Those freedoms
should never have been denied, and the exercise of freedom that was lost
pending <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">en banc</i> proceedings cannot be
recovered.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In the
fifteen months since the court refused to rehear the case on an emergency
basis, there have been numerous developments regarding threats by religious
extremists who reject pluralist values—the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria (ISIS), the murderous attack on Charlie Hebdo, the barbarous
beheadings of innocent civilians, the kidnappings of young girls and their
enslavement because of their religious membership, the bitter warfare between
Shiites and Sunnis and among their terrorist allies, the emergence of groups
such as Boko Haram, the failures of nascent democracies to take hold in the
wake of the Arab Spring, and the spread of increasingly virulent anti-Semitism
throughout Europe, if not the world. Setting aside the fact that Innocence of
Muslims is an offensive film of poor quality, it was part of the ongoing debate
pertaining to such events and its voice was silenced while the continuing
debate was at a peak. Although the inability to view this particular film may
have been no great loss, the suppression of speech was, as a matter of
principle, intolerable under the First Amendment: a court ordered a political
video removed from the public sphere because of threats of violence, thereby
changing the content and context of ongoing global discourse. The
constitutional violation is not cured by restoring access to the video well
over a year later, long after the time when it was most relevant to the debate
and of greatest interest to the public....</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The
vitality of civil and political institutions in our society depends on free
discussion.... The right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and
programs is ... one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from
totalitarian regimes.... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Innocence of
Muslims</i> may indeed be offensive, but we do not accept political terrorism
or even judicial censorship as the answer. By ordering the removal of the
filmmaker’s version of Innocence of Muslims for well over a year, we
inappropriately cast aside the very tradition of robust dialogue that separates
us from those who would wish harm upon persons whose speech they find
offensive. It is no answer to these basic concepts that the gag order was
eventually vacated.</span>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Judge Rinehart was not part of the 3-judge panel or
the 11-member en banc panel that would later hear and decide the appeal. However,
the significance of the developments in the Ninth Circuit got his attention,
and he used the opportunity to file a dissent to the
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">en banc</i> panel's order refusing to rehear
the takedown order on an emergency basis. Thus an amended order denying the
request was issued in order to permit judge Reinhardt to file his dissent to
that order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This unusual procedural move
highlighted the fact not only had the original 3-judge panel issued the
takedown order without addressed the significant First Amendment issues presented,
but that, fifteen months earlier, the larger panel of the full Ninth Circuit
was given the opportunity to consider the First Amendment issues and
potentially to lift the prior restraint, and majority of judges had voted not
to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not one other judge on the
Ninth Circuit joined judge Reinhardt's dissent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">This is not the first time the Ninth Circuit has minimized
consideration of the First Amendment when faced with a copyright infringement action.
Indeed, that is increasingly the typical approach when copyright law intersects
with the freedom of expression. For example, in 2012, the court decided another
copyright/First Amendment case, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monge
v. Maya Magazines, Inc.</i> That case concerned whether a magazine could be
held liable for copyright infringement after it published photographs it acquired
from a third party depicting the wedding night of pop singer and model Noelia
Lorenzo Monge. The trial court answered that question: no, as a matter of law. According
to the trial court, the magazine was protected against liability by the
doctrine of fair use. However, on appeal, the Ninth Circuit disagreed, and held
the magazine could be liable for publishing the photographs. Despite the plain
implications that arise when a member of the press faces sanctions for the
content of its publication, the Ninth Circuit did not address the First
Amendment or of the role that a free press plays in furthering a full and
robust civil and political discourse. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It is sometimes said that First Amendment concerns
are subsumed within existing copyright concepts, such as whether a particular
work is a copyrightable expression of an idea in the first place, rather than
the idea itself (which is not copyrightable); and (2) if so, whether an unauthorized
use of a copyrightable work is nevertheless justified under the doctrine of
fair use. (Among other things, the fair use provisions of the Copyright Act require
consideration as to whether the particular use was made for purposes of news
reporting.) And it is true that copyright protection is found in the body of
the U.S. Constitution, whereas explicit protection for the freedom of expression
was not added until later, when the First Amendment was adopted. But that circumstance would justify an interpretation that the First Amendment should supersede an incompatible prior provision in the original text of the Constitution. It does
not follow that copyright law automatically trumps the First
Amendment, or that courts should feel free to ignore free speech issues where
copyright infringement claims are concerned. Indeed, where claims are asserted based on novel theories that alter the traditional contours of copyright protection, the Supreme Court has suggested that further First Amendment scrutiny may be necessary.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Yet, in many copyright cases, courts avoid any
discussion of the First Amendment and never apply any independent First
Amendment analysis. In the original <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Garcia
v. Google</i> Ninth Circuit opinion, the Court ruled that even though the First
Amendment issues had been squarely presented, that did not trigger even a consideration
of the doctrine of fair use - - which is purportedly supposed to encompass
First Amendment concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in any
event, the Ninth Circuit did not require any evaluation of traditional First Amendment
criteria, including that the party seeking to enjoin speech must overcome a heavy
presumption that such relief is unconstitutional. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Garcia v. Google</i> demonstrated yet again that where copyright
infringement claims are concerned, the First Amendment is anything but first in
the eyes of the Ninth Circuit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><u>Links</u>:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Additional information about the case, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Garcia v. Google</i>, Case No. 12-57302, and
filings in the appeal before the Ninth Circuit, are available here: </span><a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/content/view.php?pk_id=0000000725"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/content/view.php?pk_id=0000000725</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">An audio recording of the June 26, 2013 oral
argument before the original panel of the Ninth Circuit is available here: </span><a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/view.php?pk_id=0000011057"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/view.php?pk_id=0000011057</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The Ninth Circuit's YouTube channel can be found
here. </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/9thcirc/videos"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">https://www.youtube.com/user/9thcirc/videos</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span>
</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The California Public Records Act (CPRA) was modeled after the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The common purpose of both laws requires public business to be conducted "under the hard light of full public scrutiny," in order to to permit the public to decide whether government actions are proper. Under both CPRA and FOIA and the Act, "disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective." </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Nevertheless, the California Court of Appeal recently held that, despite the lower expectation of privacy that public officials have - particularly when engaging in communications about public issues - the language of the CPRA does not imposes a duty to produce messages that are stored on personal electronic devices and accounts that are inaccessible to the officials' public agency. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The case was filed against the City of San Jose, its mayor and ten city council members by an individual seeking disclosure of officials' communications concerning a downtown redevelopment project. Under the court's interpretation, city council members may effectively conceal their communications on public issues by sending and receiving them on their private devices from private accounts. The court conceded as much, but held that it is the job of the legislature to fix the problem, not the courts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The case is City of San Jose v. Superior Court, 225 Cal.App.4th 75 (2014).</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-13551196702665431602014-02-11T19:13:00.000-08:002015-11-04T19:32:42.142-08:00Dumb Starbucks Update: When is Infringement Not Infringement?<div style="text-align: justify;">
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A flurry of activity after <a href="http://petermarcusesq.blogspot.com/2014/02/dumb-starbucks-primer-on-parody.html" target="_blank">yesterday's post</a> was written revealed the Dumb Starbucks trademark and copyright infringement story was actually part of an elaborate four-day show to which comedian Nathan Fielder has treated Los Angeles, like the coffee he's been providing to customers, free of charge. Fielder actually received quite a bit in exchange for the complimentary coffee. His high concept publicity stunt has elevated his profile beyond the stratosphere; now he's a star.</div>
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Demonstrating that what appears to be obvious infringement may not necessarily be infringement at all, late Monday, Fielder revealed himself to be the man-behind-the-counter, first in a video released on YouTube, and later in the store parking lot "press conference" in which he answered reporters' questions. Performer Fielder, playing the coveted role of Fielder the coffee house owner, deadpanned for cameras: "many of you probably know me as a comedian but no bit or joke. This is a real business I plan to get rich from." He's probably right, if the "this" he was referring to was his plan to skyrocket as a performer. </div>
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In light of his can't-tell-if-he's-being-serious manner, some have called him the Andy Kaufman of his generation. He could hardly have found greater satisfaction than when, shortly after the "press conference," the Los Angeles Department of Public Health showed up and publicly shut down the business for operating without a health permit (despite Fielder's assertion he was operating an art gallery and that the cups of coffee were individual works of art). </div>
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Last year, Fielder, a business school graduate turned comedian with a taste for marketing, completed his first season on the Comedy Central show <i>Nathan for You</i>. In the show, Fielder plays a character of the same name and offers prank advice to small business owners. But before now he was anything but a household name. All that changed this week when he used his blatant coffee shop trademark and copyright infringement hoax to elevate himself to the front page. His act, coming just weeks after what would have been Andy Kaufman's 65th birthday, has been a tremendous success so far and will culminate Tuesday night with an appearance on the network late night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live." </div>
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When is infringement not infringement? When it turns out it’s a show.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-62017498392403394152014-02-10T19:26:00.001-08:002015-11-04T19:32:42.146-08:00Dumb Starbucks: A Primer on Parody<div class="Normal">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;">[CLICK <b><a href="http://petermarcusesq.blogspot.com/2014/02/dumb-starbucks-update-when-is.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b> FOR UPDATE.] </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Living in Los Angeles, it's sometimes difficult to distinguish reality and fiction. Superheroes walk the streets. Faux moons appear in the hills. Overnight, a neighbor's house is transformed into the set of a major motion picture. Automatic gunfire regularly breaks out downtown, from the set of a detective show on location. So when a coffee house opens its doors down the block that appears to be a blatant example of trademark infringement against a major coffee chain, it's challenging not to remain skeptical. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">This has been the challenge since the "Dumb Starbucks Coffee" opened its doors last Friday in the Los Feliz neighborhood and began serving free coffee on Hillhurst Avenue. People have been wondering whether it is all part of an extravagant joke, an expensive art experiment, or an up close and personal issue-spotting test question for intellectual property law school students. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Dumb Starbucks' sign and logo closely track the green, black and white design of real-life Starbucks, complete with the iconic circular two-tailed mermaid logo, the only difference being the insertion of the word "dumb". Except for that addition, the cups, menus, tables, counter, and compact-disks-for-sale interior all closely resemble the real thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The new cafe immediately struck a chord among local hipsters. Within hours, they lined up around the block and have remained a neighborhood fixture for the last three days. Finding parking in the neighborhood has become next to impossible. This is not to say the coffee is any good. While Starbucks reportedly has not yet complained, customers certainly have. This is Los Feliz, after all, and these people know good coffee and know they have not found it here. Still, a steady stream of patrons flows through the shop, taking selfies on the way in, exiting with white paper cups in one hand, clutching Dumb Starbucks flyers in the other. The flyers attempt to justify the operation based on "parody law" and are titled "Frequently Asked Questions," though it is unclear how frequently any such questions were being asked; the place just opened. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Starbucks, so far silent, owns many copyright and trademark rights in connection with its ubiquitous coffee shops, coffee products, coffee making products, and so on. Just search the term "Starbucks" in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's records and scores of applications and registrations instantly appear. There can be little doubt that Dumb Starbucks' proprietors are aware of this and must expect that lawyers for the Starbucks Corporation will soon be knocking on their doors. According to the flyer, Dumb Starbucks is a "fully functioning coffee shop." But the establishment itself admits it is using the Starbucks "name and logo for marketing purposes" and seems to negate its own parody defense when it confirms it does not actually assert that "Starbucks is dumb." Rather, it continues, "we love Starbucks and look up to them as role models. Unfortunately, the only way to use their intellectual property under fair use is if we are making fun of them. So the 'dumb' comes out of necessity, not emnity." Thus, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">[F]or legal reasons Dumb Starbucks needs to be categorized as a work of parody art. So, in the eyes of the law, our "coffee shop" is actually an art gallery and the "coffee" you’re buying is considered the art. But that’s for our lawyers to worry about. All you need to do is enjoy our delicious coffee! Dumb Starbucks may in the end spend whatever profits it ultimately makes on legal fees. And when that time comes, Starbucks' lawyers may find themselves arguing that Dumb Starbucks own explanation seems to be more a parody of "parody law" and the law of fair use than a message directing comment or criticism specifically at Starbucks – again, assuming this is not all a big hoax. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And perhaps that is the point, perhaps the proprietors just wanted to make people wonder what this place is, and what it all means. Given its stated purpose and strong reliance on parody and the defense of fair uses, it seemed it might be useful to address some of those issues here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>General Intellectual Property Concepts</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Intellectual property commonly is understood to encompass copyright, trademark and patent rights, trade secrets, and related intangible property. Generally speaking, patents protect inventors' ideas by granting exclusive rights to patent owners for limited periods; copyrights protect authors' particular expressions of ideas by granting exclusive rights to the copyright owner, also for limited periods; trademarks protect the public from being confused about the source of goods and services by allowing businesses a perpetual monopoly to use their source identifying marks. These areas often overlap, as they do at Dumb Starbucks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Those accused of infringing intellectual property rights often seek refuge under the doctrine of fair use, a defense to infringement under which, if successful, courts assume the plaintiff owns a valid intellectual property right but that the alleged infringer's conduct is nevertheless permitted because it falls outside the scope of what is protected. However, there are significant differences in its meanings under copyright law, trademark law, and the law of trade dress. And fair use itself is nothing if not ambiguous. Since before the Civil War, courts have readily acknowledged the difficulty of applying fair use standards and have equated them to the “metaphysics of the law.” Predicting the outcome of a case involving the fair use defense is hardly something on which to rely in creating a successful business model, unless the business is intended to generate substantial legal fees. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In short, what Dumb Starbucks calls "parody law" is not a distinct body of law. In trademark law, fair use has been described as one of several factors to be considered in determining whether a particular use will confuse the public about the source of goods and services. Under copyright law, on the other hand, fair use traditionally has been defined more broadly as “a privilege in others than the owner of the copyright to use the copyrighted material in a reasonable manner without his consent.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Fair Use Under Trademark Law</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Under trademark law, a distinction is drawn between "classic fair use" and "nominative fair use." Classic fair use concerns whether the alleged infringer has used someone else's mark to describe its own product or services (which can lead to confusion in the marketplace). For example, if one company registers a trademark and begins using it but another company was already using that mark in a particular region, the senior user is entitled to keep using it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Nominative fair use, on the other hand, concerns whether the alleged infringer has used the other's mark to describe someone else's products for the purpose of, for example, comparing those goods to its own products. There is also a related concept of trademark dilution, which can “whittle away" the value of a trademark by "blurring" away the uniqueness and singularity of a mark or “tarnishing" it with negative associations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Parody generally concerns "classic fair use" and is considered not so much a defense to claims of trademark infringement, rather, it is one of several factors that will be considered in determining whether the public will be confused about source of goods and services. Those factors include (1) the strength of the protected mark; (2) the proximity of the two parties' goods to each other; (3) the similarity of the marks; (4) evidence of actual customer confusion; (5) the marketing channels that are used by each party; (6) the type of goods involved and the degree of care likely to be exercised by purchasers; (7) defendant's intent in selecting the mark allegedly infringing mark – such as whether it was intended as a parody; and (8) likelihood of expansion of the respective product lines. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Further, under trademark law, a “true” parody may be required to be clear enough that there will be a clear distinction in the viewer's mind between the source of an actual product and the source of the parody. But if the purpose of the similarity is to capitalize on a famous mark's popularity for the defendant's own commercial use, the claim of parody will be disregarded.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Dumb Starbucks' flyer explains it is using the Starbucks name and logo for marketing purposes and essentially intends to market its shop based on Starbucks' goodwill. It also explains it has not actually targeted Starbucks with a parodic message and is only "technically" making fun of it in order to "use their intellectual property." While reasonable jurors may disagree, on its face Dumb Starbucks' use does not appear to constitute either classic or nominative fair use. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In addition to trademark infringement, Starbucks might allege a claim for "trade dress" infringement. Trade dress is a concept that extends trademark protection to product packaging and displays, and has specifically been found to protect a restaurant's decor, menu, layout and style of service where imitation is likely to cause consumer confusion. Parody also can qualify as a defense to a claim of trade dress infringement if it demonstrates that its parody simultaneously conveys the internally contradictory messages that it is both the original and not the original but instead is a parody of the original. Without accomplishing that, the risk is that the customer will be confused, in which case the fair use defense cannot apply. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Fair Use Under Copyright Law</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The its fair use defense and parody concept differ under copyright law. If Starbucks were to assert a claim for copyright infringement (for example, based on unauthorized copying of the two-tailed mermaid / siren image in its logo) Dumb Starbucks would face additional hurdles. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In copyright law, fair use is considered an “equitable rule of reason” that requires a careful balancing of several factors in light of the purposes of copyright protection (which is designed to encourage creativity in the first place). It permits courts to avoid rigid application of the copyright law where doing so would stifle just such creativity. In determining fair use, the Copyright Act requires courts to consider and weigh four factors: (1) the purpose and character of the allegedly infringing use; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the importance of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the accused use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. These are not definitive but essentially act as guidelines in balancing the equities that should be considered in the circumstances of a particular case. The outcome in any particular case is anything but certain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Copyright law considers parody a form of social and literary criticism and has a significant "free speech" value under the First Amendment. The heart of a parodist's work may depend on quoting from existing material or using some elements of a prior author's composition to create a new one that, at least in part, comments on the original works. In a parody, the original work is the target, as compared with satire, when the copyrighted work is merely a vehicle to poke fun at a different target. The court has found, for example, that a rhyming summary of highlights from the O.J. Simpson double murder trial that used Dr. Seuss' copyrights and trademarks in a work titled, "The Cat NOT in the Hat! A Parody by Dr. Juice," was not protected under the fair use doctrine, because neither Dr. Seuss nor the Cat in the Hat were the targets of the parody. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Controlling precedent in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (which governs disputes in Los Angeles as well as Seattle, where Starbucks is based) also establishes that, in balancing a parodist's freedom of speech rights with the values underpinning copyright law, courts should apply the “conjure up” test. This requires one who asserts a parody / fair use defense to demonstrate it has used "no more than is necessary to 'recall' or 'conjure up' the object" of the parody. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">While the Dumb Starbucks use of the Starbucks logo appears to directly target Starbucks, it remains to be determined what the actual message is and whether it fairly may be considered parody. Whatever defenses it may raise will be viewed in light of its comments in its flyer, which suggest it has not actually intended to criticize Starbucks at all. Moreover, Dumb Starbucks appears to have used a great deal of real-life Starbucks' works – its sign, logo, menu, shop design, and so on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It also bears noting that it is not necessarily a defense that Dumb Starbucks may be giving away its products for free. While that may make it difficult to prove actual damages, under the Copyright Act, a plaintiff who has timely filed an application for copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office may be entitled to recover "statutory damages" without actually having to prove it suffered actual harm at all, regardless of whether money changed hands. Attorneys' fees also may be recoverable. And, of course, Starbucks may attempt to demonstrate it lost sales</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> – </span>and profits</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> – </span>as a result of the infringement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Parody and the fair use defense apply differently under copyright and trademark law. When the defense is raised by an accused infringer, the results are unpredictable and somewhat subjective, to say the least. Given Dumb Starbucks' admitted desire to trade on Starbucks' name and goodwill, without criticizing it or offering a message that does anything but praise the original company, it may face a difficult challenge in attempting to justify its parody claim under either trademark, trade dress or copyright law. Or maybe this is all part of some extravagant comedy bit. That would seem to make more sense than Dumb Starbucks' claim that it is a "fully functioning coffee shop" offering "delicious coffee.” Discerning customers have been saying otherwise. Ultimately that may present a greater challenge to the coffee shop's long-term survival than any lawsuit. </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-75974407235554382372013-07-03T05:27:00.000-07:002013-07-03T11:38:47.655-07:00The Trademark Wars: Delta Force and Call of Duty Videogame Publishers Engaged In Mortal Combat<div style="text-align: justify;">
As if the ubiquitous videogames-simulating-battlefront-experiences were not enough, a fight to the finish between the elite videogame developers who make them has been playing out on the legal battlefield inside the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The battle is between the makers of the "Delta Force" and "Call of Duty" games and the battle lines lie at the border of trademark protection and the First Amendment. </div>
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In <em>NovoLogic, Inc. v. Activision Blizzard, et al.</em>, the U.S. District Court recently decided that the First Amendment trumps trademark rights in this context. It awarded summary judgment to the makers of "Call of Duty," who the makers of "Delta Force" had accused of trademark infringement. </div>
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In real life, the secretive U.S. unit "1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta" was formed in the 1970s and is popularly known as "Delta Force." It is widely known to be a U.S. Army Special Forces unit, although the U.S. army never has officially recognized its existence. Photographs of Delta Force often appear with members' faces blacked out so as not to reveal their identities. (Although there is a logo Delta Force logo, it is not a logo of any unit officially recognized by the Pentagon.)</div>
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In 1998, videogame developer Novalogic, Inc. developed a military first person shooter game called "Delta Force" and has published at least 10 games under that name in the last 15 years, grossing more than $150 million. In 1999, Novalogic registered the word mark "Delta Force" with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. In 2003, it also registered a related design mark for its logo.</div>
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In 2003, Activision, a gaming competitor, released its first game in a series of an extremely successful "Call of Duty" games. In 2007 Activision released the first in another series, "Call of Duty – Modern Warfare." The 2011 edition, "Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 3," displayed of the words "Delta Force" and a related logo that NovoLogic alleges infringes its trademarks. Within sixteen days of its release, Activision's grossed approximately $1 billion in sales. NovoLogic filed suit for trademark infringement, contributory trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and common law infringement under California law.</div>
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In its defense, Activision asserted that its use of the name "Delta Force-United States Army" and a logo that evokes the U.S. Army logo was permitted and protected under the First Amendment. The court agreed. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzC0RQDwrVGzqNaIRbi-TFVbCstEsiyQz9YhnTMra1pncsyFGqIEhREyJc64iNWjAePjnOeg3utz-canBjwBcnYKPzOKeShTdmWgKHWMZP7m8LokZjFLWNrrlxkrm9zRFcigtFcnRrnvw/s465/Delta+Force+Logos.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" oya="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzC0RQDwrVGzqNaIRbi-TFVbCstEsiyQz9YhnTMra1pncsyFGqIEhREyJc64iNWjAePjnOeg3utz-canBjwBcnYKPzOKeShTdmWgKHWMZP7m8LokZjFLWNrrlxkrm9zRFcigtFcnRrnvw/s320/Delta+Force+Logos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The court explained that, when it comes to reconciling trademark law and an alleged infringer's First Amendment interests the general rules of trademark law are a bit murky on a national level. However, the Ninth Circuit has drawn clearer boundaries. In light of <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/08-1448.pdf" target="_blank">the Supreme Court's 2011 decision recognizing that videogames are entitled to First Amendment Protection</a>, the district court in this case concluded Activision was entitled to rely on the First Amendment as a defense.</div>
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<em>[B]ased on [Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 3]'s compelling narrative and music, distinctive characters, how the players interact with the virtual environment as they complete a series of combat missions, how players can interact with other players, and how players control the fate of the characters and the world that they inhabit, [it] is an expressive work entitled to as much First Amendment protection as any motion picture or any other expressive work.</em></div>
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Notably, the court only addressed the issue only under the First Amendment while ignoring the state free speech rights guaranteed by the California Constitution. <a href="http://petermarcusesq.blogspot.com/2012/12/when-copyright-law-and-freedom-of-press.html" target="_blank">As I have previously written</a>, the state's Constitution affords even greater protections than the First Amendment.</div>
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At any rate, the court held that under the First Amendment, the Ninth Circuit applies a two-part test. The test provides that " 'an artistic work's use of a trademark that would otherwise violate the Lanham Act is not actionable' unless (1) the use of the mark has 'no artistic relevance to the underlying work whatsoever' or (2) it has some artistic relevance, but 'explicitly misleads as to the source or the content of the work.' "</div>
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In this case, the court found the use of the Delta Force name and logo in the Call of Duty games to be artistically relevant and related to the content of the work because they gave users: </div>
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<em>a sense of a particularized reality of being part of an actual elite special forces operation and serve as a means to increase specific realism of the game. Moreover, they help satisfy the ever increasing demand for "authentic simulation" in video games and add immensely to the enjoyment users receive from playing the complicated game, which undoubtably accounts for its enormous success.</em></div>
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The court also found the test's second prong was satisfied because there was no evidence that Activision had made any "explicitly misleading" affirmative statement of Novalogic's sponsorship or endorsement, beyond the mere use of the mark. <br />
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Thus, the court granted summary judgment on all four of NovoLogic's trademark infringement claims. Like the members of the actual Delta Force, the parties' attorneys have been relatively quiet since the court's ruling and have not made public what their next tactical steps will be.</div>
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The case is <em>NovoLogic, Inc. v. Activision Blizzard, et al.</em>, U.S. District Court, C.D. Cal., Case No. CV 12-4011-JFW (SHx). </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-68036078072888097672013-01-23T08:45:00.000-08:002016-08-15T15:43:45.411-07:00Nike Checkmate's Competitor's Attempt To Invalidate Its Air Force 1 Trademark<br />
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Nike makes many lines of shoes, including footwear designed for running, basketball, football, soccer and training. In light of its recent legal maneuvering in a Federal trademark dispute that threatened the viability of its "Air Force 1" trademark, it might be time for Nike to consider add a line of shoes for playing chess.</div>
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Article III of the United States Constitution grants limited authority to the Judicial Branch to adjudicate "cases" and "controversies". The U.S. Supreme Court has explained that, absent an actual such case or controversy, courts have “no business” deciding legal disputes or expounding on the law. A party that invokes the power of a federal court is therefore required to demonstrate it has "standing" to sue. That is, it must establish a “personal injury fairly traceable to the defendant’s allegedly unlawful conduct and likely to be redressed by the requested relief.” And standing must exist not only at the time the complaint is filed but through all stages of the litigation. Nike employed this doctrine to obtain dismissal of a trademark infringement lawsuit it had itself commenced. </div>
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Nike originally filed its trademark infringement suit against Already, LLC, which, under the name Yums, sells a shoe line popularly known as “Sugars” and “Soulja Boys.” Nike alleged that the Soulja Boys line infringed and diluted its Air Force 1 trademark. Already denied the allegations and filed a counterclaim, asserting it was also entitled to a declaration that Nike's Air Force 1 trademark was invalid. Nike responded by employing a strategy with echoes of a classic chess maneuver designed to protect the king: it castled. </div>
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Several months after had Nike filed its complaint, it asked the court to dismiss its claims in a manner that would ultimately end the threat to its Air Force 1 trademark. First, Nike issued a “Covenant Not to Sue,” in which it stated that “Already’s actions... no longer infringe or dilute the NIKE Mark at a level sufficient to warrant the substantial time and expense of continued litigation.” Nike further promised it would not raise any trademark or unfair competition claims against Already or any affiliated entities based on any of Already’s existing footwear designs or any future Already designs that constituted a “colorable imitation” of Already’s current products. </div>
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Following its issuance of this covenant, Nike then moved to dismiss its own claims with prejudice and also asked the court to dismiss Already’s invalidity counterclaim on the ground that the covenant not to sue extinguished the case or controversy between the parties. Already opposed Nike's request to dismiss its counterclaim, arguing that Nike had not established that its voluntary cessation had mooted the case. Already submitted an affidavit in which its president stated that Already had plans to introduce new versions of its shoe lines into the market. It also submitted affidavits from three potential investors who asserted they would not consider investing in Already until Nike’s trademark was invalidated. It also submitted an affidavit from one of its executives, stating that Nike had intimidated retailers into refusing to carry Already’s shoes.</div>
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But the district court granted Nike's request and dismissed Already’s counterclaim. The court explained that because Already was seeking to invoke the court’s declaratory judgment jurisdiction, it continued to bear the burden of demonstrating the court had subject matter jurisdiction over its counterclaim. The court found Already could not meet this burden. The court broadly interpreted Nike's covenant not to sue and concluded that any of Already’s future products that arguably infringed Nike's mark would be considered "colorable imitations” of Already’s current footwear and therefore were protected against future trademark infringement claims Nike might bring. The court found there was no evidence that Already was seeking to develop any shoes that would not be covered by the covenant and concluded there was no longer a substantial controversy between the parties that might allow the court to continue to excercise jurisdiction. Therefore, it dismissed the case.</div>
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Already appealed to the Second Circuit but it was unsuccessful in the Court of Appeals. It then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court also affirmed the dismissal, unanimously. Check mate. </div>
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The Supreme Court's decision, in <em>Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc.</em>, is available <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-982_i425.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-84048560871654670712012-12-26T07:33:00.000-08:002015-11-04T19:37:54.022-08:00When Copyright Law and the Freedom of the Press Collide<div style="text-align: justify;">
An inherent tension exists in the U.S. Constitution between copyright protection and the freedom of the press. Article I, Section 8 authorizes the former and the First Amendment guarantees the later.</div>
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When the right of a free press to disseminate information confronts a copyright owner’s exclusive right to exercise monopoly control over the dissemination of a protected work, courts face difficult choices. For example, do Abraham Zapruder’s 8-millimeter home movie pictures depicting the assassination of President John F. Kennedy constitute information, expression or both? Could a member of Congress invoke copyright law to prevent journalists from disseminating inadvertently tweeted embarrassing photographs? Could modern copyright law be invoked to censor publication of images such as those depicting the My Lai massacre or the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib?</div>
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The California State Bar's Intellectual Property section just published my article on the subject, <i>When Copyright Law and the Freedom of the Press Collide: Does the First Amendment Deserve an Independent Analysis?</i> It is available <a href="http://bcrslaw.com/articles/WhenCopyrightLaw.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-7385661559191211802012-11-07T06:10:00.000-08:002016-05-12T18:26:53.765-07:00Abridge Too Far: Ninth Circuit Upholds City Billboard Ordinance But Strikes Down Yellow Pages Regulation on First Amendment Grounds<div style="text-align: justify;">
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued a pair of First Amendment decisions that have implications for how and when cities can regulate commercial speech. However, in one decision the Court failed to articulate the traditional First Amendment standards or explain how it evaluated the speech regulations under them. </div>
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The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…." In the free speech context, courts analyzing regulations of speech according to a spectrum of values. For example, the closer to the core of First Amendment protection speech is, the greater protection it is afforded. </div>
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To that end, courts have developed the concept of "commercial speech." The core notion of commercial speech is that it "does no more than propose a commercial transaction." While it is afforded a limited measure of First Amendment protection, that protection is less than the protection afforded, for example, to political speech. Courts evaluate content-based restrictions on noncommercial speech under the standard of "strict scrutiny," but analyze similar restrictions on commercial speech under a more lenient level of "intermediate scrutiny."</div>
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Under the strict scrutiny test, a regulation is valid only if it is the least restrictive means available to further a compelling government interest. Under the intermediate scrutiny test, a restriction on speech may be upheld if the speech concerns lawful activity that is not misleading; the restriction serves a substantial governmental interest, and the restriction is no more extensive than is necessary to serve that interest. Finally, When commercial speech and fully protected speech are “inextricably intertwined," courts do not apply different levels of scrutiny because to do so would be "artificial and impractical." Courts therefore are required to treat the entire intertwined speech as fully protected expression. On the other hand, speech that has both with commercial and noncommercial components that are not inextricably intertwined is subject to an intermediate level of scrutiny.</div>
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In its recent rulings, the Ninth Circuit rulings attempted to clarify the line between commercial and non-commercial speech where cities sought to regulate billboards and telephone directories. But they were inconsistent in their approaches and in one decision did not even articulate how the ordinance should be evaluated under the appropriate level of scrutiny.</div>
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<strong><u>The City of Los Angeles' Speech Regulation </u></strong></div>
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In <em><a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/10/15/10-57028.pdf" target="_blank">Charles v. City of Los Angeles</a></em> (Ninth Circuit Case No. 10-57028), the court addressed the city of Los Angeles' regulation of billboards. The city enacted an ordinance requiring a building permit for all temporary signs other than those containing “a political, ideological or other noncommercial message.” Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 14.4.16(A). </div>
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Wayne Charles (Charles) and Fort Self Storage (Fort) sought to install a temporary sign advertising a television program without obtaining the required city permits. They agreed that Fort would lease exterior wall space to Charles for the display of temporary signs bearing “content related to motion pictures, theatrical productions, television and radio programming, music, books, newspapers, paintings, and other works of art.” For its first sign, Charles proposed an image containing the “E! News” television program logo and photographs of the show's hosts, Giuliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest.</div>
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Charles and Fort asserted that their advertisements were exempt from the ordinance’s permit requirement, asserting the sign contained a noncommercial message. The city disagreed and deemed the sign “strictly commercial in nature” and advised that installation of the proposed sign would violate several provisions of the sign ordinance. Charles and Fort filed suit, claiming the city violated their First Amendment rights in classifying their proposed signs as commercial speech, and seeking a declaration that signs of this nature are exempt from the permit requirement. </div>
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The city moved to dismiss the complaint. It argued that the sign constituted commercial speech and the city could regulate it. The district court agreed and entered judgment in favor of the city. The court rejected the argument that the proposed sign enjoyed the same First Amendment protection for noncommercial expression as the advertised news program itself and found the city was entitled to deference in deciding how to categorize such messages. Otherwise, courts would become the "first-line arbiters" of hundreds of thousands of billboards around the nation. </div>
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On appeal, the Ninth Circuit agreed and affirmed the district court's ruling. However, the appellate court disagreed with the district court as to the level of deference that should be afforded city officials because of the essential role the judiciary plays in safeguarding First Amendment guarantees. While deference may be due for a city’s legislative decisions addressing the spread of billboard advertising, which require balancing the interests of traffic safety, revenue and aesthetics, no such deference is due as to city officials’ evaluations as to whether particular speech is commercial speech. Although officials have the authority to make such determinations, district courts reviewing such determinations should not merely defer to the city on such constitutional issues. </div>
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The concern that Federal courts might become the first-line arbiters of billboards to be erected across the country was deemed insufficient; in order to preserve "the precious liberties established and ordained by the Constitution," the Ninth Circuit explained that courts must engage in a de novo review of the city's determination that particular speech is not entitled to full First Amendment protection </div>
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The Ninth Circuit itself reviewed the city's conduct under this standard and determined that the advertisements constituted commercial speech and properly were governed by the sign ordinance. Accordingly, it affirmed the district court's judgment. Notably, the court did not articulate a traditional First Amendment analysis and did not explain how the regulations satisfied the requisite level of scrutiny. This is particularly odd, given that in the City of Seattle case, issued the same day, the court did just that.</div>
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<strong><u>The City of Seattle's' Speech Regulation </u></strong></div>
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In <a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/10/15/11-35399.pdf" target="_blank"><em>Dex v. City of Seattle</em></a> (Ninth Circuit Case No. 11-35399) the Ninth Circuit considered the Seattle's regulation of the distribution of "yellow page" phone directories. Seattle adopted an ordinance requiring yellow pages directory publishers to obtain permits and pay a fee for each directory distributed within the city. It also establishes an opt-out registry to allow residents to decline to receive them and required publishers to advertise the availability of the opt-out registry on the front cover of the directories. Two yellow page companies challenged the ordinance primarily on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment. The district court disagreed and upheld the regulations, granting summary judgment in favor of the city. </div>
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The Ninth Circuit reversed. The court explained that the phone books contained components of both commercial speech and noncommercial speech, thus requiring consideration of “the nature of the speech taken as a whole” in determining which level of First Amendment protection the yellow pages directories should receive. In that context, courts must inquire as to whether the particular speech “does no more than propose a commercial transaction,” taking into account the format, whether there is a reference to a specific product, and the underlying economic motive of the speaker.</div>
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In this case, yellow page phone directories historically were not created to serve merely as a vehicle for the delivery of ads. Rather, they started out as directories of telephone numbers. The commercial elements were added later and today still take up only a limited fraction of the space in the phone book. While publishers depend economically on advertisements to pay for the directories, that was not sufficient to distinguish them from other forms of communications that qualify for full First Amendment protection. Further, affording the directories less protection because commercial content is published alongside noncommercial content would require the court to draw a distinction between the directories and other publications that combine commercial and noncommercial speech, such as newspapers and magazines.</div>
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The Ninth Circuit held the directories were entitled to full First Amendment protection and did not withstand the strict scrutiny test. The court therefore remanded the case and directed that judgment be entered in favor of the publishers.</div>
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The outcome of these cases was hardly surprising. However, in the <em>City of Los Angeles</em> case, while the Ninth Circuit did note its essential role in safeguarding the First Amendment’s guarantees and prohibiting undue deference to public officials in protecting them, it is troubling that the Ninth Circuit upheld the speech restriction without bothering to explain how the ordinance satisfied the appropriate level of scrutiny.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-8562542734135955432012-10-03T06:30:00.000-07:002012-10-03T09:53:45.337-07:00Last Rites for First Sale Doctrine's Protection of Grey Market Goods?On the last Monday in October, <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_calendars/monthlyargumentcalnov2012.pdf" target="_blank">October 29</a>, the U.S. Supreme Court will again take up the "first sale doctrine," which has been repeatedly narrowed recent years with respect to grey market goods. In the current term, the Supreme Court may limit it further, in <em>Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.</em><br />
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In copyright law, the first sale doctrine permits the owner of a lawfully purchased copy of a copyrighted work to resell it regardless of whether the copyright owner consents. It was originally a judicially created doctrine but was later codified in section 109(a) of the Copyright Act. <br />
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Section 109(a) provides, in pertinent part, "the owner of a particular copy ... lawfully made under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession of that copy...." However, section 602(a) of the Copyright Act also prohibits importation of copies of copyrighted works acquired abroad without the authorization of the copyright holder.<br />
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In 1998, the Supreme Court had held the first sale doctrine applied to exported copies of goods manufactured domestically and re-imported "round trip" back into the United States for sale without the copyright owner's permission, in <em>Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research Int'l, Inc.</em> Since then, however, there has been uncertainty in the lower courts as to how to treat foreign-made products and whether they should be considered works that are "lawfully made" under the Copyright Act" in the first place, as required under section 109(a).<br />
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In 2008, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided <em>Omega S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corp.</em> In that case, a Swiss watch manufacturer sued the warehouse club retailer Costco for selling watches in the U.S. that Omega had manufactured abroad and had only authorized their sale outside the United States. (The watches included an engraving of an "Omega Globe Design" that was protected under U.S. copyright law.) <br />
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In its lawsuit, Omega claimed Costco had violated section 602(a). Costco argued its conduct was permitted under the first sale doctrine. The trial court ruled in favor of Costco on a motion for summary judgment. However, the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding the first sale doctrine did not protect Costco because the doctrine does not apply to works manufactured outside of the United States unless they previously have been imported and sold in the United States with the copyright holder's permission. Because the watches were manufactured abroad and did not meet this exception, the court ruled the first sale doctrine did not provide a defense to the section 602(a) violation. An equally divided Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit's opinion. (Justice Kagan recused herself, apparently due to her previous involvement in the case as solicitor general.) <br />
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The case now pending before the Supreme Court, and set for oral argument later this month, is an appeal of a 2011 Second Circuit ruling in <em>John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Supap Kirtsaeng</em>. In the late 1990s, Supap Kirtsaeng moved from Thailand to the United States to attend Cornell University to pursue an undergraduate degree in mathematics. He later moved to California to pursue a doctoral degree. To help fund his education, he arranged for his family and friends abroad to ship him foreign editions of textbooks. He then resold them online in the United States. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., an international publisher, filed suit. <br />
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Among other things, Wiley alleged that Kirtsaeng's conduct violated section 602(a)of the Copyright Act. Kirtsaeng argued his conduct was authorized under the first sale doctrine. However, the Second Circuit disagreed. The court acknowledged the tension between sections 109(a) and 602(a)(1) but held that the first sale doctrine only applies to copyrighted copies of works manufactured domestically. The Second Circuit declined to recognize the Ninth Circuit's exception in <em>Omega</em>, by which the first sale doctrine could apply to foreign manufactured goods as long as they previously were imported and sold in the United States with the copyright holder's permission. <br />
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The Supreme Court is expected to address the disagreement between the Second and Ninth Circuits on this issue, and may further narrow the scope of the first sale doctrine's protection with respect to gray market goods, when it issues its decision in <em>Kirtsaeng.</em> The Supreme Court's ruling is expected by next Spring.<br />
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The Supreme Court's opinion in <em>Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research Int'l, Inc.</em> is available <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11630239533508029010" target="_blank">here</a>. The Second Circuit's opinion in <em>John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Supap Kirtsaeng</em> is available <a href="http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/7fef055b-e817-41dc-bf5a-5b52da8c8599/3/doc/09-4896_complete_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/7fef055b-e817-41dc-bf5a-5b52da8c8599/3/hilite/" target="_blank">here</a>. Ninth Circuit's opinion in <em>Omega S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corp.</em> is available <a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2008/09/03/0755368.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-88343865031644999432012-06-22T17:45:00.000-07:002016-08-15T15:43:45.421-07:00Copyright Office Strikes Pose Against Yoga, Announces It Will No Longer Register Arrangements of Asanas<div style="text-align: justify;">
The U.S. Copyright Office announced today it will stop issuing copyright registrations for compilations of exercises or the selection and arrangement of yoga poses. </div>
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The announcement came in a policy statement clarifying the Copyright Office's practices relating to its examination of claims in compilations - - particularly with respect to claims of copyrightable authorship in the selection and arrangement of "uncopyrightable matter." It also clarified its policies for registration of choreographic works.</div>
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Historically the Copyright Office has accepted registration claims based on the "selection, coordination, or arrangement" of uncopyrightable elements, because the Copyright Act specifically states that copyrightable authorship includes compilations pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 103. Viewed in a vacuum, the Copyright Office explained that one might conclude that any organization of preexisting material may be copyrightable. </div>
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An unanswered question under copyright law has been whether the selection, coordination, or arrangement of preexisting materials must relate to the categories of copyrightable subject matter. Today's policy statement today answered that question, at least for the Copyright Office; the answer was yes. </div>
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Because yoga and other forms of exercise are not copyrightable (they are not included among the categories of copyrightable subject matter under § 102 of the Copyright Act), compilations of those poses are not copyrightable either. (However, books, drawings and photographs of them would nevertheless be protectable because they qualify, for example, as visual and literary works - - that is, works that are copyrightable.)</div>
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The Copyright Office also explained that although choreography is copyrightable, simple dance routines generally are not. "[T]he selection, coordination or arrangement of dance steps does not transform a compilation of dance steps into a choreographic work unless the resulting work amounts to an integrated and coherent compositional whole." And Copyright Office policy holds that "a selection, coordination, or arrangement of functional physical movements such as sports movements, exercises, and other ordinary motor activities alone do not represent the type of authorship intended to be protected… as a choreographic work." </div>
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However, the landscape is vast between, for example, a series of push-ups, sit-ups and jumping jacks compared with other forms of exercise whose arrangement may not be purely functional, and may actually result in an integrated work and "coherent compositional whole." A prominent Pilates teacher, studio owner and former ballet dancer Zoë Hagler Marcus, reached for comment at <a href="http://zoepilates.com/" target="_blank">studio</a> in Pasadena California, noted that "drawing the line between choreography and a series of exercises may be difficult to define." </div>
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In any event, today's policy statement promises to be a major development in the exercise community. Yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais, Zumba, QiGong & Karate studio owners and others who believe they have arranged original compilations of exercises will now face new hurdles in fending off the competition. Much like the mass dilution that flowed from the loss of the Pilates trademark a decade ago, today's announcement marks a new challenge in the effort to prevent unauthorized copying and unfair competition in the exercise world. One example: a copyright registration is ordinarily a prerequisite to filing a copyright infringement lawsuit in Federal court. </div>
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A copy of the Copyright Office's announcement can be found <a href="http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-15235_PI.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-72859016273356696712012-05-16T20:30:00.000-07:002012-06-22T17:46:23.709-07:00Small Claims System For IP Disputes May Be On The Horizon: Copyright and Trademark Offices Sponsor Discussion<br />
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The U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and recently hosted a roundtable to discuss the potential for creating a more affordable small claims system that would avoid pricing out small publishers and rights owners wishing to protect their intellectual property rights. The discussion, which was conducted at George Washington University Law School, included several prominent intellectual property experts.<br />
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David Kappos, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, explained that small rights holders have long believed that litigation in Federal courts is not a viable option due to the significant expenses involved and that small rights holders are priced out of the market. He described the need to protect content creators and to provide a model for other countries around the world. U.S. Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante explained that small presses and small rights holders are also priorities at the Copyright Office and that their experiences with Google Books - - the Google Inc. service that searches full text of scanned books and magazines in its digital database - - and resulting disputes and tensions between Google and copyright owners was instructive. </div>
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The discussions focused on copyright and patent rights and breakout sessions were conducted in each of those areas. Pallante noted that the Copyright Office is conducting a study related to the issues, which is expected to be submitted to Congress next Fall. The USPTO promises to continue to work on these issues with the Copyright Office and Kappos has invited people interested in the issue to post comments <a href="http://www.uspto.gov/blog/director/entry/uspto_co_sponsors_ip_small">here</a>. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-6634178553069036922012-05-07T17:33:00.000-07:002012-05-07T17:33:09.720-07:00Jury Renders Mixed Verdict in Oracle-Google Copyright Infringement Lawsuit<div style="text-align: justify;">
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That silent battle being waged behind the screen on that device on your nightstand grew louder today as a Federal jury sitting in San Francisco issued a split verdict in favor of Oracle Corp and against Google in a major copyright infringement lawsuit. The jury found Google liable for copyright infringement in connection with its use of Oracle's Java interfaces in Google's development of the Android operating system. However, the jury found that Google did not violate significant elements of the Java software. </div>
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The Android operating system is a Linux-based operating system used in tablet computers and smart phones. Java is a computer programming language that was originally developed at Sun Microsystems, which later merged into Oracle. Java's website describes its platform as being so ubiquitous that it is what "allows you to play online games, chat with people around the world, calculate your mortgage interest, and view images in 3D, just to name a few. It's also integral to the intranet applications and other e-business solutions that are the foundation of corporate computing." </div>
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The verdict <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/technology/google-violated-oracle-patent-jury-decides.html?hp">reportedly</a> included a finding that Google infringed Oracle's copyrights in connection with the overall structure of the Java software. But, according to The New York Times, the Jury's verdict means that Google will not have to redesign the Android operating system. Reports also reveal <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304451104577390262489080148.html?ru=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs">the jury could not decide</a> whether the fair-use doctrine applied to permit Google a limited use of the subject materials, and that it appears <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/summary-box-oracles-hopes-for-major-damages-in-google-copyright-case-dim-after-jury-impasse/2012/05/07/gIQAnGy08T_story.html">unlikely</a> that Oracle will be awarded the $1 billion in damages that it was seeking.</div>
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But don't expect that hitting the snooze button on your device of choice will quite things down for long; this phase of the case concerned Oracle's copyright claims. Further litigation, including a patent infringement phase, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404088,00.asp">has already begun</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-72395196420217635942012-01-17T12:07:00.000-08:002013-07-03T11:07:51.972-07:00The Great Blackout of 2012: Websites to Protest Online Piracy Act<div style="text-align: justify;">
As prominent websites such as Wikipedia, Reddit, Boing Boing, and thousands of others prepare to participate in a global web blackout to protest the terms of pending intellectual property legislation called the Stop Online Piracy Act ("SOPA"), there are growing reports that the legislation already may have been shelved. </div>
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As detailed in <a href="http://petermarcusesq.blogspot.com/2011/11/hollywood-vs-tech-online-piracy.html">my November post</a>, SOPA and two other similar bills making their way through Congress - - the <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">PROTECT IP Act and the Online Protection and Digital ENforcement Act ("OPEN") - - </span>have drawn Hollywood and the tech community to opposite sides of the IP battlefield. Proponents of the proposed new law argue it is necessary to protect against piracy and copyright infringement by offshore "rogue sites." However, many have opposed the bill because proposed to penalize innovators, not only infringers, and will punish inventors in a manner that violates the First Amendment. </div>
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Many law professors, tech companies, free speech advocates and political figures have taken issue with the legislation which, among other things, permits the U.S. attorney general to obtain court order against targeted website that would result in Internet service providers having to take the accused sites offline. For example, section 102 of SOPA provides that, once a service provider is served with such an order, the service provider must take "technically feasible and reasonable measures designed to prevent access by its subscribers located within the United States to the foreign infringing site (or portion thereof)" within five days after being served with a copy of the order. Critics point to that provision as constituting a draconian measure that will chill speech and allow websites to be shuttered before charges are ever proven in court, and even if they are only tangentially involved in the accused conduct.</div>
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On Monday, Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder, announced on Twitter that Wikipedia would join the blackout protest, in which participating websites plan to go dark for 24 hours on Wednesday, January 18, 2012. Google has announced it will participate in the protest, but without shutting off its services. And President Obama joined the fray over the weekend, opposing the current version of SOPA, OPEN and the <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">PROTECT IP Act</span>. While recognizing that online piracy harms the U.S. economy, threatens jobs and hurts certain innovative companies and entrepreneurs," the White House announced, "[a]ny effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small."</div>
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Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced that he had received assurances from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor that the anti-piracy legislation would not move to the House floor without a consensus. He also postponed his committee's hearing on the impact of Domain Name Service ("DNS") and search engine blocking on the Internet, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, the day of the blackout protest.</div>
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Watch this space for further developments, although not necessarily on Wednesday.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-69703515847675713332012-01-04T07:55:00.000-08:002016-08-15T15:43:45.413-07:00Wimps And Super Robots Unite To Defend Popular Culture<div style="text-align: justify;">
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The nation's popular culture is under attack, at least according to lawyers enforcing the <em>Transformers</em> and <em>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</em> trademarks in a pair of lawsuits filed on opposite ends of the country at the end of the year. According to Hasbro, Inc., its <em>Transformers</em> brand is recognized in "many facets of the country's popular culture" and The New York Times has described one of its leading characters, Optimus Prime, as the "toughest robot in the nerd universe." Greg Heffley is an indisputable member of the nerd universe, as the middle-school-aged hero of the <em>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</em> books. According to Wimpy Kid, Inc., he had his "status as cultural icon" confirmed when a licensed balloon in his likeness was flown in New York's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In late December, both companies filed suit against companies they believe are damaging their iconic brands and putting consumers at risk of confusion in the marketplace.</div>
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Hasbro filed suit in California Federal court against a Taiwanese laptop and computer-related products maker, alleging that Asus Computer International and ASUSTeK Computer are threatening the <em>Transformers</em> brand. Hasbro asserts that its <em>Transformers</em> and <em>Transformers Prime</em> marks - - which relate to toy robots that convert into various vehicles and a television series that was developed based on a character named Optimus Prime - - are being infringed by Asus' "Transformer" laptop and its "Eee Pad Transformer" and "Transformer Prime" computer products, and that Asus has diluted its trademarks, engaged in unfair competition and violated various provisions of California state law. </div>
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But Asus fired back: not so fast. In court filings it has asserted that, while Hasbro has sought federal registration of the <em>Transformers Prime</em> mark, the application has not yet been granted. It also pointed out that both of the Hasbro marks were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in international class 28, for “toy action figures, toy vehicles and toy robots convertible into other visual forms…” which are not what it sells. Asus asserts that consumers paying $400-500 for high-end tablet computers from ASUS will not be confused that they are buying Hasbro licensed toys. So far, the Court has sided with Asus in denying Hasbro's request for expedited discovery but it has not yet weighed in on the merits.</div>
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Meanwhile, Wimpy Kid, Inc., owned by <em>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</em> author Jeff Kinney, filed suit against the Texas company Antarctic Press, Inc., in Federal court in Massachusetts, for publishing, advertising, and distributing books entitled “Diary of a Zombie Kid.” The complaint alleges that Antarctic committed trademark and trade dress infringement, trademark dilution, false designation of origin, copyright infringement, and various violations of Massachusetts state law. So far, the Wimpy Kid publisher appears to be keeping the Zombie Kid's publisher at bay and Antarctic has agreed to be enjoined from publishing or further distributing its Zombie Kid books. Of course, if popular culture teaches anything, it is that one should never count a zombie out of the fight. The restraining order is only temporary and expires in early February. Antactcic may reanimate the battle at any moment.</div>
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The cases are, respectively, <em>Hasbro Inc. v. Asus Computer International, et al.</em>, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Case No. 11-10437 (2011); and <em>Wimpy Kid, Inc. v. Antarctic Press, Inc.</em>, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, Case No. 11-12265 (2011).</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-24435812463079476852011-12-16T06:47:00.000-08:002011-12-16T06:47:00.126-08:00Samsung Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Court Denies Apple's Request For Injunction<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcdrSSxglRE7jLHF3T5sHeFgnQFTRrhxzSuDHCqQ1VAqx5AEU-p0-BCdVKNtG1NzMzt8HN6I9ddAagqYNyZJyMfpB6J6-epKNPijH7dQs43GC8gxxgNI6fxCbUhxr1fqvy3p3_iwBAqA/s1600/iPhone+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcdrSSxglRE7jLHF3T5sHeFgnQFTRrhxzSuDHCqQ1VAqx5AEU-p0-BCdVKNtG1NzMzt8HN6I9ddAagqYNyZJyMfpB6J6-epKNPijH7dQs43GC8gxxgNI6fxCbUhxr1fqvy3p3_iwBAqA/s200/iPhone+4.jpg" width="103" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple's iPhone 4</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQ7yxNgyam7BnhvyS4cEXBI1HUhQJF6TENVCcBZdJDFWlw2_5qzvwJeKC3bMxoOrxTNrYlmGaCf_Qwn98OtmRCDKciyoWBXjwBcE8yiRvYmn9zFbD8HYeTKDFORuV4BRL-Oi_Z0X5684/s1600/Infuse+4G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQ7yxNgyam7BnhvyS4cEXBI1HUhQJF6TENVCcBZdJDFWlw2_5qzvwJeKC3bMxoOrxTNrYlmGaCf_Qwn98OtmRCDKciyoWBXjwBcE8yiRvYmn9zFbD8HYeTKDFORuV4BRL-Oi_Z0X5684/s200/Infuse+4G.jpg" width="110" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samsung's Infuse 4G</td></tr>
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'Tis the season to attempt to enjoin one's competitors from offering their products in the U.S. market. Several years ago it was the Razor scooter company that sought injunctions against 13 competitors selling scooter products in the busy holiday shopping season. This year, Apple and Samsung are in the mix as they vie for position in the cell phone and tablet market. However, unlike Razor, which obtained more than a dozen injunctions during the holiday shopping season in 2000, this year Apple's effort was not so successful.</div>
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In April, Apple, Inc. filed a Federal lawsuit in California against the Korean electronics company Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and its U.S. affiliates, asserting claims of trademark infringement, patent infringement and related claims and alleging that Samsung "slavishly copied" its iPad and iPod Touch designs, including Apple's technology, distinctive user interfaces and distinctive product and packaging design, in Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and its Galaxy Tab computer tablet. </div>
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Apple subsequently filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. Earlier this month, District Judge Lucy Koh denied the motion. In a 65-page order, the Court ruled that Apple is not entitled to enjoin Samsung from offering such products as its Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G and Tablet 10.1 before there is a full trial on the merits. </div>
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The Court found the Samsung Galaxy S 4G phone has an overall design that an ordinary observer would likely find substantially the same as one Apple design patent, and that the Infuse 4 phone likely infringes another. The Court was not persuaded by Samsung's arguments that various Apple design patents are invalid based on the functionality doctrine. Under the functionality doctrine, an article of manufacture is functional, and hence not protectable by a design patent, if the appearance of the product's design is dictated by its use or purpose. Apple established that it had considered and discarded alternative designs and convinced the court that alternative designs were available, with different characteristics that were neither more nor less utilitarian than the design of Apple's products, thus weakening the argument that the products' designs were functional. However, Apple failed to establish that it would suffer irreparable harm, so it was not entitled to an injunction. </div>
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As for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, while the Court also found Apple was likely to establish at trial that Samsung's tablet is substantially similar to Apple's patent. For this product, it made a much stronger case that it would suffer irreparable harm. But Apple had not established it was likely to succeed on the merits at trial because it was not likely to overcome Samsung's defense that there was significant prior art that could invalidate the patent at issue. Based on the strength of prior art presented by Samsung Apple, the Court denied the injunction as to the Samsung tablet. </div>
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In short, the Court declined to issue an injunction for any of the Samsung products at issue. Given its one-sided victory (at least in this particular battle), one suspects that Samsung would have been tempted to immediately strike the harp and join the chorus. However, almost as soon as the Court denied Apple's request for an injunction, Judge Koh's staff realized that an unredacted version of the Court's order had been posted online. Judge Koh had not intended to include certain sensitive and confidential information that the parties had disclosed in the case, but inadvertently neglected to black-out certain portions of the order. Reuters obtained the unredacted copy before the error was corrected by the Court. According to Reuters, an "internal company analysis concerning the smartphone market," and "details concerning Apple's patent licensing relationships with other tech companies" were briefly made available to the general public. Which side was more affected by the inadvertent disclosure is anybody's guess; the parties have declined to comment. </div>
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But Samsung's victory is no secret. One can practically envision Samsung executives caroling in the hallways now that the company appears positioned to disrupt iPad and iPhone sales and Apple's holiday profits. </div>
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Fa la la la la, la la la la....<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-8485792964827213852011-12-14T21:41:00.000-08:002011-12-14T21:41:00.778-08:00Order Compelling Disclosure of Trade Secrets Vacated By Appellate Court<div style="text-align: justify;">
A California appellate court has taken the unusual step of issuing a peremptory writ of mandate, directing a lower court to vacate a discovery order that had compelled a party in civil litigation to disclose its trade secrets to its opponent. </div>
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In 2007, Sybase, Inc. (Sybase) and ANTs Software Inc. (ANTs) signed a nondisclosure agreement to facilitate their negotiations for a new product that was code named “Pegasus.” In 2008, the parties entered into a licensing agreement with ANTs for ANTs Data Server (ADS) software with respect to Pegasus. Sybase is a data management software developer, and Pegasus was to be a product for Sybase's flagship database product, ASE. Following their negotiations, in 2008, they entered into the license agreement. Sybase would later sue ANTs alleging violations of the licensing and nondisclosure agreements. </div>
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Sybase's complaint alleges that, at the time ANTs was negotiating with Sybase, its vice-president was also negotiating with Sybase's competitor, Four J’s Development Tools, Inc. (Four J’s), for the sale of ADS, and passed confidential information about the negotiation with Sybase to Four J's. During their negotiations, an ANT vice president who participated in the negotiations went to work for Four J's, and a week after Sybase and ANTs signed the license agreement, ANTs emailed Four J's a copy of the agreement, which disclosed the names of four key ANTs employees that Sybase was supposed to hire. ANTs and Four J’s then entered into an asset purchase agreement for ADS, but ANTs did not assign the license agreement to Four J’s. Four J’s then solicited two of the key employees, who resigned from Sybase and began working for Four J’s.</div>
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Sybase sued ANTs, asserting several causes of action in connection with for alleged violations of this licensing agreement and a related nondisclosure agreement. Its allegations included that ANTs’ source code was defective when it was delivered and that it could not be successfully integrated into Sybase’s source code, in violation of the agreement.</div>
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During discovery, ANTs requested documents from Sybase including "all source code for" a related product. Sybase objected. In the ensuing discovery dispute, Sybase added its source code to a log of materials it asserted were privileged against disclosure because, it contended, it was Sybase's trade secret. ANT conceded the source code met the test for a trade secret, but maintained it nevertheless was entitled to obtain it because it was necessary to defend against Sybase's claims. Sybase countered that there were "other, better ways" for ANTS to obtain the information it asserted was necessary. </div>
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Because Sybase was claiming that ANTs’ source code was defective and could not successfully be integrated into Sybase’s source code, the trial court agreed that Sybase's source code and related documents were directly relevant to ANTs’s defense and that ANTs would be unfairly disadvantaged in defending the case without its disclosure. The lower court therefore ordered Sybase to disclose its source code and other materials. Sybase promptly filed a writ with the appellate court.</div>
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California Evidence Code § 1060 provides that the owner of a trade secret has a privilege to refuse to disclose a secret if maintaining the privilege "will not tend to conceal fraud or otherwise work injustice." The lower court found that ANTs made the appropriate showing required for ordering the disclosure of trade secrets as required under the case <em>Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. v. Superior Court</em> (1992) 7 Cal.App.4th 1384 (<em>Bridgestone</em>). However, the Court of Appeal disagreed: </div>
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<em>Bridgestone</em> sets forth the standard for determining whether a trade secret must be disclosed in litigation: Once a party claiming the trade secret privilege has shown that it applies, the party seeking discovery must make “a prima facie, particularized showing that the information sought is relevant and necessary to the proof of, or defense against, a material element of one or more causes of action presented in the case, and that it is reasonable to conclude that the information sought is essential to a fair resolution of the lawsuit. It is then up to the holder of the privilege to demonstrate any claimed disadvantages of a protective order. Either party may propose or oppose less intrusive alternatives to disclosure of the trade secret, but the burden is upon the trade secret claimant to demonstrate that an alternative to disclosure will not be unduly burdensome to the opposing side and that it will maintain the same fair balance in the litigation that would have been achieved by disclosure.</div>
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The appellate court held that ANT had failed to show the actual source code was necessary to its defense and a fair resolution of the proceedings because other avenues appeared to be available for obtaining the relevant information short of requiring disclosure of the actual code, for example, by taking the deposition of relevant individuals. The court also found that the certain of ANTs' arguments were not supported by the evidence, and refused to consider other arguments that had not been raised with the trial court. However, given that additional documents had been ordered disclosed discovery on the issue was not yet complete, the Court of Appeal left the door open and explained that, if additional evidence is discovered by which the <em>Bridgestone</em> standard may be satisfied, ANTs could renew its motion.</div>
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The case, <em>Sybase v. Superior Court</em>, Case No. A132541 (2011), is available <a href="http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/A132541.PDF">here</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-40816328669750852862011-11-18T15:53:00.000-08:002011-11-18T15:53:00.697-08:00Anti-Circumvention Rulemaking - Comment While You Can<div style="text-align: justify;">
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The U.S. Copyright Office is conducting rulemaking proceedings related to the anti-circumvention provisions of the Copyright Act in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If you represent copyright owners, educational institutions, libraries, archives, scholars, researchers and members of the public, the time to submit your proposal is now. (Comments are due on December 1, 2011, by 5:00 pm.) </div>
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The DMCA permits the Librarian of Congress to designate certain classes of works as exempt from the anti-circumvention measures where circumvention is directed at certain noninfringing uses. To that end, the Copyright Office is attempting to determine whether the anti-circumvention provisions are likely to affect users' abilities to make noninfringing uses of particular categories of works.</div>
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As part of its rulemaking process, the Copyright Office is soliciting written proposals to designate particular classes of works. The submission form can be found <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/1201/comment-forms/comment-submission.html">here</a>. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-59116505728641615872011-11-16T06:22:00.000-08:002014-02-12T09:59:18.568-08:00Hollywood vs. Tech – Online Piracy Legislation Divides IP Community<div style="text-align: justify;">
Congress is considering legislation that is dividing the intellectual property community, pitting Hollywood against tech. The Senate's version of the proposed new law is <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s968rs/pdf/BILLS-112s968rs.pdf">S.968</a>, Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011, or "PROTECT-IP". In the House, the bill is <a href="http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=112_cong_bills&docid=f:h3261ih.txt.pdf">HR 3261</a>, the Stop Online Piracy Act, or "SOPA".</div>
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the MPAA, the RIAA, the Screen Actors Guild, and several other film, music and other entertainment groups support the legislation, which is described as an measure that will help prevent online threats to economic creativity and theft of intellectual property. However, several tech, education, consumer protection groups and privacy advocates are vehemently opposed to the bill, including Google, Yahoo, Facebook, the Electronic Frontier Foundation ("EFF"), Public Knowledge and others. EFF describes the bill as "<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/10/disastrous-ip-legislation-back-%E2%80%93-and-it%E2%80%99s-worse-ever">the worst piece of IP legislation we’ve seen in the last decade</a>" and Public Knowledge describes it, when combined with the anti-circumvention provisions of the Copyright Act, as "<a href="http://www.publicknowledge.org/blog/sopa-and-section-1201-frightening-combination">a frightening combination</a>."</div>
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<a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111104/18252816642/riaa-explains-its-interpretation-sopa-which-doesnt-seem-to-be-found-bill-itself.shtml">According to the RIAA</a> the law is needed, constitutes a necessary step in the evolution of IP enforcement provisions as digitization and high speed Internet access has increased, and permits the Justice Department to seize criminal websites engaged in criminal activity. On the other hand, some critics say the proposed legislation would require payment processers and advertising services to sever ties with Internet websites alleged to be violating intellectual property rights -- before the allegations are ever proven in court -- and the allegations do not even need to concern actual circumvention if intellectual property protections. That is, if passed, the new law would expand the scope of conduct to ensnare not only people who may aid circumvention by others, but also people who "possibly aid people who possibly aid circumvention." </div>
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SOPA, the House bill, was introduced in late October and the House Judiciary Committee is conducting a <a href="http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_11162011.html">hearing</a> on it this morning.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-29561180036033477662011-07-24T20:40:00.000-07:002011-07-28T22:39:17.364-07:00IP Flapper Flap: The Rights to Betty Boop Rise Again.<div style="text-align: justify;">
In September, 1966, a singer named Helen Kane died in her apartment in Queens, NY. She began her career with the Marx Brothers and her greatest hits included "I Wanna Be Loved By You" and "Button Up Your Overcoat." At the height of her career in the 1920s and 30s she was known as the "boop-boop-a-doop" girl. In her obituary, the New York Times described her as having "converted a babyish singing voice into a fortune and lost the fortune in a dress firm bankruptcy."</div>
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In 1932, Ms. Kane filed a lawsuit against Max Fleischer, the creator of the character "Betty Boop," as well as Fleischer Stutios Inc. and Paramount-Publix Corporation. Kane described herself as an actress "who uses in her speech and songs an exaggerated lisp and a childish voice and manner." In her lawsuit, Kane alleged that Betty Boop was a caricature of her, sought an injunction prohibiting the defendants from exhibiting Betty Boop cartoons, and requested $250,000 in damages. </div>
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The case went to trial in 1934 and included a day of screening Ms. Kane's film, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5IYjj__4T8">Dangerous Nan McGrew</a>" and various Betty Boop cartoons. However, after three weeks, Justice Edward J. McGoldrick dismissed the complaint based on Kane's failure to prove the causes of action based on the alleged misappropriation of her style of singing and acting. The case was affirmed on appeal. <em>Kane v. Fleischer</em>, 248 A.D. 554, 288 N.Y.S. 1046 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept., 1936).</div>
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Nearly eighty years later, Fleischer Studios is now in court fighting over its own alleged rights to Betty Boop. Last winter, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court's grant of summary judgment, which had held that Fleischer did not own a valid copyright or trademark in the Betty Boop cartoon character. </div>
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The dispute in that case concerned a group of defendants that license Betty Boop merchandise, some of which are based on vintage movie posters. The defendants challenged Fleischer Studios assertion that it owned the subject trademark rights and copyright rights or that they were infringing them. Among other things, the district court held that - although Fleischer Studios proved it owned the registered word mark, "Betty Boop" and had used the mark on merchandise mark - there was no evidence that any of the defendants’ uses of poster artwork represented a use of Plaintiff’s word mark in commerce.</div>
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The case set off alarm bells in the intellectual property community, not for this evidentiary issue, but over concerns about the manner in which the Ninth Circuit analyzed the issues involving trademark protection for copyrightable images, the trademark concept of "asethetic functionality" and issues of waiver that the court addressed in dismissing a chain of title argument. </div>
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Under the court's trademark functionality analysis, it found that Fleischer Studios had been using Betty Boop as a functional product and not as a trademark. The "aesthetic functionality" concept concerns whether purely aesthetic and ornamental features of a product may be functional because of a perceived competitive need to copy the ornamental features. The doctrine has been widely criticized, rejected by some courts, and many commentators and trademark holders are seeking to narrow or eliminate its applicability altogether. The Court also noted in dicta that a copyrighted work that falls into the public domain cannot thereafter be protected as a trademark. This raised eyebrows in some circles, particularly those who have interests in copyrighted characters that are also protected by trademark law. </div>
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Many have been pleading with the court to rehear the case and entities no less than Tarzan's <a href="http://www.tarzan.org/">Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.</a>, <a href="http://www.capsinfo.com/content.cfm?capsnav=mlb">Major League Baseball Properties, Inc.</a>, <a href="http://www.capsinfo.com/content.cfm?capsnav=nba">NBA Properties, Inc.</a>, <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26386">NHL Enterprises, L.P.</a>, <a href="http://www.clc.com/">Collegiate Licensing Company</a>, the <a href="http://www.inta.org/Pages/Home.aspx">International Trademark Association</a>, and the <a href="http://www.mpaa.org/">Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.</a> have gone on the record, filing <em>amicus</em> briefs with the court.</div>
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Two weeks ago the court ordered the parties to further brief issues concerning the legal bases for the district court's statement that the defendants' use of poster artwork does not represent a use in commerce of Fleischer's trademark for the word mark "Betty Boop," which the court noted could be relevant to resolving the appeal. The briefs are expected this week. </div>
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Unfortunately for Helen Kane's ghost, the word <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/13337930/Swatch-Parallel-Importation-Case">"irony" is a registered trademark</a>. But perhaps she's up there somewhere smiling anyway.</div>
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Watch this space for further developments. </div>
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The Ninth Circuit's opinion in <em>Fleischer Studios, Inc., v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc. et al.</em>, Case No. 09-56317 (9th Circuit, February 23, 2011) is available <a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/02/23/09-56317.pdf">here</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-77186958215349437202011-06-16T23:31:00.000-07:002011-06-16T23:31:00.417-07:00Trademark Bullying Report Released<div style="text-align: justify;">
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In March, 2010, President Obama signed the Trademark Technical and Conforming Amendment Act of 2010 into law as Public Law 111-146. One of its requirements obligated the Department of Commerce to study "the extent to which small businesses may be harmed by abusive trademark enforcement tactics," that is, trademark bullying. As <a href="http://petermarcusesq.blogspot.com/2010/11/us-patent-trademark-office-seeks.html">reported in this space last Fall</a>, as part of the process, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") invited stakeholders from the IP community to provide comments on the issue. The study has since been completed and the final Report has now been released. </div>
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The 28 page Report p<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">rovides a basic primer on trademarks and discusses various strategies and tactics that are used by trademark owners and others that can be employed by accused infringers to deter unwarranted bullying. In the end, however, it </span>essentially finds that even after a careful review of available information, it still remains "unclear whether small businesses are disproportionately harmed by enforcement tactics that are based on an unreasonable interpretation of the scope of an owner’s rights." Only 79 interested parties provided comments and only a few of them "explicitly addressed whether and to what extent unreasonable enforcement of trademark rights is a significant problem." Moreover, it recognized that </div>
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A trademark owner must walk a fine line between being too zealous in enforcing its rights and not being zealous enough... [and that] when it comes to the reasonableness of enforcement efforts, what is considered reasonable will usually depend on which side of the action an entity sits. While those on the receiving end of enforcement actions may view them as coercive or an unjustifiable exercise of the mark owner’s rights, the mark owner typically views these actions as legitimate and necessary to protect its rights. </div>
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It did point out that only approximately 1.5% of all trademark cases actually reach trial and that a majority of trademark disputes are disposed of before a case even reaches the pretrial phase, and thus commented that abusive litigation tactics do not appear to constitute a "significant problem." On the other hand, this may indicate that unreasonable or unwarranted tactics may be a greater problem before the dispute reaches the level of litigation. However, the Report recognized that there are a myriad of additional reasons why certain information may be unavailable. Access to reliable information about that aspect of the problem is more limited given that most of those efforts are not made public. Nor are there reliable statistics about the number of cease and desist letters that are being sent by trademark owners.</div>
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The Report concludes that:</div>
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Ultimately, because trademark enforcement is a private property rights litigation issue, if abusive tactics are a problem, such tactics may best be addressed by the existing safeguards in the litigation system and by private sector outreach, support and education relating to these issues. </blockquote>
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Still, given the limited information available, the Department of Commerce agreed to take some steps to help protect small business owners in light of the potential problem. The Report acknowledges that small business owners may be disproportionately impacted by trademark bullying and that they are more likely to lack the ability to fund litigation or hire counsel to defend them. Thus, the Department of Commerce, in consultation with the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, has agreed to undertake the following steps: </div>
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Engage the private sector about providing free or low-cost legal advice to small businesses via pro bono programs and IPR clinics; </div>
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Engage the private sector about offering continuing legal education programs focused on trademark policing measures and tactics; and </div>
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Enhance Federal agency educational outreach programs by identifying resources that enable small businesses to further their understanding of trademark rights, enforcement measures, and available resources for protecting and enforcing trademarks. </div>
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The full Report is available <a href="http://www.uspto.gov/ip/TMLitigationReport_final_2011April27.pdf">here</a>. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013290678928322725.post-7442690485507287282011-06-14T20:55:00.000-07:002011-06-14T20:55:00.253-07:00Should Illegal Streaming be a Felony? New Registrar of Copyrights Says Yes.<div style="text-align: justify;">
The new Register of Copyrights, Maria A. Pallante recently testified in Washington D.C. before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet, a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. On her first day in her position, she argued in favor of increasing the potential penalties available for willful, large scale, egregious and illegal copyright infringement, particularly with respect to illegal streaming of copyrighted works over the Internet. </div>
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The Registrar's comments - which were formally directed at promoting investment and protecting online commerce and "Promoting Investment and Protecting Commerce Online" and focused on the Artists Rights and Theft Prevention Act (the "ART Act"), the No Electronic Theft Act (the "NET Act") – focused specifically at illegal streaming of, motion pictures, television programs (including broadcasts of sporting events) and other copyrighted works. In that context, she addressed criminal penalties for willful, large scale, egregious and illegal copyright infringement. She testified about the potential impact that illegal streaming has on the economic market for copyrighted works. </div>
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Ms. Pallante argued that criminal infringers are doing massive harm to copyright owners and that without the felony option for illegal streaming, prosecutors are hamstrung in their efforts to protect them. She did acknowledge that the issues involved are global and shied away from questions concerning what criminal penalties in the U.S. might do to curb overseas infringement of domestic works. Ms. Pallante raised what she described as two safeguards that could help protect against unwarranted prosecutions, namely, that the Department of Justice has discretion over whom to prosecute, and that the accused conduct must rise to the level of being willful. </div>
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However, she also recognized the legitimate uses that can be made of the same technologies used for illegal streaming and admitted that finding the appropriate balance between these interests presents one of the most difficult issues that Congress will need to addressed. </div>
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Ms. Pallante also announced her goal of improving the U.S. copyright registration system to making it the premiere copyright registration system in the world. </div>
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Ms. Pallante was joined at the hearing by Sandra Aistars, Executive Director of the Copyright Alliance and Michael O'Leary, Executive Vice President of the Motion Picture Association of America, who also both spoke in favor of enacting provisions to make illegal streaming a felony. </div>
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Ms. Pallante's prepared statement is available <a href="http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Pallante0612011.pdf">here</a>. A webcast of the full hearing is available <a href="http://judiciary.edgeboss.net/wmedia/judiciary/ip/ip06012011.wvx">here</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com