The Pros and (Scary) Cons of the New EU Trade Secret Directive, Part 2 (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Sharon K. Sandeen Part One of this post gave an overview of the new EU Trade Secret Directive (the “TS Directive”) that will be effective shortly (on the twentieth day after it is published in the Official…
The Pros and (Scary) Cons of the New EU Trade Secret Directive, Part 1 (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Sharon K. Sandeen Several years ago, I noticed something remarkable. After years (decades really) of being ignored, trade secret law was finally getting the attention it deserved, and on both sides of the Atlantic. First came the…
The New ‘Defend Trade Secrets Act’ Is The Biggest IP Development In Years (Forbes Cross-Post)
Last week, Congress passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (the DTSA), which President Obama will sign soon. The Defend Trade Secrets Act extends the current Economic Espionage Act of 1996, which criminalizes certain trade secret misappropriations, to allow civil lawsuits….
Santa Clara-Duke-USPTO Quality Conferences / Call for Participants
[Note: my colleague Colleen Chien has circulated this call for participation. I won’t be directly involved in either event, but they look terrific. I’m sharing it here in case you or someone in your network wants to participate. Please follow…
Proposed EU Regulation on Cross-Border Access to Copyrighted Content (Guest Blog Post)
by Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble When the European Commission issued its initial documents (here and here) in May 2015 regarding the Single Digital Market and geoblocking on the internet, the tone of the documents, and in particular their apparent vilification…
Q1 2016 Quick Links, Part 4 (Copyright, Marketing and More)
Copyright * Naruto v. Slater: “Naruto is not an “author” within the meaning of the Copyright Act.” I heart Naruto! * Handshoe v. Abel, 1:14-cv-00159-KS-MTP (S.D. Miss. Jan. 8, 2016) (cites omitted): Given that there is no dispute that the…
Q1 2016 Quick Links, Part 3 (DOJ v. Apple, ISIS, Censorship & More)
Surveillance * The whole Apple v. DOJ fracas was insane! NY Times: In Nod to Law Enforcement, Obama Ends Attempt to Straddle Privacy Divide. Vice: Obama’s Call for Encryption ‘Compromise’ Is Hypocritical. NY Times: For Apple, a Search for a…
Sketchy Suit Between Native Advertising Competitors Produces Sketchy Section 230 Ruling–Adblade v. RevContent
This case is filled with sketchiness. First, the litigants compete in the “native advertising industry,” which doesn’t have a great reputation (and this lawsuit isn’t likely to improve it). Second, the ads in question promote wrinkle creams, diet pills and…
Q1 2016 Quick Links, Part 2 (Online Jurisdiction)
Oh yay, an entire quick links post dedicated to online jurisdiction! * Kindig It Design, Inc. v. Creative Controls, Inc., 2016 WL 247574 (D. Utah. Jan. 20, 2016) Furthermore, maintaining an interactive website is no longer the sole purview of…
Q1 2016 Quick Links, Part 1 (Trademarks and Domain Names)
* Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences v. GoDaddy.com, Inc., 2015 WL 5311085 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 10, 2015). A major win for GoDaddy—and domain name parking programs generally—against a long-running cybersquatting suit by the Motion Picture Academy. This ruling…