Tag: featured

Intellectual Property

“Conquesting” Lawsuit Is No Conquest for Trademark Plaintiff

Written by Skyler M. Terrebonne On October 22, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court delivered the latest word on whether the practice of “keyword advertising,” and in particular the strategy of “conquesting,” constitutes trademark infringement. Keyword advertising is an advertising strategy wherein a company bids on a Google Ads keyword, so that an advertisement for its business will appear near the top … Continue reading “Conquesting” Lawsuit Is No Conquest for Trademark Plaintiff

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Labor & Employment

New California Law Imposes Requirements on Contracts with Freelance Workers

Written by Jeremy Mittman and Matt J. Mardesich As readers of this blog are likely aware, California generally uses a three-part test, known as the ABC test, to determine whether workers are classified as employees or independent contractors under the Wage Orders and California Labor Code. However, a notable exception exists for contracts for “professional services” as defined by Labor Code Section 2778, and assuming a multi-part … Continue reading New California Law Imposes Requirements on Contracts with Freelance Workers

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Labor & Employment

Recent California Law Clarifies Loan-Out Companies Are Lawful 

Written by Anthony J. Amendola and Matt J. Mardesich Many artists in the motion picture industry choose to provide their services through personal services corporations or similar entities generally known as “loan-out” companies.  When a recipient of the talent’s services (e.g., a producer or other industry employer) engages talent in this manner, the “loan-out” company serves as the artist’s “general” (on-going) employer and “lends” the … Continue reading Recent California Law Clarifies Loan-Out Companies Are Lawful 

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Labor & Employment

California Eliminates Employers’ Ability to Require Employees to Take Vacation Before Receiving Paid Family Leave Benefits

Written by Jeremy Mittman and Diana M. Martinez On September 29, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 2123 to change California’s state sponsored paid family leave (PFL) program.  As part of the PFL program, eligible employees receive wage replacement benefits while taking time off for several reasons such as taking care of a seriously ill family member or bonding with a minor child … Continue reading California Eliminates Employers’ Ability to Require Employees to Take Vacation Before Receiving Paid Family Leave Benefits

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Intellectual Property

Not Just Your Neighborhood Library: Second Circuit Rejects Argument that Internet Archive’s E-book Database Is Fair Use

Written by Robert Rotstein On September 4, 2024, in Hachette Book Group, Inc., et al. v. Internet Archive, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a ruling that a defendant that has created a massive database of copyrighted print books and allows users to access the books for free cannot rely on the copyright law’s fair use defense, 17 U.S.C. §107, to … Continue reading Not Just Your Neighborhood Library: Second Circuit Rejects Argument that Internet Archive’s E-book Database Is Fair Use

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Intellectual Property

Punchbowl, Inc. v. AJ Press: A Trademark Defendant Prevails Post-Jack Daniel’s

Written by Constance Kang Punchbowl, Inc. v. AJ Press is one of the first rulings to grapple with an infringement case following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent limitation of the applicability of a First Amendment-based defense in Jack Daniel’s Properties v. VIP Products LLC.  The opinion, issued in the case last week upon remand after the Ninth Circuit’s reading of Jack Daniel’s, not only held … Continue reading Punchbowl, Inc. v. AJ Press: A Trademark Defendant Prevails Post-Jack Daniel’s

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Intellectual Property

Eight Mile Style v. Spotify: District Court Holds Doctrine of Equitable Estoppel Bars Copyright Claims

Written by Robert H. Rotstein On August 15, 2024, a federal district court granted summary judgment to defendants Spotify USA Inc. (“Spotify”) and the Harry Fox Agency (“HFA”) in their long-running copyright-infringement dispute with plaintiffs Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated, LLC (together, “Eight Mile Style”) over the service’s streaming of Eminem’s catalog. Eight Mile Style, LLC  v. Spotify USA Inc., 3:19-CV-00736, 2024 WL 3836075 … Continue reading Eight Mile Style v. Spotify: District Court Holds Doctrine of Equitable Estoppel Bars Copyright Claims

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Labor & Employment

New Considerations for Employers Committed to DEI Initiatives

Written by Louise Truong and Ricky Tai The current state of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives is at a critical juncture. Recent court decisions and policy changes have presented significant challenges to ongoing DEI efforts across industries and sectors.  How to implement DEI initiatives moving forward in this new landscape will require a thoughtful approach.  In recent years, there has been an uptick in … Continue reading New Considerations for Employers Committed to DEI Initiatives

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Cybersecurity, Regulatory

VPPA Litigation Trends and Defense Strategies

Written by Susan Kohn Ross, Lucy Plovnick, and Stacey Chuvaieva Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) litigation has become a major focus for class action lawyers targeting websites using Meta or Google Pixels that offer any kind of subscription for users and contain video content. Despite the recent litigation trend primarily favoring defendants, VPPA litigation remains persistent, and the steady flow of cases shows no signs … Continue reading VPPA Litigation Trends and Defense Strategies

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Intellectual Property

Vetter v. Resnik: A Copyright Termination Opinion that Knows No Boundaries

Written by Eric J. Schwartz and Rebecca Benyamin For the first time, a federal court has held that termination rights under Section 304 of the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 U.S.C. § 304) re-capture not only U.S. copyright rights, but also foreign rights as well, where the original grant of rights was for “worldwide” rights. Vetter v. Resnik, No. 23-1369-SDD-EWD, 2024 WL 3405556 (D. La. … Continue reading Vetter v. Resnik: A Copyright Termination Opinion that Knows No Boundaries

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