Tennessee IP Law Blog

Digital Drilling Data Sys., L.L.C. v. Petrolink Servs., Inc. , No. 19-20116, 2020 WL 3603953 (5th Cir. July 2, 2020) https://www.drillingpoint.com/p2797/cost-reduction-improving-sweet-spot-coverage/ Topics: Software, Preemption, Data Scraping, Unjust Enrichment, DMCA Takeaways: This 5th Circuit verdict indicates a possible split on the issue of data scraping previously addressed by the 11th Circuit in Compulife v. Newman . Here, Digidrill did not challenge the District Court's holding that the drilling data scraped from their system by Petrolink was un-copyrightable facts so it was not addressed by the 5th Circuit aside from being mentioned in a footnote. But in Compulife , the 11th Circuit found that the insurance pricing data that was scraped individually were publicly available facts, but that in the aggregate was not and that data scraping "limitless amounts" of data may constitute improper means. The data scraping in both of these cases deal with "factual"...

Brantley v. Epic Games, Inc. , No. 8:19-CV-594-PWG, 2020 WL 2794016, at *12 (D. Md. May 29, 2020) Topic: Copyright Preemption for Dance & Choreography Takeaways: Court finds that the "Running Man" falls somewhere between Copyrightable choreography and uncopyrightable dance steps and is therefore within the "general subject matter" of Copyright. https://realsport101.com/fortnite/fortnite-chapter-2-season-2-extended-delayed-map-end-date-details-rumours-twitter-reddit-more/ Plaintiffs Jaylen Brantley and Jared Nickens bring this action against Defendant Epic Games, Inc. for the alleged unauthorized appropriation of the dance the “Running Man” that they allegedly created, named, and popularized. Plaintiffs claim that Epic Games intentionally copied the movements of the “Running Man” dance and incorporated them as a feature of its highly popular online video game Fortnite. They bring eight causes of action under common law and the federal Lanham Act...

Daniels v. Walt Disney Co. , 20 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4019 (9th Cir. May 4, 2020) Topic: Copyrightability of Graphically-Depicted Characters Literary and graphic characters—from James Bond to the Batmobile—capture our creative imagination. These characters also may enjoy copyright protection, subject to certain limitations. Here we consider whether certain anthropomorphized characters representing human emotions qualify for copyright protection. They do not. For guidance, we turn to DC Comics v. Towle, our court’s most recent explanation of the copyrightability of graphically-depicted characters. DC Comics v. Towle , 802 F.3d 1012 (9th Cir. 2015). Denise Daniels developed a line of anthropomorphic characters called The Moodsters, which she pitched to entertainment and toy companies around the country, including The Walt Disney Company. Under Towle, “lightly sketched” characters such as The Moodsters, which lack “consistent, identifiable character traits and attributes,” do not enj...

Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. , 20 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 3636 (U.S. Apr. 27, 2020) Topic: Copyrightability of Statutory Code The Copyright Act grants monopoly protection for “original works of authorship.” 17 U.S.C. § 102(a). Under the government edicts doctrine, officials empowered to speak with the force of law cannot be the authors of the works they create in the course of their official duties. The State of Georgia has one official code—the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA). That Code includes the text of every Georgia statute currently in force, as well as a set of non-binding annotations that appear beneath each statutory provision. The annotations typically include summaries of judicial opinions construing each provision, summaries of pertinent opinions of the state attorney general, and a list of related law review articles and other reference materials. The OCGA is assembled by the Code Revision Commission, a state entity composed mostly of legislators...