Tag: featured

Intellectual Property

Not All the Plaintiff “Desires”: Only One Statutory Damages Award Available

Written by Aaron D. Johnston On February 2, 2021, the Ninth Circuit issued Desire, LLC v. Manna Textiles, Inc., 2021 WL 345583 (9th Cir. 2021), holding that where one upstream infringer was jointly and severally liable with various downstream infringers (who were not jointly and severally liable with each other) in three distinct infringing distribution chains, plaintiff could only be awarded one statutory award rather … Continue reading Not All the Plaintiff “Desires”: Only One Statutory Damages Award Available

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
Intellectual Property

Bursting the [Red]Bubble? Northern District of California Considers Online Retailer’s Scope of Liability for Copyright and Trademark Infringement

Written by Lillian Lee On January 28, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California addressed an online retailer’s liability for copyright and trademark infringement arising out of its users’ submissions.  Atari Interactive, Inc. v. Redbubble, Inc., Case No. 4:18-cv-03451.  The court on cross-motions for summary judgment deferred on most issues, holding that Plaintiff Atari Interactive, Inc. (“Atari”) could proceed on some … Continue reading Bursting the [Red]Bubble? Northern District of California Considers Online Retailer’s Scope of Liability for Copyright and Trademark Infringement

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
Labor & Employment

California Supreme Court Holds that Dynamex ABC Test Applies Retroactively

Written by Jeremy Mittman and Hilary Feybush On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court in Vasquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising, Inc., 2021 WL 127201 (Cal. Jan 14, 2021) held that its landmark April 2018 Dynamex decision for determining independent contractor status applies retroactively. This question was posed to the California Supreme Court by the Ninth Circuit after it withdrew its May 2019 holding that the Dynamex test applied retroactively. … Continue reading California Supreme Court Holds that Dynamex ABC Test Applies Retroactively

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
COVID-19, Intellectual Property

Another COVID-19 Surprise: Important New Trademark and Copyright Legislation Buried In Spending and Relief Package

Written by Marissa B. Lewis Yesterday, Congress’s omnibus spending and COVID-19 relief bill, H.R. 133, was signed into law.  Buried in the legislation are two new acts that potentially have sweeping implications for intellectual property owners.  The Trademark Modernization (“TM”) Act and the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (“CASE”) Act introduce measures that are poised to significantly impact the way that trademark and copyright owners … Continue reading Another COVID-19 Surprise: Important New Trademark and Copyright Legislation Buried In Spending and Relief Package

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
COVID-19, Labor & Employment

FFCRA, We Hardly Knew Thee: Federal (and State) Paid COVID-19 Leave Laws Expire at Year’s End

Written by Jeremy Mittman and Stephen C. Franz On December 21, 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act as a follow-up to the April 2020 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  While President Trump has not yet signed the approximately $900 Billion measure, the new bill contains at least one provision that will be of particular interest to employers. Significantly, the new bill … Continue reading FFCRA, We Hardly Knew Thee: Federal (and State) Paid COVID-19 Leave Laws Expire at Year’s End

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
Intellectual Property

No Safe Harbor: Online Music Streaming Mixtape Platform is Liable for Copyright Infringement That Occurred Before Registering a DMCA Agent

Written by Albina Gasanbekova In Atlantic Recording Corp., et al. v. Spinrilla, LLC, et al., 1:17-cv-00431-AT (N.D. Ga. Nov. 30, 2020), a federal district court ruled that an online streaming provider cannot invoke the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) to avoid liability for infringing uploads occurring before the provider met the requisite criteria for such protection. Spinrilla.com (“Spinrilla”) proclaims that it … Continue reading No Safe Harbor: Online Music Streaming Mixtape Platform is Liable for Copyright Infringement That Occurred Before Registering a DMCA Agent

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
Intellectual Property

Deepfakes and Rights for the Dead: New York Adds a Post Mortem Publicity Right and Penalizes Sexually Explicit Deepfakes

Written by Timothy M. Carter On Monday, November 30, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law legislation (S5959D / A.5605-C, which we’ll refer to as the “Statute”) establishing, among other things, a new post-mortem “right of publicity.”  We explain here the key points to know about the new law. New York’s new post-mortem right is similar to the existing right of publicity protections … Continue reading Deepfakes and Rights for the Dead: New York Adds a Post Mortem Publicity Right and Penalizes Sexually Explicit Deepfakes

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
Intellectual Property

Producers of Hustlers Hustle Up a Win in Lawsuit: SDNY Dismisses Claims for Invasion of Privacy and Defamation in Barbash v. STX Financing

Written by Leo M. Lichtman Earlier this month, the Southern District of New York gave its stamp of approval to the hit film Hustlers, when it dismissed an action for invasion of privacy and defamation brought by Samantha Barbash, the real-life ringleader of an illegal conspiracy that influenced the film.  In its order of dismissal, the court provided important guidance on New York’s invasion of … Continue reading Producers of Hustlers Hustle Up a Win in Lawsuit: SDNY Dismisses Claims for Invasion of Privacy and Defamation in Barbash v. STX Financing

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
Immigration, Labor & Employment, Videos

From Players to Promoters: The People of Esports

In this webinar video, MSK attorneys Jeremy Mittman and Jaclyn Granet are joined by Andrew Cooke, General Counsel at Fnatic (one of the leading teams in esports globally), as the three of them discuss issues, interests and opportunities in this exciting and fast-growing industry. Specifically, they address audience engagement, trends in various platforms and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues, important labor and employment issues … Continue reading From Players to Promoters: The People of Esports

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment
Corporate

Proposed Rule Provides More Access to Capital for Businesses by Exempting Certain “Finders” from SEC Registration

Written by Mark Hiraide and Travis Jeffries Ever since the enactment of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), the practice of compensating a so-called “finder” of investors has been risky – it exposed both the finder and the company to whom the finder introduced investors to draconian rescission liability, unless the finder was registered as a broker with the U.S. Securities and … Continue reading Proposed Rule Provides More Access to Capital for Businesses by Exempting Certain “Finders” from SEC Registration

Unknown's avatarmskllpLeave a comment