IP: Holding to a higher standard?
Many of the industry standard creators could successfully prove that they own a valid copyright in their industry standard codes.
August 20, 2013 at 05:30 AM
5 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
An industry standard code, or standard industry classification (SIC) code, is often a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes and/or practices. Today, many companies, including health care, construction and transportation companies, are forced to use such codes or industry-standard reference numbers to receive governmental reimbursements or governmental approval to operate.
The difficulty is that many industry standards are developed privately or unilaterally by a corporation, trade union or trade association, and as such the standards themselves may be the subject of copyright protection. A company's use of these industry standards — even its creating software that allows its customers to use them — may unknowingly make it liable for copyright infringement.
To bring a claim for direct copyright infringement, a plaintiff must establish ownership of a valid copyright, and further, that the defendant copied protected elements of the copyrighted work. Ordinarily, ownership of a valid copyright is established by way of a copyright registration certificate and tends not to be the subject of much debate before the courts. Courts spend most of their time and effort analyzing the second element: Whether the defendant copied protectable elements of the plaintiff's copyrighted work. Absent evidence of direct copying, proof of infringement involves fact-based showings that the defendant had access to the plaintiff's work and that the parties' works are “substantially similar.”
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Who Got The Work
Charles A. Weiss of Holland & Knight has entered an appearance for Rafael Badalov in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed July 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Lee Law on behalf of Otter Products LLC, accuses the defendant of selling counterfeit phone cases and accessories bearing the plaintiff's 'OtterBox' trademark. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nina R. Morrison, is 1:24-cv-05214, Otter Products, LLC v. Badalov et al.
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Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partners Benjamin Hershkowitz, Richard W. Mark and Casey J. McCracken and R. Scott Johnson, Thomas M. Patton and Cara S. Donels have entered appearances for Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co. and MidAmerican Energy Co., respectively, in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 17 in Iowa Southern District Court by Nyemaster Goode PC and Caldwell Cassady & Curry on behalf of Midwest Energy Emissions Corp., asserts six patents related to sorbents for the oxidation and removal of mercury. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Stephen H. Locher, is 4:24-cv-00243, Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. v. Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company et al.
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Michael J. Hickey and Michael L. Jente of Lewis Rice LLC have stepped in to represent Tidal Wave Management in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 18 in Missouri Western District Court by Husch Blackwell on behalf of Waterway Gas & Wash Co., accuses the defendant of using a mark that's confusingly similar to the plaintiff's 'Clean Car Club' mark. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan Jr., is 4:24-cv-00471, Waterway Gas & Wash Company v. Tidal Wave Management LLC.
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Robert L. Wallan from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has entered an appearance for Findlay Management Group in a pending complaint for declaratory judgment. The complaint, filed on Aug. 8 in Nevada District Court by Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani and Skarzynski Marick & Black on behalf of Houston Casualty Co., seeks to declare that no insurance policy exists between Houston Casualty and Findlay due to there not being an adequate form of delivery and claims that if delivery was substantiated it is rescinded based on material omissions and misrepresentations. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro, is 2:24-cv-01459, Houston Casualty Company v. Findlay Management Group.
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