When does the globally available website of a foreign company subject that company to jurisdiction in the United States for purposes of a trademark infringement action? Does it make a difference if the foreign company has applied for a United States trademark registration? In Plixner International v. Scrutinizer GmbH, the First Circuit was reluctant to adopt any rules of general applicability,… More
Tag Archives: First Circuit
First Circuit Clarifies Rights of Co-Author of Joint Derivative Work to Make Further Derivatives
In a squabble between two psychologists over rights to books about “explosive” children, the First Circuit weighed in this summer with an opinion holding that a work of authorship under the Copyright Act can be simultaneously both a “joint work” and a “derivative work.” The case is Greene v. Ablon, 794 F.3d 133 (1st Cir. 2015).
The plaintiff, Dr. Ross Greene,… More
I Think That I Shall Never See, Trademark Injunctions If Confusion Is Unlikely
In its recent decision in Arborjet, Inc. v. Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements, Inc., a case involving claims for breach of contract and trademark infringement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction based upon the contract claims, but vacated the portion of the order requiring trademark attribution. In an opinion authored by retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter,… More
Are You There, Copyright Office? It’s Me, First Circuit! Can Composers Deposit Infringing Musical Works In Place of The Original?
Copyright law usually has little patience for plaintiffs who don’t have a copy of their original work to deposit with the Copyright Office. For example, in Seiler v. Lucasfilm, a plaintiff who claimed to have created the “Imperial Walkers” in The Empire Strikes Back film had his case dismissed because,… More