In Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. v. American Home Realty Network Inc. et al., District of Maryland Alexander Williams Jr. dismissed antitrust claims arising in a copyright infringement case. The court held that the defendant real estate referral service did not plausibly allege that the plaintiff conspired to file sham copyright infringement suits intended to […]
Category Archives: Copyright Issues
Allegations that Copyright Owners Conspired to Restrain Competition Dismissed
July 3, 2013 – 11:11 am
Court Finds Waiver of Right to Jury Trial in Major Antitrust Damages Case
May 22, 2013 – 7:34 am
In State of Texas et al. v. Penguin Group USA Inc. et al., Southern District of New York Judge Denise Cote has ruled that Penguin Group USA Inc. waived its right to a jury trial on damages claims brought by a group of 30 states against Apple and several publishing companies for fixing e-book prices. […]
Court Enjoins Labeling Designed to Make Shelf Stable Products Appear Fresh
May 21, 2013 – 5:29 pm
In Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. v. Del Monte Foods Co., Southern District of New York Judge Sidney H. Stein enjoined Del Monte Corp. from mislabeling products in a fashion designed to suggest that they contain fresh fruit when in fact the products do not. The injunction comes approximately one year after a jury awarded […]
TV Broadcasters Must Rely on Copyright to Pursue Rebroadcaster
May 30, 2012 – 4:25 pm
Southern District of New York Judge Alison J. Nathan dismissed the plaintiffs’ unfair competition claim in a suit by TV broadcasters seeking to stop Aereo Inc. from streaming video in WNET et al. v. Aereo Inc. The court held that the federal Copyright Act’s express preemption provision bars unfair competition claims under state law. The […]
College Athlete Likeness in Video Game Case to Move Forward
May 30, 2012 – 4:24 pm
In re: NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litigation, Northern District of California Judge Claudia Wilken denied Electronic Arts Inc. motion to dismiss multidistrict antitrust litigation alleging that it conspired to deny compensation to former college athletes for use of their likenesses in video games. Plaintiffs claim that the NCAA wrongly prohibits college players from […]
Sirius/XM Launches Antitrust Attack on Music Licensors
April 3, 2012 – 2:11 pm
Sirius/XM has filed suit in New York federal court against SoundExchange, Inc., a copyright collective that represents thousands of labels and artists. The plaintiff asks the court to dissolve SoundExchange or put in place a long-term oversight program. The suit comes amid negotiations over rates that the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will set for a […]
Court Grants TRO Blocking Reebok’s Sale of Tebow NYJ Jerseys
April 3, 2012 – 11:46 am
New York federal court judge, Kevin Castel, granted a temporary restraining order barring Reebok, a unit of Adidas AG, from selling Tim Tebow New York Jets jerseys. “The public demand for such Tebow-Jets products spans the entire U.S.,” plaintiff Nike alleged, has led Reebok “to illegitimately seize on this unique and short-lived consumer opportunity.” Nike […]
Multimedia Messaging Antitrust Suit Dismissed for Lack of Standing
March 19, 2012 – 3:13 pm
In Bruce Max Davis et al. v. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. et al., California federal judge Dean D. Pregerson, tossed a putative antitrust conspiracy class action under the Sherman Act and California Cartwright Act. The complaint alleged price-fixing and unfair competition, and was filed by multimedia content owners and producers against AT&T Mobility LLC, Verizon […]
MGA’s Antitrust Claims Against Mattel Over Bratz Doll Dismissed While IP Dispute Continues
March 2, 2012 – 3:50 pm
Central District of California federal judge David O. Carter dismissed MGA Entertainment Inc.’s claims that Mattel Inc. attempted to sabotage its Bratz doll line, ruling that MGA’s lawsuit against Mattel relied on the same factual allegations that were raised during a 2010 trial resolving an intellectual property dispute over the Bratz doll line. The new […]