Monthly Archives: January 2015

New Voices Cover Flo & Eddie’s State Copyright Song

Posted on January 26, 2015 by

Hit songs produce cover versions by different artists who perform the original in their own style. Sometimes the cover version eclipses the original and becomes the standard everyone remembers. It’s too soon to know how big a hit Flo & … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Supreme Court Gives Power Back to Juries in Trademark Cases

Posted on January 23, 2015 by

If the wording or design of your trademark has evolved over the years, the decision on Wednesday in Hana Financial v. Hana Bank is important. It is the second in a row this week where our top court endorsed the … Continue reading →

Posted in Trademarks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Supreme Court Gives Power Back to Trial Courts in Patent Cases

Posted on January 20, 2015 by

The Supreme Court today issued a 7-2 decision which should go a long way to reduce almost automatic appeals in patent cases. The Federal Circuit appeals court was created to handle all patent appeals. The Roberts Court has been telling … Continue reading →

Posted in Patents | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Flo & Eddie Must Choose Which Victory They Want in New York

Posted on January 16, 2015 by

Judge Colleen McMahon yesterday handed Flo & Eddie a take-your-pick win in their New York federal court lawsuit for pre-1972 performance royalties against SiriusXM. They asked for summary judgment that Sirius is liable to them for common law copyright infringement. … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright, Copyright Enforcement, Sound Recordings | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Iggy Azalea Injunction

Posted on January 15, 2015 by

The music business streams into courtrooms story after story of the grimy details behind a commercial success. Amethyst Kelly is the Australian rapper and model known as Iggy Azalea who achieved fast fame in both occupations after coming to America. … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright, Rights of Publicity, Trademarks | Tagged | Leave a comment

Federal Circuit Hands Gore a $1Billion Loss

Posted on January 13, 2015 by

The Federal Circuit appeals court ruled today Bard Peripheral Vascular and David Goldfarb, M.D. are owed a billion dollars by W.L. Gore & Associates for willful patent infringement. The litigation has been going forever, and the decision today is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Patents | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Marvin Gaye’s Heirs v. Pharrell Wiliams and Robin Thicke—No Music Played to the Jury?

Posted on January 12, 2015 by

Unless they make a deal or the court puts it off, a jury trial will begin Feb. 10 to decide if the copyrights in Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up” and “After the Dance” were infringed by Pharrell Williams … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright, Copyright Enforcement | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Giving Plans to Building Inspector Can Be Copyright Infringement?

Posted on January 8, 2015 by

Maybe. The Seventh Circuit decided last fall to send a case back to the trial court for an answer. Chicago Building Design v. Mongolian House is mostly about when the statute of limitations begins for copyright infringement, but it has lessons … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright Enforcement | Leave a comment

Flo & Eddie Getting Closer to Pre-1972 Sound Recordings Payday

Posted on January 5, 2015 by

The holidays have a pre-1972 soundtrack. If you shopped in stores in America, you heard it. Possibly the largest selling single in the history of recorded music, Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” was recorded in 1942. Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright | Tagged , | 1 Comment