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Supreme Court Chooses the Middle Ground in the eBay Case
The landmark decision of the Supreme Court in MercExchange LLC v. eBay, 547 U.S. __ (2006), has left many inventors and patent owners disappointed, as the Supreme Court sided with eBay and set aside the prior decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ('CAFC'). A closer reading of the decision, however, seems to indicate a balanced approach that gave both sides something to brag about.
A jury in the Eastern District of Virginia found that MercExchange's patent for an electronic exchange was valid, and that online auctioneer eBay and its affiliate Half.com had willfully infringed it though eBay's fixed-price 'Buy-it-Now' feature. They awarded MercExchange damages in the amount of $35 million. Following the jury verdict, the judge denied MercExchange's motion for a permanent injunction. The CAFC reversed that ruling, applying its 'general rule that courts will issue permanent injunctions against patent infringement absent exceptional circumstances.' The Supreme Court remanded the case to the District Court, stating that the District Court and the CAFC both erred by departing from the four-factor test in opposite directions.
Four-Factor Equitable Test Applies to Patent Cases
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?