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It is hard to imagine the current U.S. Supreme Court agreeing on something as simple as their lunch order in a time when 5-4 decisions feel like the norm. So, when it unanimously agrees, one might conclude that the question at hand was not very difficult. Not so here. In Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, No. 17-571 (March 4, 2019), the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split decades in the making by holding that a copyright is not “registered” within the meaning of the Copyright Act unless and until a registration certificate actually has issued. The Supreme Court’s short opinion upheld an Eleventh Circuit decision, and undertook no more than a simple statutory construction analysis, finding that the plain language of the Copyright Act cannot be ignored because of hypothetical ill effects, especially ones fully within the purview of Congress to fix. A plaintiff cannot sue for copyright infringement until registration has issued, or been denied by the Copyright Office; a mere pending application will not suffice.
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Fourth Circuit Weighs In on Fair Use and Copyright Registration Validity
By Thomas Kjellberg and Robert W. Clarida
In Philpot v. Independent Journal Review, the Fourth Circuit found no fair use or copyright validity for a concert photographer's use of a photo of Ted Nugent as part of a collection.
USPTO Issues New Guidance On Rejecting Patent Claims for Obviousness
By Rob Maier
The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently published new guidance explaining the requirements for patent examiners to reject patent claims for obviousness in view of what was already known in the prior art.
“Holy Fair Use, Batman”: Copyright, Fair Use and the Dark Knight
By David G. Kim and Michael K. Friedland
The copyright for the original versions of Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse have expired. Now, members of the public can create — and are busy creating — their own works based on these beloved characters. Suppose, though, we want to tell stories using Batman for which the copyright does not expire until 2035. We’ll review five hypothetical works inspired by the original Batman comic and analyze them under fair use.
Intellectual Property In Legal Tech: Lessons from Recent Cases
By Brian Mack, Kevin Keller and Olga V. Mack
As technology continues to permeate the legal industry, the significance of IP in safeguarding innovations, ensuring fair competition, and fostering a culture of creative legal solutions becomes paramount.
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