Tasini Update: Supreme Court Holds that Section 411(a) Registration Requirement is not Jurisdictional (2010)
Wednesday, 05 May 2010
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court held in Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick, that the registration requirement in section 411(a) of the Copyright Act is not jurisdictional. In a continuation of the Tasini case (involving electronic rights to freelance articles written for newspapers and magazines) the Reed Elsevier Court was faced with the question of whether a class settlement involving the
- Published in Copyright Infringement Actions, Copyright Jurisdiction, Copyright Law, Copyright Registration, Intellectual Property Law, Section 411(a)
No Comments
When Mandatory Arbitration Is Optional (2008)
Wednesday, 05 November 2008
To resolve disputes and avoid costly litigation, many companies are relying on mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts. Disputes are inevitable and a cost of doing business, and the rising cost of lawsuits has becoming staggering. Against this backdrop, in the context of an otherwise garden-variety software copyright infringement suit, the Sixth Circuit recently bypassed
Marilyn Monroe: Trade Dress From Whole Cloth? (2007)
Monday, 05 November 2007
Ideas and concepts, other than those that are not obvious and may be subject to patent protection, are generally freely available to all. Trademark protection usually extends only to the owner’s use of a particular mark, including any logo or image. Yet a judge in the Northern District of California held recently that a trade dress owner
- Published in Copyright Law, Intellectual Property Law, Marilyn Monroe, Trade Dress, Trademark Law, Visual Images
Copyright Record Rental Exception Applies Only To Musical Works (2007)
Thursday, 05 July 2007
In a recent case of first impression, the Sixth Circuit decided in Brilliance Audio, Inc. v. Haights Cross Communications, Inc., No. 05-1209 (6th Cir. 2007) that the record rental exception to the first sale doctrine, in section 109 of the Copyright Act, applies only to sound recordings of musical works. The decision is also interesting for its