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“Are You Serious”

By Dominic Gentile on Posted in Uncategorized
On November 19, at its Rockefeller Center offices, BakerHostetler co-sponsored the pitch event “Are You Serious” along with tech company incubators, The Hatchery and SourcePad. The event was designed to teach entrepreneurs from emerging tech companies how to improve their presentation skills through pitches to a panel of venture capital investors. The evening included presentations … Continue Reading

Momenta Pharma., Inc. v. Teva Pharma. USA Inc.

Photo of Stephanie Lodise, Ph.D.By Stephanie Lodise, Ph.D. on Posted in Uncategorized
In Momenta Pharma., Inc. v. Teva Pharma. USA Inc., Nos. 2014-1274, -1277, -1276, and -1278 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 10, 2015) (“Momenta II”), the Federal Circuit found that, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(g), “made” is limited to steps directly related to manufacturing products and excludes isolated quality control steps. The court also revisited its prior … Continue Reading

Fox News LLC v. TVEyes, Inc.—Does the Courts’ Expansion of Fair Use Copyright Protection Promote the “Progress of Science and useful Arts” When It Requires Increasing Judicial Oversight Over Activities That Otherwise Would Be Regulated By the Marketplace?

By Robert Welsh on Posted in Uncategorized
In 2014, when District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York upheld TVEyes, Inc.’s (“TVEyes”) monitoring service as “fair use” in the face of a copyright infringement claim brought by Fox New Network LLC (“Fox News”),[1] the decision was seen as yet another step in the federal courts’ limitations of the … Continue Reading

Methods of treating a subset of patients are likely nonobvious if the subset exhibits unexpected results

Photo of Ron KernBy Ron Kern on Posted in Uncategorized
In Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. v. Roxane Laboratories, Inc.,[1] a recent decision involving methods of treating a specific subset of patients, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) ruled that, although the claims of the patent at issue were invalid as obvious, singling out a particular subset of patients for treatment can still … Continue Reading

The Give and Take of the 2015 Library of Congress Sec. 1201 Copyright Exemptions

Photo of Chad RutkowskiBy Chad Rutkowski on Posted in Uncategorized
I used to love working on cars. As a teenager I had a 1972 Karmann Ghia, which I could repair, MacGyver-like, with rubber bands, tinfoil, and sticks of chewing gum. But as automotive technology advanced, the prospect of making my own repairs to fuel, emission, or transmission systems dimmed. Installation of electronic control units (ECUs) … Continue Reading

The USPTO Global Dossier Service Is Scheduled to Go Live in Mid-November

Photo of Laura GordonBy Laura Gordon on Posted in Uncategorized
The Global Dossier is a project stemming from a collaboration between the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China (SIPO), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (collectively, the IP5 Offices). As envisioned by … Continue Reading

Trending: Facebook Fined, Breaches European Data Privacy Laws

By Madiha M. Zuberi on Posted in Uncategorized
Facebook is yet again being tagged in a breach of data protection laws, but this time it’s ‘checking-in’ to a European court in Brussels, Belgium. A recent slew of cases, in which Facebook is the leader, hints at stricter and broader privacy laws to protect users’ private data. Harvesting data for marketers and advertisers continues … Continue Reading

Industry Regulatory Organization to Outbrain and Gravity: Interest-Based Native Advertising Must Comply With Self-Regulatory Principles

By Alan M. Pate on Posted in Uncategorized
In two decisions issued last week, major native advertising players Gravity and Outbrain were found to have failed to comply with the online advertising industry’s self-regulatory principles for interest-based ads. The decisions, issued by the Better Business Bureau’s Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program (OIBAAP), are the first to address whether native advertising targeted toward consumers’ … Continue Reading

Thumbs Up or Down? Facebook Forced to Disclose Market Data for User Messages

By Madiha M. Zuberi on Posted in Uncategorized
Facebook, the world’s largest social network, is no stranger to litigation or criticism for its utilization of user data that has resulted in lawsuits. And one of those in particular complained about what happens when Facebook intercepts messages between users, compiles data, and shares that data with marketers. On Tuesday, November 3, U.S. District Judge … Continue Reading

Garçon to FanDuel: Check please!

Photo of Geoffrey NorthBy Geoffrey North on Posted in Uncategorized
What are a veteran NFL player’s name, image, and likeness worth in the burgeoning (but recently beleaguered-by-lawsuits) daily fantasy sports gaming industry? NFL wide receiver Pierre Garçon’s putative class action lawsuit against FanDuel Inc., Civil Action No. 8:15-cv-03324, filed October 30, 2015, in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, will bring … Continue Reading

Tomaydo-Tomahhdo

By Jessie Kuhn on Posted in Uncategorized
Earlier this week, the Sixth Circuit ruled the “Tomaydo-Tomahhdo Recipe Book” was not creative enough to warrant a copyright. The case started when Rosemarie Carroll (and related companies) sued her ex-partner, Larry Moore (and others) for copying her recipe book.  Recipes and ingredient lists have never been copyrightable by themselves, but much like other compilations, when … Continue Reading

Denial of a Preliminary Injunction Against Twilio

Photo of Carrie LongstaffBy Carrie Longstaff on Posted in Uncategorized
Twilio, Inc. is a cloud communications company that earlier this year raised $100 million in funding, a figure that placed it in the Unicorn Club—those startup companies with valuations over a billion dollars. Twilio has made a name for itself as a cloud-based communications platform. But Twilio faced a problem when it was sued by … Continue Reading

Transforming Works: The Second Circuit Rules That the Google Library Project Digitization Is a Transformative Fair Use in Authors Guild, v. Google Inc.

Photo of Jacqueline LesserBy Jacqueline Lesser on Posted in Uncategorized
On October 16, 2015, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling in Authors Guild, Inc. v. Google Inc., 954 F. Supp. 2d 282 (S.D.N.Y. 2013), previously reported here, that Google’s digitization of complete copyrighted works, without author permission, and the creation of excerpt “snippets,” accessible to the public by contracting libraries for research, is … Continue Reading

Judge Halts Pornographer’s Subpoenas Against Potential Infringers Identified Through IP Addresses

Photo of Tatiana MarkelBy Tatiana Markel on Posted in Uncategorized
Online content providers continue to struggle with the challenge of copyright infringement by BitTorrent users.  One of the most aggressive tacks is the one taken by Malibu Media, which, after instituting over 4,500 lawsuits in four years, has become one of the most controversial copyright litigants, responsible for over 40 percent of copyright litigations during that time. … Continue Reading

Drawing a Line in the Floor—Courts Are Struggling With the Overlap Between Design Patent and Copyright

Photo of Chad RutkowskiBy Chad Rutkowski on Posted in Uncategorized
In 2003 the U.S. Supreme Court in Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. emphasized that “[t]he rights of a patentee or copyright holder are part of a ‘carefully crafted bargain,’ … under which, once the patent or copyright monopoly has expired, the public may use the invention or work at will and without … Continue Reading

BakerHostetler’s Oren Warshavsky, a Law360’s Voices of the Bar for Intellectual Property, comments on “What Shall We Do About ‘Orphan Works’?”

Photo of BakerHostetlerBy BakerHostetler on Posted in Uncategorized
On September 22, Law360 published an article positing the question, “What should be done to more fairly enable the use of orphan works?” after the ruling determining that Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. does not own a valid copyright on “Happy Birthday to You.” Oren Warshavsky, head of BakerHostetler’s national Copyright, Content, and Platforms team and one … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit: “Holy Copyright Law, Batman!” The Batmobile Is Copyrightable

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Uncategorized
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Batmobile is a copyrightable character. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion explaining its ruling begins with the sentence “Holy copyright law, Batman!,” and goes on to quote Adam West and invoke other pop culture references.  “ Since 1939, Batman has been featured in numerous publications by DC Comics, … Continue Reading

California Court Rules No Copyright Protection for “Happy Birthday to You”

Photo of C. Dennis LoomisBy C. Dennis Loomis on Posted in Uncategorized
This week, in Rupa Marya, et al. v. Warner/Chappel Music, Inc., et al., No. CV 13-4460-GHK (C.D. Cal. Sept. 22, 2015), U.S. District Judge George H. King ruled that defendant Warner/Chappel Music has no enforceable copyright for the ubiquitous song “Happy Birthday to You.” The ruling resolves cross motions for summary judgment filed in November … Continue Reading

The DMCA Through the ‘Lenz’ of Fair Use: The Ninth Circuit Finds Fair Use Analysis Required Before Sending a DMCA Takedown Notice

By Maryanne Stanganelli on Posted in Uncategorized
Yesterday the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in the heavily followed “dancing baby case,” holding that copyright owners must consider an alleged infringer’s defense of fair use before sending a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Moreover, a copyright owner that fails to conduct a fair use analysis prior to sending a DMCA … Continue Reading

USPTO Pilot Program: Trademark Registrations May Now Be Broadened To Account For Evolving Technology

Photo of Kevin BovardBy Kevin Bovard on Posted in Uncategorized
Trademark Office rules generally prohibit the broadening of goods and services identified in existing trademark registrations. But on September 1, the USPTO announced a new pilot program that will create a limited exception to this rule. Beginning September 1, trademark owners may now petition to broaden their registrations’ identified goods and services where such changes … Continue Reading

Attorney Fees for Post-Grant Patent Challenge Proceedings Before the USPTO May Be Recoverable in Exceptional Cases Under 35 U.S.C. § 285

By Hans Smith on Posted in Uncategorized
Parties accused of patent infringement are turning more and more to post-grant challenge proceedings at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) as a faster and cheaper means for invalidating the asserted claims. A recent federal district court order indicates that the fees and costs associated with such proceedings may be recoverable if the … Continue Reading
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