standing
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Exclusivity for Exactly What?
Does an exclusive agent for a photographer have standing to bring a copyright infringement suit on behalf of that photographer? The Ninth Circuit has said yes; the Northern District of Georgia says no. Plaintiff Creative Photographers, Inc. (“CPi”) represented non-party photographer Ruvén Afanador. The defendants are accused of infringing the copyright in one of his… Continue reading
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It’s Best If the Registrant Files the Lawsuit
This is something that I probably shouldn’t have to blog about, but here we are. Plaintiff Palm Beach Concours LLC filed a complaint against defendant SuperCar Week, Inc. for: Count I, trademark infringement in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1114 (infringement of a registered trademark); Count II for unfair competition in violation of 15 U.S.C.… Continue reading
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Even an Exclusive Licensee Can’t Sue the Trademark Owner for Infringement
This might strike you as odd. An exclusive licensee of a copyright can sue the copyright owner for infringement, Essex Music, Inc. v. ABKCO Music & Recs., Inc., 743 F. Supp. 237, 241 (S.D.N.Y. 1990), and a exclusive licensee of a patent can sue the patent owner for infringement, Ortho Pharm. Corp. v. Genetics Inst.,… Continue reading
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Estopped By A Wrong Decision
The Federal Circuit issued two companion decisions involving the same patent license arrangement, one that affected at least three district court decisions. Uniloc USA, Inc., Uniloc Luxembourg S.A., and Uniloc 2017 LLC, which I’ll just refer to as “Uniloc,” sued Apple, Motorola Mobility and Google for patent infringement. However, Uniloc had received funding from Fortress… Continue reading
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A Licensor and Licensee Have Ownership Rights, But Not of the Same Thing
I raised an eyebrow reading the decision in Beard v. Helman. The court seems to have a misunderstanding about the difference between an owner and a licensee. After a casual conversation at a Renaissance fair, plaintiff Beard designed for defendant Helman a dragon image to be used for a boot button. There was originally an… Continue reading
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The Standing of an Exclusive Trademark Licensee (or not)
July 7, 2020: Updated to add footnote 2. Section 32 of the Lanham Act is for infringement of registered trademarks. The section says that the liability for infringement is to the “registrant.” That category undisputedly includes a successor-in-interest, such as an assignee. A minority of courts have also held that “registrant” encompasses an exclusive licensee,… Continue reading
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You Can’t Just “Re-Form” a Plaintiff
Here are the facts: Ness Stewart Irvine was a patentee. Irvine assigned his patents-in-suit to InterAD Technologies, LLC. InterAD assigned them to Zeroclick, LLC (“Zeroclick I”), the plaintiff, a Texas entity. Zeroclick I sued Apple for patent infringement. Erich Spangenberg, listed as the “governing person,” terminated the Zeroclick I entity.1 Non-party Granicus IP, LLC transferred… Continue reading
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Don’t Sue a High School Choir for Copyright Infringement in the Ninth Circuit
Burbank High School has show choirs, which are choirs that combine choral singing with some choreographed steps. If you watched the TV show Glee you’ve seen it; in fact the court says that Burbank High School inspired the TV show. Brett Carroll is the vocal music director at the school and the Burbank show choirs… Continue reading
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When Is It a License?
When reviewing a settlement agreement, I often ponder the parts where it says something like “Party B agrees not to infringe the trademark in the future.” The agreement doesn’t need it; whether you say it or not Party B isn’t allowed to break the law. I suppose adding the language gives you a breach of… Continue reading
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