Pamela Chestek
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Breach of a Copyright License in State Court
It’s unusual to see what looks like a copyright case in state court, particularly one that reaches the highest court. It is Associated Management Services, Inc. v. Ruff, a license case in the Supreme Court of Montana. Plaintiff Associated Management Services provides payroll and business services to its parent company Associated Employer, a non-profit association… Continue reading
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Just “Slip It In Nebulously”
When you see “slip it in” in an email about contract negotiations, it’s a good bet it’s not going to go well for the person trying to “slip it in.” Especially when their goal is to do it “nebulously.” The transaction was, to the defendant Mitel Networks, a vanilla domain name sale. However, the plaintiff’s… Continue reading
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It’s All About the Evidence
One of the interesting things about TTAB proceedings is that there is no live testimony before the people who will decide the case, the judges. That’s generally a good thing; it means the proceeding is less expensive and time-consuming. Trial testimony is done like a deposition, with just the parties and a court reporter, and… Continue reading
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You Will Be There – MTB-XIV
Who could resist the lure of bowling and billiards? Surely I can’t, which is why on Tuesday, May 22, you’ll find me at the above locale, Garage Billiards, 1130 Broadway, in Seattle. After your marathon day of fifteen minute meetings and sterno-warmed chicken and penne eaten during your committee meeting, join the fabulous collection of… Continue reading
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Were the Patent Rights Assigned? The Federal Circuit Says No
I asked whether a software development agreement assigned the patent rights in the software. The district court held “yes” but the Federal Circuit disagreed. Here again is the evidence in a letter agreement between plaintiff James (through his company GSP Solutions) and defendant J2 Cloud, known as JFAX at the time: This letter shall serve… Continue reading
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Were the Patent Rights Assigned?
Defendant J2 Cloud Services (JFAX) hired plaintiff Greg James to write some software. Unbeknownst to James, JFAX filed a patent on the software. Many years later, James sued JFAX for correction of inventorship. JFAX argued that James didn’t have standing for correction of inventorship because he had assigned his patent rights to JFAX. The district… Continue reading
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The Scope of the License
The opinion is sparse on the facts and the law, so we have to do some interpretation. But it’s worth some thought about how the court construed the scope of an implied copyright license. Defendant Kushner wrote software for plaintiff Vickerman Co. Their relationship ended, Vickerman Co. sued Kushner (the court doesn’t say why, other… Continue reading
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Get the Agreement Signed
This is a remarkable story. It’s a counter-intuitive result, not wrong, but so surprising. I present: THE VILLAGE PEOPLE!! (Go ahead, full screen. You know you want to.) There is no dispute that the plaintiff in this case, Can’t Stop Productions, Inc., created the Village People. The front man in the video, the police officer,… Continue reading
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Condition or Covenant? The Answer
I posed the question whether an overrun in a book printing was a breach of the copyright license granted for the use of photos in the book or just a breach of a covenant of the agreement. The court described the issue this way: According to Scholastic, “Corbis did not treat [Scholastic’s] ongoing, high-volume …… Continue reading
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Condition or Covenant? A Quiz
When parties enter into an agreement that includes a copyright license, and there is thereafter a failure to comply with one of the terms in the agreement, a court will have to decide whether it is a failure to meet a condition precedent to the license, in which case the accused use is not licensed… Continue reading
About Me
Learn more about me at my website, Chestek Legal
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- social media
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