SWIPLit

Led Zeppelin Ruling Overturns Ninth Circuit’s ‘Inverse Ratio Rule’

By Shalayne L. Pillar and David G. Barker On March 9, 2020, Led Zeppelin won a major copyright battle over claims that they stole part of their signature song “Stairway to Heaven.”  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling en banc, upheld a 2016 jury verdict that cleared the band of infringing a 1967 instrumental […]

| 3 min read | Tagged: ,
SP
Former Associate
DB

House Approves Legislation to Create Copyright Small Claims Board

By Shalayne L. Pillar and David G. Barker On October 22, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 410-6 in favor of the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019, or CASE Act.  If passed into law, the CASE Act would create a voluntary small claims board within the U.S. Copyright Office, called the […]

| 2 min read | Tagged:
SP
Former Associate
DB

The Truth Is in the Syrup: Bud Light Ordered to Remove ‘No Corn Syrup’ from Packaging in False Advertising Battle

By Shalayne Pillar and David G. Barker The U.S. District Court, District of Wisconsin, recently ordered Anheuser-Busch to stop using the label “No Corn Syrup” on its packaging, the latest ruling in a false advertising battle filed over Anheuser-Busch’s attack ads aimed at rival MillerCoors. The case involves Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light ad campaign that highlighted […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , , ,
SP
Former Associate
DB

Supreme Court to Decide Two Trademark Cases

By Shalayne Pillar and David G. Barker The Supreme Court of the United States recently granted certiorari in two trademark cases.  In Romag Fasteners v. Fossil, the Court will consider whether courts can order trademark infringers to disgorge their profits without a finding of “willful” infringement. In Lucky Brand Dungarees v. Marcel Fashion Group, the […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , , ,
SP
Former Associate
DB

How Scandalous! SCOTUS Again Takes up Whether the Lanham Act Violates the First Amendment

By Shalayne Pillar and David G. Barker On Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear a case that will decide whether the federal ban on trademark protection for “scandalous” material is unconstitutional.  In re Brunetti follows the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO’s”) denial of trademark registration for the word “Fuct,” […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , ,
SP
Former Associate
DB