This week the US Court of Appeals Second Circuit issued Google a reprieve from class action certification. Google was alleged by the Authors Guild to have committed copyright infringement by copying and displaying “snippets” of millions of books in the Library Project of its Google Books search tool. The parties had reached an earlier settlement … More Google Wins Class Action Reprieve
Clients of my practice usually either have a website or are planning to get one. From an intellectual property “IP” standpoint, the developer agreement is critical to ensure the right content and code necessary for your business to attract clients and customers. There are many terms to consider including project scope, testing, hosting, ownership, payment … More Essential Points of Web Developer Agreements
Another recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case addressed contributory copyright infringement, in this case under the theory of inducement. Here, the Plaintiff movie studios sued the Defendant for maintaining websites that induced third parties to download infringing copies of the studios copyrighted works. The Federal District Court granted an injunction at the Summary Judgment … More Contributory Copyright Infringement By Inducement
The saying used to be during my time at Andersen, then a Big 5 Global Professional Services firm, that the most valuable assets walked out the door every evening. With companies transitioning to our service economy at warp speed, this truism has never been more pervasive. Given the threats from a variety of sources including … More Social Media Data: The New Frontier
An interesting Electronic Commerce “EC” patent case was recently decided by the Court of Appeals Federal Circuit “CAFC” overturning a patent infringement verdict and vacating a $2.5 M damage jury award. The Plaintiff, Soverain, bought the patents and all rights to the Transact software electronic commerce platform “Transact” in a bankruptcy sale and sought to … More Prior Art Defeats Electronic Commerce Patent Claims
You’re surfing the internet and discover that someone is using your original content without your permission. A popular remedy is to request the web host to “take-down” the infringing material. While there are many euphemisms for using the term takedown, in fact just last week I received a take-down request from my daughter who objected … More Taking Down Infringing Web Content
Clients select a name, logo, or other brand identifier for trademark registration in order to build and preserve value. While securing the trademark is critical for building a brand, the primary purpose of trademark law is to prevent consumer confusion in the marketplace. Enforcement for trademark infringement purposes requires a likelihood of confusion caused by … More Trademark Requires Use in Commerce
A long-standing precedent is the right not to be compelled to personally answer a lawsuit in a foreign state jurisdiction absent some minimum contacts with the foreign state. States typically enact long-arm statutes to impose personal jurisdiction in situations such as where the defendant is involved in an auto accident or has engaged in a … More Connecticut Email Server Confers Personal Jurisdiction on Ex-Employee
This year brought library e-books. Imagine enjoying reading without worn discolored pages and coffee stains. Reserving and downloading books from any location had made e-reading easily accessible to anyone carrying a mobile device. Enjoying the New York Times, The Week Magazine and finishing a library book with the push of a button, tap of the … More Digital Rights Management 2012 Review
Yes, it has come to this. Social media account disputes. Employers, employees and independent contractors rely on these accounts to establish network connections and to promote business opportunities. Guidelines, terms and conditions at sign-up aside, the turf war pits these formerly non-competing parties at the end of employment or upon termination of their business relationship. … More Who Owns Your Social Media Account?
William Tennant 
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