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Is that Bird A Cardinal or a Scarlet Tanager? Who Cares. The U.S. Supreme Court Weighs in on Copyright Infringement and the Issue of Mistake

Published: March 3, 2022

by James Kachmar
The IP Law Blog

This column previously addressed the case of Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P., when it was decided by the Ninth Circuit about two years ago. Unicolors is the owner of copyrights in various fabric designs, including a 2011 copyright registration that consisted of 31 separate designs. Unicolors sued H&M for copyright infringement when H&M stores began selling a jacket and skirt that contained artwork that Unicolors claimed to be identical to one of the designs in its 2011 registration. The jury found in Unicolors favor and H&M moved the court for judgment as a matter of law, which the trial court denied. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit disagreed with the district court and ruled that because Unicolors had made a mistake of law in connection with the registration (i.e. it registered it as a single publication when some of the designs were apparently not put on sale to the public all at once), the registration should have been found to be invalid. Unicolors appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard the case last November.

San Francisco Issues Updated Guidance on San Francisco Paid Sick Leave During the Pandemic

Published: February 25, 2022

by Nikki Mahmoudi, Shauna N. Correia
The Labor & Employment Law Blog

The San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) issued new guidance on February 2, 2022 pertaining to the use of San Francisco Paid Sick Leave during the pandemic. This new guidance supersedes OLSE’s March 24, 2020 guidance.

While the February 2, 2022 guidance shares much of the same language as the March 24, 2020 guidance, San Francisco employers should be aware of the following changes:

District Court Denies Prejudgment Interest Accrued During COVID-19 Delay

Published: February 24, 2022

by Eric Caligiuri
The IP Law Blog

In Pierce Manufacturing, Inc., et. al v. E-One, Inc. et. al, 8-18-cv-00617 (MDFL Feb. 16, 2022) (Thomas P. Barber) the Court denied in part plaintiffs’ motion for pre-judgment interest that would have accrued during a stay due to COVID-19. In the case, Defendants were found liable for infringing certain claims in Plaintiffs’ asserted patent and the jury awarded Plaintiffs damages of $1,287,854 in lost profits and $170,500 in reasonable royalties. The parties did not dispute that an award of prejudgment and post-judgment interest was appropriate along with the damages award. Instead, the dispute was to the accrual time, rate, and calculation of prejudgment interest.

Nike Tries to Stomp Out StockX’s Attempt to Sell NFTs of Nike Sneakers

Published: February 17, 2022


The IP Law Blog

In what could be one of the biggest NFT cases to arise so far, Nike has sued resale marketplace StockX for trademark infringement in the Southern District of New York, claiming that StockX is selling NFTs that display Nike’s trademarks without Nike’s permission. In the Complaint, Nike alleges that StockX has infringed nine of its sneaker designs to create a line of NFTs that are part of its collection that StockX has branded the “Vault.” The collection consists entirely of allegedly unauthorized images of Nike sneakers. According to Nike, that’s because StockX is using Nike’s reputation and popularity to increase its sales. Specifically, Nike alleges that “Recognizing firsthand the immense value of Nike’s brands, StockX has chosen to compete in the NFT market not by taking the time to develop its own intellectual property rights, but rather by blatantly freeriding, almost exclusively, on the back of Nike’s famous trademarks and associated goodwill.”