4
04
2018
IP Watchdog
Roman Brtka
April 2, 2018
eSports is an exciting new area — not only in the sporting industry but in legal terms. There are various key players such as eGamers, game publishers, and organizers of eSports events, who are facing the challenge of sufficiently protecting their rights. Organizers need to ensure that they obtain all necessary usage rights from the game publishers and the participating eGamers, and these parties need to be aware of their possible ancillary copyrights and should take appropriate precautionary measures to protect them.
more
The content in this post was found at https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2018/04/02/intellectual-property-esports/id=95245/
Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post. and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com.
Powered by WPeMatico
Comments : Comments Off on Intellectual Property in the World of eSports
Categories : Copyright, Digital IP Torts, Digital Rights Management, DMCA, International IP Law, IP Law in Virtual Worlds, Software Piracy, Terms of Service, Trademarks
22
03
2018
Social Aware blog: law and business of social media
Hywote Taye & John Delaney on March 20, 2018
Does a search engine operator have to delist websites hosting, without authorization, your trade secret materials or other intellectual property? The answer may depend on where you sue—just ask Google. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently handed the company a victory over plaintiff Equustek Solutions Inc. in what has turned into an international battle where physical borders can have very real consequences on the Internet.
The dispute began when a rival company, Datalink, allegedly misappropriated Equustek’s trade secrets in developing competing products. Equustek also alleged that Datalink misled customers who thought they were buying Equustek products. In 2012, Equustek obtained numerous court orders in Canada against Datalink. Datalink refused to comply, and Canadian court issued an arrest warrant for the primary defendant, who has yet to be apprehended.
In September 2012, Equustek asked Google to delist search results for Datalink; Google declined this request. Equustek then sought a court order against Google in Canada and prevailed, resulting in Google removing 300 Datalink websites from search results generated by the Canadian version of its site, located at www.google.ca. Google, however, did not take similar steps with respect to U.S. and other non-Canadian versions of its site, so the Datalink websites continued to appear in search results conducted by users outside of Canada.
Equustek returned to the Canadian court, this time to seek an order compelling Google to remove the Datalink-related search results globally so that Datalink results would not appear for any Google users, regardless of their location. Equustek once again prevailed, and Google appealed to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. That court, and later the Supreme Court of Canada, affirmed the trial court’s order.
Google then brought the battle to the United States; in July 2017, it commenced an action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking a declaratory judgment that the Canadian court order cannot be enforced in the United States and an injunction against the enforcement of such order. (Equustek did not submit an opposition brief.)
In support of its preliminary injunction motion, Google’s primary arguments were that the Canadian order (1) ignores the Communication Decency Act’s immunity for interactive service providers (2) directly conflicts with the First Amendment and (3) violates principles of international comity.
more
The content in this post was found at https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2018/03/20/the-coming-border-wars-u-s-court-decision-refusing-to-enforce-canadian-court-order-highlights-the-growing-balkanization-of-the-internet/
Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post. and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com.
Powered by WPeMatico
Comments : Comments Off on The Coming Border Wars: U.S. Court Decision Refusing to Enforce Canadian Court Order Highlights the Growing Balkanization of the Internet
Categories : defamation safe harbor (cda), Digital IP Torts, International IP Law, Jurisdiction, Trade Secrets
15
03
2018
SCOTUSblog
United States v. Microsoft Corp.
US Supreme Court, heard February 27, 2018
Issue: Whether a United States provider of email services must comply with a probable-cause-based warrant issued under 18 U.S.C. § 2703 by making disclosure in the United States of electronic communications within that provider’s control, even if the provider has decided to store that material abroad.
more
The content in this post was found at http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/united-states-v-microsoft-corp/ Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post. and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com.
Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : International IP Law, Jurisdiction
3
02
2018
DMCA counter-notifications are rare, and litigation over them is even more rare. So my curiosity is piqued that this is the second 512(g) case I’m blogging in a week (the other: DMCA Counternotification Doesn’t Create Personal Jurisdiction in Copyright Owner’s Home Court–Real v. Matteo). Must be something in the water.
Epic Games makes videogames, including Fortnite. Rak, a Russian, made a Fortnite cheat and posted a YouTube video advertising the cheat. “Epic Games alleges that Mr. Rak’s cheat and video violates Epic Games’s copyrights and trademarks and intentionally induces other players to modify the game and thereby induces those players to violate Epic Games’ copyrights and trademarks as well.” Epic got some press for the quoted legal position when it sued a minor and mom publicly scolded them. In this case, Epic sent a DMCA takedown notice for Rak’s video to YouTube, which complied. Rak submitted a counter-notice to YouTube.
The counter-notification statute requires the counter-notifier to include their “name, address, and telephone number, and a statement…that [they] will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.” Rak’s notice said he lived in Russia, listed his Gmail address, and said he would accept service. Epic located Rak’s email address used for his Fortnite account in its database and sent emails to both the Gmail and second email accounts including a cover letter, a copy of the summons and complaint, and a service waiver request (all in English). Rak did not reply.
Case citation: Epic Games, Inc. v. Mendes, 2018 WL 582411 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2018). The complaint.
more
The content in this post was found at https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2018/02/copyright-owner-can-serve-dmca-counter-notifier-by-email-epic-games-v-mendes.htm and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Copyright, DMCA, International IP Law, Jurisdiction
26
01
2018
This case combines one of my favorite Internet Law topics, 17 USC 512, with one of my least favorite, personal jurisdiction. TL;DR: if a foreign national submits a 512(g) counternotification, it doesn’t ensure the copyright owner can sue in its home court.
The copyright at issue involves “Towergirls,” a video game. One putative copyright owner, based in Australia, had an agreement with Matteo, based in Italy, to extend the Towergirls universe. A Louisiana entity also claims partial ownership of the copyright, but wasn’t part of that agreement. Matteo crowd-sourced his effort on Patreon. The relationship soured when Matteo allegedly added nonconsensual sex to his effort and publicly undermined the putative owners’ ownership. The putative owners sent a takedown notice to Patreon. Matteo counternoticed on fair use grounds. The putative owners sued Matteo in Louisiana. Matteo moved to dismiss.
Case citation:
Real v. Matteo, 2018 WL 493596 (W.D. La. Jan. 3, 2018). This is a magistrate ruling. The plaintiffs did not object, and the district court judge approved it on Jan. 19, 2018.
The content in this post was found at http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2018/01/dmca-counternotification-doesnt-create-personal-jurisdiction-in-copyright-owners-home-court-real-v-matteo.htm and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Copyright, International IP Law, Jurisdiction
24
01
2018
In its latest action in a multi-jurisdictional conflict with a mobile gaming producer, Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. LLC filed a complaint for trademark infringement in the Northern District of California on December 21, 2017. The complaint alleges, among other things, trademark infringement against a London-based game developer Ren Ventures Ltd. for using the word SABACC as the name of their iOS and Android mobile game. Other causes of action include copyright infringement, cancellation of the defendant’s trademark, unfair competition, common law trademark infringement, and California unfair competition.
more
The content in this post was found at http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2018/01/23/fictional-game-evolve-trademark/id=92398/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Copyright, International IP Law, Jurisdiction, Trademarks