Monthly Archives: August 2014

Lexmark’s effect on "commercial advertising or promotion"

Posted on August 11, 2014 by rtushnet

Syngenta Seeds, Inc. v. Bunge North America, Inc., 2014 WL 3882886, No. 13-1391 (8th Cir. Aug. 8, 2014) District court opinion discussed here.  This opinion is more Lexmark fallout.  Syngenta, a biotech company that makes genetically modified corn seed (Viptera), … Continue reading →

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Dodged a virus and copyright liability: Court rules unused copy isn’t infringing

Posted on August 11, 2014 by rtushnet

Design Data Corp. v. Unigate Enterprise, Inc., 2014 WL 3868076, No. 12–cv–04131 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 6, 2014) The court found that defendants couldn’t be liable for copyright infringement when the only copying they ever did consisted of downloading, but not … Continue reading →

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Product disparagement as trademark dilution?

Posted on August 11, 2014 by rtushnet

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Braintree Laboratories, Inc., 2014 WL 3850072, No. 13–12553 (D. Mass. Aug. 4, 2014) This is mostly a false advertising case, but stick around for the weird dilution ruling.  The parties compete in the market for bowel … Continue reading →

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IPSC part 10: hodgepodge

Posted on August 8, 2014 by rtushnet

Sixth Breakout Session The Patented Design Sarah Burstein What should the patented design cover?  Require the design to be applied to a particular product, and signal that in the name/title.  That better respects First Amendment concerns, notice function of patents, … Continue reading →

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IPSC part 9: copyright plenary session

Posted on August 8, 2014 by rtushnet

Plenary Session Making Copyright Work for Creative Upstarts Sean Pager Imagine you’re a singer in a rock band, and hear your song used unauthorized for a car commercial. You call and they brush you off.  You can’t afford a lawyer, … Continue reading →

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IPSC part 8: second plenary: copyright reform/innovation policy

Posted on August 8, 2014 by rtushnet

Copyright Reform and the Academy Shira Perlmutter Chief Policy Officer & Director for International Affairs US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) We seem to be poised at the brink of very significant change.  Matching tech change, but policy evolution has … Continue reading →

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IPSC part 7: copyright limitations

Posted on August 8, 2014 by rtushnet

Fifth Breakout Session Copyright Limitations Inventing Around Copyright Dan Burk Recurring pattern in ©: Napster/Grokster, where Napster was held liable for having centralized architecture/ability to know what’s on the system and thus being contributorily/vicariously liable. Not surprisingly, next generation P2P … Continue reading →

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IPSC part 6: copyright/TM enforcement

Posted on August 8, 2014 by rtushnet

Fourth Breakout Session Copyright and Trademark Enforcement Do ‘Groundless Threats’ Statutes Curtail IP Over-Enforcement? William Gallagher Research interest: how disputes are negotiated and resolved outside of court, as most legal disputes are.  Studying it qualitatively, based on interviews w/lawyers and … Continue reading →

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IPSC part 5: more copyright

Posted on August 8, 2014 by rtushnet

Third Breakout Session Copyright and Competition Copyright’s Technological Interdependencies Clark Asay Technological patrons depend on copyright for their motivations.  Copyright is an interdependent part of broader creative systems. Dichotomy between patronage and copyright as alternative systems is wrong.  They work … Continue reading →

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IPSC part 4: copyright (and a bit on the right of publicity)

Posted on August 7, 2014 by rtushnet

Second Breakout Session Copyright Fair Use Raw Materials and Creative Works Andrew Gilden Raw materials concept is part of transformativeness in copyright and right of publicity cases.  Project: Examining the application and meaning of this concept.  Noticeable differences—cases seem to … Continue reading →

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