Copyright 3-year Statute of Limitations Trumps Laches Defense PETRELLA v. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER, INC. Frank Petrella wrote two screenplays and one book based on the life of boxing champion Jake LaMotta. One of the screenplays, registered in 1963, identifies Patrella as the sole author, written in collaboration with LaMotta. LaMotta and Patrella assigned their rights in the screenplay, including renewal rights, to Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Inc. […] Continue Reading →
New and Useful – August 26, 2013 · InUniversity of Utah v. Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, the Federal Circuit held that a patent lawsuit between a state university and the officers of another state university is not a controversy between two states. The case began when the University of Utah (“UUtah”) sued the Max Planck Institute and the University of Massachusetts (“UMass”) to correct inventorship […] Continue Reading →
United States did not waive immunity for copyright infringement claim brought by prisoner In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit held the Court of Federal Claims correctly dismissed a copyright infringement suit against the United States for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The plaintiff is a federal prisoner who created various coyprightable works while in federal prison. He brought suit alleging copyright infringement after his works were distributed […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit addresses scope of immunity waiver for copyright and DMCA claims In a decision Friday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision from the United States Court of Federal Claims dismissing a copyright holder's claims for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that the Government had not waived sovereign immunity. The suit arose from alleged copyright infringement and an alleged violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act […] Continue Reading →
Supreme Court asks for government’s view on whether it should hear sovereign immunity waiver case In an order yesterday, the Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General's office to file a brief providing the government's views on whether it should grant certiorari in Biomedical Patent Management Corp. v. California Department of Health Services (No. 07-956). We previously blogged about the Federal Circuit's decision in this post. The case deals with whether […] Continue Reading →
Waiver of immunity in earlier case does not operate as waiver in later case involving same patent In a decision Tuesday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's decision that a state had not waived its Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity. The state had intervened in an earlier, related action, but that action was subsequently dismissed for improper venue. The court held that while the state waived its immunity in the first suit […] Continue Reading →
Agreement to “submit to jurisdiction” is waiver of 11th Amendment immunity by state university In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit held that a state university had waived its Eleventh Amendment immunity from suit. The university entered into an agreement with a "governing law" provision that stated that "all parties agree to proper venue and hereby submit to jurisdiction in the appropriate State or Federal Courts of Record sitting […] Continue Reading →
Government contractor entitled to patent infringement immunity The Federal Circuit ruled today that a contractor working for the government was entitled to immunity from a patent infringement suit under 28 U.S.C. § 1498(a). The contractor was hired to clean up various sites contaminated by hazardous waste, and the terms of the contract required the contractor to use a particular method to perform […] Continue Reading →
University Can’t Have Its Cake and Eat It Too – Immunity Negated The University of Missouri’s waived its constitutional immunity under the Eleventh Amendment when it fully participated in an interference action against Vas-Cath, Inc. A Vas-Cath patent had issued while the University’s application, although filed before the Vas-Cath application, was still pending. The University invoked the procedures to institute an interference between the University’s pending application […] Continue Reading →