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By: James Kachmar

A recent decision in the case Jobscience, Inc. v. CVPartners, Inc. (N.D. Cal. Jan. 9, 2014) shows the interplay between the various theories of intellectual property claims. There, the plaintiff asserted claims for both copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation arising out of the alleged theft of its software code. The court was required to deal with the issue of whether plaintiff’s trade secret claim was preempted by its claim for copyright infringement.

Jobscience develops and licenses recruiting software applications, including its JS 2 Jobscience Recruiting Package. In 2010, Jobscience entered into a master agreement with defendant CVPartners that contained an End User License and Agreement, which provided the defendant with a license to use plaintiff’s job recruiting software application. The license was renewed in 2011.Continue Reading Copyright Preemption and Its Interplay with Trade Secret Misappropriation

 By: Audrey A. Millemann     

 

      In Seven Arts Filmed Entertainment, Ltd. v. Content Media Corp. PLC, 2013 US App. LEXIS 22517 (9th Cir., November 6, 2013), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided an issue of first impression in this circuit: whether a claim of copyright infringement based on disputed ownership would be time-barred if a free standing ownership claim was also time-barred. The court held that it would. 

            This dispute has a lengthy and complicated procedural history. It was litigated for over ten years in several different cases in two countries. The copyrights in issue are for three films: “Rules of Engagement,” “An American Rhapsody,” and “Who is Cletis Tout?.” The plaintiff is Seven Arts Filmed Entertainment, a British production company, who acquired the rights in the films from its predecessor.Continue Reading Ninth Circuit: Watch Out for Statute of Limitations for Copyright Infringement

by Zachary J. Wadlé

J.D. Salinger, author of the seminal teen angst novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” recently filed a lawsuit in United States District Court in Manhattan for copyright infringement against the author of a purported “sequel” to Salinger’s classic work entitled “60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye.” Salinger’s lawsuit sought a permanent injunction against publication of the new work in the United States.Continue Reading Copyrighter in the Rye – J.D. Salinger Stops Publication of Alleged Sequel To Famous Work

by Jeff Pietsch

In April 2009, the Fourth Circuit upheld a summary judgment granted in favor of an online technology system designed to prevent plagiarism in a copyright infringement action. (A.V. v. iParadigms, L.L.C., (4th Cir. Apr. 16, 2009)). The plaintiffs, four high school students who were required to use the system by their schools, sued iParadigms’ for using their written works through the company’s “Turnitin Plagiarism Detection Service.” The plaintiffs argued that Turnitin’s archiving of the students’ works in its system constituted a violation of their copyrights under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §101 et seq. The court, however, disagreed with this assessment and ruled that the archiving of students’ works falls under the fair use doctrine, which allows the use of copyrighted works for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

Continue Reading Does an Anti-Plagiarism Service Violate Students’ Copyrights?

By Scott Hervey 

Have you ever been into a used record store (remember those) and picked up a used CD that had the following language either on the CD case or on the CD itself:

FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY

This CD is the property of the record company and is licensed to the intended recipient for personal use only. Acceptance of this CD shall constitute an agreement to comply with the terms of the license. Resale or transfer of possession is not allowed and may be punishable under federal and state laws.

Have you ever wondered how on earth can the record label control the sale of these CDs. (An obvious question given the fact that the CD in question is for sale in a used record store.) According to a recent federal court case, they cant.Continue Reading Not Just For Promotional Use