Table of Contents
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Philpot v. Independent Journal Review
Civil Procedure, Copyright, Intellectual Property
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
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Ragan v. Berkshire Hathaway Auto, Inc.
Copyright, Intellectual Property
US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
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GOOGLE LLC v. ECOFACTOR, INC.
Government & Administrative Law, Intellectual Property, Patents
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
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WEBER, INC. v. PROVISUR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Intellectual Property, Patents
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
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Intellectual Property Opinions
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Philpot v. Independent Journal Review
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Court: US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Docket:
21-2021
Opinion Date: February 6, 2024
Judge:
Wynn
Areas of Law:
Civil Procedure, Copyright, Intellectual Property
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In this case, professional concert photographer Larry Philpot brought a copyright-infringement claim against news website Independent Journal Review (IJR) after IJR used his photograph of musician Ted Nugent in an online article. IJR sought summary judgment, arguing that its use of the photo constituted fair use under the Copyright Act and alternatively arguing that Philpot's copyright registration was invalid. Philpot also sought summary judgment, contending that his registration was valid and that IJR's use was not fair use. The district court granted summary judgment to IJR on fair use grounds and denied Philpot's motion.
On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded the decision. The court held that IJR's use of the photograph did not constitute fair use because it was non-transformative and commercial, and it adversely affected the potential market for the photograph. It also found that Philpot's copyright registration was valid because the photograph was not published before Philpot registered it as an unpublished work. The court concluded that IJR was not entitled to summary judgment on its fair use defense and that Philpot was entitled to summary judgment on the validity of the copyright registration.
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Ragan v. Berkshire Hathaway Auto, Inc.
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Court: US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Docket:
22-3355
Opinion Date: February 2, 2024
Judge:
GRASZ
Areas of Law:
Copyright, Intellectual Property
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Ronald Ragan, Jr. brought a suit against Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, Inc. (BHA) alleging that the company had copied his car dealership customer intake form ("Guest Sheet") without his permission, constituting copyright infringement. The case was brought before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Ragan held a certificate of registration for the Guest Sheet issued by the United States Copyright Office and asserted that BHA continued to use the form after acquiring a company that had previously copied and used the Guest Sheet. BHA argued that the Guest Sheet was not copyrightable. The district court agreed with BHA and ruled in its favor. On appeal, Ragan argued that the district court erred in finding the Guest Sheet uncopyrightable. The appeals court, however, upheld the district court's decision, ruling that the Guest Sheet lacked the requisite originality to be protected under copyright law. The court found that the Guest Sheet, which contained basic questions and prompts, did not exhibit sufficient creativity, and was designed to record, not convey, information. The court also dismissed Ragan's claim that the district court ignored the statutory presumption of copyright validity granted to the Guest Sheet by the certificate of registration, stating that the copyrightability of the Guest Sheet could be determined by an examination of the Guest Sheet alone.
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GOOGLE LLC v. ECOFACTOR, INC.
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Court: US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Docket:
22-1750
Opinion Date: February 7, 2024
Judge:
REYNA
Areas of Law:
Government & Administrative Law, Intellectual Property, Patents
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The appellants, Google LLC and ecobee, Inc. had appealed from a decision of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The Board had found that the challenged claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,498,753, owned by EcoFactor, Inc., were not unpatentable. Google argued that the Board had made an erroneous claim construction of a limitation in Claim 1 and that Google had not been given notice or an opportunity to address the Board’s construction, thereby violating the Administrative Procedure Act. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the Board had indeed construed Claim 1 and that its construction was erroneous. The court vacated the Board’s decision and remanded the case for further proceedings under the correct construction of the [1m] limitation in Claim 1.
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WEBER, INC. v. PROVISUR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
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Court: US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Docket:
22-1751
Opinion Date: February 8, 2024
Judge:
Reyna
Areas of Law:
Intellectual Property, Patents
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In a patent dispute between Weber, Inc. and Provisur Technologies, Inc. before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Weber appealed two final written decisions from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The Board had determined that Weber failed to establish the unpatentability of the claims of Provisur’s patents relating to high-speed mechanical slicers used in food-processing plants. The Board found that Weber’s operating manuals were not prior art printed publications and that the prior art did not disclose two challenged claim terms. The Court of Appeals reversed the Board's determinations that Weber's operating manuals do not qualify as printed publications and that the prior art does not disclose the "disposed over" and "stop gate" limitations. The court then vacated the Board's conclusions that Weber failed to establish unpatentability of the challenged claims, and remanded the case for further proceedings.
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