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By: Alexis Fierens, Heidi Waem, and Thomas Gils

On 2 April 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued an interesting decision in relation to a request for a preliminary…
Continue Reading IP UPDATE: RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN EU COPYRIGHT LAW: STIM & SAMI V FLEETMANAGER SWEDEN AB & NORDISK BILUTHYRNING AB (C-753/18)

By: Andrew L. Deutsch and Tamar Y. Duvdevani

On March 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court decided an important issue of copyright law that had divided federal courts for years. In Fourth Estate Public …
Continue Reading FOURTH ESTATE PUBLIC BENEFIT CORP. V. WALL-STREET.COM: WHEN CAN A COPYRIGHT CLAIMANT SUE FOR INFRINGEMENT? SUPREME COURT SAYS NOT UNTIL THE COPYRIGHT HAS BEEN REGISTERED

By: Frank Ryan and Matt Ganas (with contribution from Michael Varrige)

The California federal district court, in Davis v. Electronic Arts Inc., recently issued the latest in a series of decisions involving athletes’ right…
Continue Reading ATHLETES’ RIGHT OF PUBLICITY CLAIMS DIRECTED TO SPORTS VIDEO GAMES NOT PREEMPTED BY COPYRIGHT ACT

By Tamar Duvdevani

On March 22, 2017, in a 6-2 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the designs on Varsity Brands’ cheerleading uniforms are eligible for copyright protection.  The crux of this decision relates to the fact that the United States Copyright Act treats the copyrightability of “useful articles” differently than “pure” works of art.  Specifically, the Act states that: “The design of a useful article, as defined in this section, shall be considered a pictorial, graphic or sculptural work only if, and only to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article.”  17 U.S.C. § 101.…
Continue Reading UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH COPYRIGHT OWNER IN STAR ATHLETICA CASE

By Rahool Sarjua and John Cloke

Following the string of cases on hyperlinking the CJEU has dealt with in recent years, the court has emphatically confirmed in its judgment in GS Media v Sanoma & Ors that hyperlinking to works that have been made available on the Internet without the authorisation of the copyright owner can infringe copyright.…
Continue Reading THINK BEFORE YOU LINK – CJEU CONFIRMS THAT LINKING TO FREELY AVAILABLE BUT UNAUTHORISED CONTENT CAN INFRINGE COPYRIGHT