Intellectual Property (10 summaries)
Multi Time Mach., v. Amazon.com
To prove trademark infringement, a plaintiff must establish that the defendant’s website uses the plaintiff’s mark confusingly when a consumer searches the defendant’s website.
Area(s) of Law:- Trademarks
Lead It Corporation v. Tallapalli
The Copyright Act requires the copyright holder to register their works before suing for copyright infringement, however statutory damages and attorney's fees will be barred if the infringement of commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration.
Area(s) of Law:- Copyright
Miller’s Ale House, Inc. v. Boynton Carolina Ale House, LLC
To relitigate a previous judicial determination of genericness, a purported trademark holder would need to show a drastic change in consumer perception.
Area(s) of Law:- Trademarks
Granger v. Acme Abstract Co.
In order to determine if a computer program is copyrightable and has been infringed, one must delineate between the copyrightable expression and the unprotected elements of the program.
Area(s) of Law:- Copyright
Perfect Pearl Co. v. Majestic Pearl & Stone, Inc.
Prior use of a mark in commerce is sufficient to earn trademark rights and trumps those rights in the marks that were later obtained by another by registering the marks.
Area(s) of Law:- Trademarks
Granger v. One Call Lender Services
The award of statutory damages is appropriate in the default judgment context, but a single infringer of a single work is only liable for a single amount regardless of the number of infringement acts.
Area(s) of Law:- Copyright
Drew Estate Holding Co., LLC v. Fantasia Distribution, Inc.
Under the "natural expansion" doctrine, a trademark owner enjoys protection over related goods that lie within the realm of the natural expansion of its business.
Area(s) of Law:- Trademarks
OgoSport, LLC v. Maranda Enterprises, LLC
Even if a plaintiff established a protectable trade dress and a likelihood of confusion, it cannot prevail if defendant shows that trade dress is merely functional.
Area(s) of Law:- Trademarks
Yesh Music v. Lakewood Church
A licensing agreement does not entitle the licensee to perpetual use of the composition for post expiration productions. Also, to show that vicarious liability or infringement exists in copyright claims, the individual in question must supervise or at least have the ability to supervise the infringing activity, and the individual must have a financial interest in the allegedly infringing activity.
Area(s) of Law:- Copyright
Innovative Legal Marketing, LLC v. Market Masters-Legal
As a general rule, copyright law does not protect scenes a faire, that are incidents, characters, or settings which, as a practical matter are indispensable or standard in the treatment of a given topic, and though an “ordinary” phrase may be quoted without fear of infringement, a copier may not quote or paraphrase the sequence of creative expression that includes such a phrase.
Area(s) of Law:- Copyright