Experience
hiQ Labs Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp.
Represented startup hiQ Labs Inc. in a precedent-setting litigation for data analytics, mining, and aggregator companies and their right to access publicly available data under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), and a California state law on unauthorized computer access. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed hiQ’s preliminary injunction against LinkedIn.
Authors Guild v. HathiTrust
We submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in support of the HathiTrust “mass digitization” project. HathiTrust, backed by a consortium of university libraries and Google, has digitized millions of copyrighted books and incorporated them into a database without the consent of copyright owners. The brief addressed whether changing a work from print form to a digital database in order to add new uses counts as “transformative” under copyright fair use factor 1. In June 2014, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision that HathiTrust Digital Library’s use of the copyrighted works for full-text search constitutes a “fair use.” The court also affirmed the district court’s ruling that fair use allows the libraries to provide the works in formats accessible to the print-disabled.
Warner Bros. Records v. SeeqPod
We defended search engine SeeqPod in a copyright infringement matter brought by Warner Brothers Records and several other major music labels in the Central District of California. Warner is alleging that SeeqPod's technology allows the infringement of copyrighted materials, and is seeking a preliminary injunction. We are defending the action based on a number of "safe harbors" under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA").
SLL v. Wal-Mart Stores, et al.
We represented Wal-Mart Stores and Sam's Club in the Central District of California against allegations that a certain brand of jeans sold at Sam's Club infringed on the plaintiff's copyright and trademarks. The case settled with very favorable terms to Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.
In Re Napster, Inc. Copyright Litigation
Represented both Napster, Inc. and Musicnet in connection with the Napster litigation involving copyright and antitrust claims.
Ran One v. Principa
We represented Ran One in a copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation case brought against a former officer and director who attempted to create a competing company. The case settled favorably to Ran One.
321 Studios v Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. et al.
Represented nine major motion picture production companies in litigation related to a software product called "DVD Copy Plus," which allowed users to decrypt copy-protected DVDs and to duplicate and transfer the copyrighted contents and issues of first impression relating to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as well as copyright infringement claims, including challenge to the constitutionality of the anti-trafficking provisions of the DMCA.
B.C. Bones v. Battat
We represented B.C. Bones in a copyright infringement action relating to the design of three-dimensional dinosaur puzzles. The case settled favorably to our client.
Boldryev v. Frankel
We represented the original developer of WinAmp, the industry leading MP3 player, involving claims of fraud, copyright infringement, and partnership accounting by an alleged co-developer, following the sale of the company to AOL. The case was successfully resolved.
Chris Arsenault v. Roger Wagner Publishing, Inc.
Successfully defended the former owner of Roger Wagner Publishing, Inc. against a claim by a software programmer for alleged joint authorship and ownership of the copyright to the successful multimedia educational software program Hyperstudio.
Corbis v. Ofoto
We defended online photography service Ofoto, a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak, against first-impression claims of copyright and trademark infringement relating to the online sharing and exchange of photographs. We obtained a successful settlement for our client.
CyberMedia v. Symantec, et al.
Represented an Atlanta-based software development company and its officers in connection with copyright and trade secret claims arising out of the development and sale of a popular software program.