Abstraction, Filtration, Comparison, Oh My! - 11th Circuit Provides In-Depth Analysis of the Abstraction/Filtration Test and Burden Shifting in Complicated Software and Source Code Infringement Case
Compulife Software Inc. v. Newman , No. 18-12004, 2020 WL 2549505 (11th Cir. May 20, 2020) Topic: Abstraction/Filtration Anaylsis & Burden Shifting Takeaway: After an infringement plaintiff has demonstrated that he holds a valid copyright and that the defendant engaged in factual copying, the defendant bears the burden of proving—as part of the filtration analysis—that the elements he copied from a copyrighted work are unprotectable. Overall, this is a very in depth and complicated case that involves multiple aspects of IP law. As such, this post is limited to the issue of copyright infringement and protectability under the abstraction/filtration test. Check back next week for part 2 regarding the trade-secret issues! naaip.org/logo compulife.com Background & Parties There’s nothing easy about this case. The facts are complicated, and the governing law is tangled. At its essence, it’s a case about high-tech corporate espionage. The very