IP Law Chat -- Hendricks & Lewis, intellectual property, trademark, copyright and technology attorneys

This week got away from me but I did manage to take note of a few interesting Chatlines:

• What is "fair use"?  Good question.  Marybeth Peters talks about the issue in an interesting article at ars technica.  Hat tip to Rebecca Tushnet at the 43(B)log.
•  And continuing the copyright theme, Mark Helprin at The New York Times opines about perpetual copyright.
•  Interesting decision (technically issued last week) by the Western District of Washington finding, among other things, that the plaintiffs lacked standing to assert claims under the CAN-SPAM Act.  Hat tip to the TechKnowledgy Blog.
  

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Michael Atkins at Seattle Trademark Lawyer has an interesting post about a case in the Western District of Washington in which the Court declined to enter a stipulated protective order.  Although there may be a growing disenchantment among the courts with these type of blanket protective orders, it has surprised me how often courts have approved those orders particularly when they have included provisions allowing documents to be filed under seal.  There are undoubtedly situations in which protective orders are appropriate and necessary but I have to agree with Judge Bryan that "they should be narrowly drawn, the presumption being in favor of open and public litigation."

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Throughout the week, there are any number of interesting events, opinions, legal (and non-legal) news items, and discussions that I simply don't have the time to write about at any meaningful length and still get my actual work done.  So, I'm going to endeavor to point out some of these tidbits each week in a (not very creatively) named feature "Random Chatlines."  Here goes, hope you enjoy!

• Topping the list, the Ninth Circuit's opinion in Perfect 10, Inc. v. Google (hopefully more on later), in which Perfect 10 claimed Google infringed its copyrighted photos of nude models.
  
• Does copying another attorney's complaint constitute copyright infringement?  It's an interesting, albeit not earthshaking, topic that popped up a number of places this week including The WSJ Law Blog, The Trademark Blog, and Techdirt.
• "Massage interviews"?  Indeed, check out The Official Google Blog.  I think I have a suggestion for a new hire at the firm.......
• Personally, I thought it was good news this week that Comcast confirmed that it will be dropping Microsoft's television software from its digital cable boxes in Washington in favor of other software used by Comcast customers in the rest of the country.  Check out the story in the Seattle P-I for more details.
• And back on the legal front, an interesting case from a California appellate court involving the IMDb website in which the court affirmed the order striking the plaintiff's complaint on an anti-SLAPP motion by IMDb.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed suit against "paranormalist" Uri Geller (apparently also known as, according to the complaint, Uri Geller Freud), in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of Brian Sapient, a member of the "Rational Response Squad."  According to the complaint, Uri Geller is a well-known performer who claims to have psychic abilities that he apparently uses to, among other things, bend spoons with his mind.

Brian Sapient, as part of the Rational Response Squad's activities attempting to debunk what it contends are irrational beliefs and theories, posted a portion of a NOVA video called "Secrets of the Psychics" on YouTube that apparently challenged Geller's "performance techniques."  Geller responded by demanding that YouTube take down the video under the DMCA, which YouTube did.  It is not clear how much of the NOVA video was posted on YouTube but according to the complaint, only three seconds of the video is subject to a copyright owned by Geller or the company of which he is a director and controlling shareholder, "Explorologist Ltd."

The complaint alleges that Geller and Explorologist Ltd. misrepresented that the NOVA video infringed their copyright and seeks, among other things, a declaration of non-infringement.

To read a copy of the complaint check out the EFF's website.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue but then again, how often does creativity and government intersect?  Washington Governor Christine Gregoire recently signed into law an amendment to Washington's Public Records Act, RCW  42.56, that creates a "Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee" to review the exemptions to public disclosure "to determine if each exemption serves the public interest."  Given the number of exemptions, the committee has a lot of work ahead of it.  And good news for the concept of open government, all committee meetings are to be open to the public and the committee "must consider input from interested parties."

Hat tip to The FOIA Blog.

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks