On April 27, the full House of Representatives passed the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (“the Act”) by an overwhelming vote of 410-2. As we have previously blogged, the Act is likely to be signed by the president and become law for any trade secret misappropriation that occurs after the Act is passed. In the … Continue Reading
Wow, that was fast! We recently blogged about the revised Defend Trade Secrets Act, which passed the Senate on April 4, 2016, by an 87-0 vote. On April 20, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the same bill. The next step is for the full House to consider the bill, and then it goes on to … Continue Reading
Last week, a federal jury in Wisconsin awarded almost $1 billion to Epic Systems Corporation in its trade secrets case against Indian consulting company Tata Consulting Services, Ltd., and its American unit, Tata America International Corporation. Epic provides software for medical groups, hospitals, and integrated health care organizations. Tata was hired by one of Epic’s … Continue Reading
On April 4, 2016, the Senate unanimously passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act, bringing a federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation one step closer to becoming law. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte released a statement a few days later saying he planned to move the legislation through the House Judiciary Committee in the coming … Continue Reading
The Eighth Circuit may have just ended the game for three retired NFL players who sued NFL Films for using game footage of the players in films. The players had participated in a class action lawsuit alleging violation of their rights of publicity in the District of Minnesota, but opted out of the settlement over … Continue Reading
In a sure-to-be-appealed verdict last week, a federal court jury in the Eastern District of Virginia found Cox Communications liable to pay $25 million to music publisher BMG Rights Management for contributory copyright infringement. Does this case add anything new to the debate over whether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act strikes the right balance in … Continue Reading
In a sure-to-be-appealed verdict last week, a federal court jury in the Eastern District of Virginia found Cox Communications liable to pay $25 million to music publisher BMG Rights Management for contributory copyright infringement. Does this case add anything new to the debate over whether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act strikes the right balance in … Continue Reading
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act creates a liability “safe harbor” for online service providers that post content that may be protected by copyright. It facilitates the takedown of an infringing work by providing a relatively simple “notice and takedown” procedure. However, the DMCA has been criticized for making it more difficult for individual creators to … Continue Reading
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act creates a liability “safe harbor” for online service providers that post content that may be protected by copyright. It facilitates the takedown of an infringing work by providing a relatively simple “notice and takedown” procedure. However, the DMCA has been criticized for making it more difficult for individual creators to … Continue Reading
