By: Dan Pierron Congratulations! Your claims have been allowed, you’ve paid your issue fee, and you’ve received the seal and red ribbon! It’s been years in coming, and now you can kick back and relax, both your mind and your legal budget. Right? Maybe not. Deciding how to utilize a single patent or an entire portfolio […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
DMCA: Policy Mechanics
To remain eligible for safe harbor under § 512(c), an online service provider (OSP) who allows posting of user-generated content (UGC) must document, implement, and communicate its policy for monitoring, blocking, and removal of infringing content. The OSP also must be prepared to restore removed material correctly in the event that a takedown notice is successfully challenged […]
A Christmas Story Gone Bad
We know the holiday season is over but we just couldn’t help but pass this one along regarding a holiday T.V. classic. It was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring because we were all intently watching the Warner Bros’ 1983 movie, A Christmas Story, on the television. […]
DMCA: Notice and Counter-Notice
For websites that allow user generated content (UGC), the online service provider (OSP) and the copyright holder share responsibility for combating infringement. Part of that responsibility includes properly notifying each other with regard to alleged infringement. If a copyright owner or other party complaining of infringement fails to fully comply with the elements of notification […]
DMCA Requirements: Control and Benefit
My last post related how Online Service Providers (OSPs) are subject to disqualification for § 512 safe harbor from copyright infringement liability based on actual or red flag knowledge of user-generated content (UGC) containing infringing material. Another disqualifier for safe harbor is the OSP’s control of and benefit from the infringing act. Control and Benefit […]
We Both Have the Same Business Name. Am I in Trouble?
You started your company four years ago and everything is going well when all of a sudden you are handed a cease and desist letter. The letter informs you that you are using another company’s trademark – their company name. What are you to do? With the world increasingly getting smaller thanks to the internet, […]
User Generated Content: Safe Harbor?
In an earlier post, I discussed copyright infringement risks inherent to web sites that facilitate exchange of user-generated content (UGC). As the Internet’s popularity took off in the 1990s, governments of the world recognized the need to reconcile traditional copyright laws with the unique challenges of the information age, including UGC. In 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright […]
User Generated Content: Infringing?
From content sharing to crowdsourcing, web sites that facilitate exchange of user-generated content (UGC) are key components in what makes the web … the web! But of concern for website providers, promotions operators, sponsors, and others that permit third parties to post UGC is the possibility that the user will infringe third-party intellectual property or personal rights.
Third Party Submissions
By: Dan Pierron Yet another part of the America Invents Act are Third Party Submission of Prior Art. This presents the opportunity for ex parte participation in the form of introducing prior art to be considered by the examiner in a pending application. This adds another tool in the arsenal of options for a party considering an […]
