copyright infringement

The Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) has now ruled on the Pinckney case, dealing with national courts’ competence to hear online copyright infringement cases in the EU.  See our post on the Opinion of Advocate General (“AG”) Niilo Jääskinen of 13 June 2013 here.

In his Opinion, AG Jääskinen took the view…
Continue Reading EU’s Highest Court Rules on the Situs of Damage of Online Copyright Infringements (Pinckney)

On 13 June 2013, Advocate General (“AG”) Niilo Jääskinen of the EU’s Court of Justice (CJEU) issued his non-binding Opinion in the Pinckney case, dealing with the question of courts’ competence to hear online copyright infringement cases in the EU.  In his Opinion, the AG extended to copyright principles developed in relation to other IP…
Continue Reading EU’s Highest Court Considers the Situs of Damage in Online Copyright Infringements (Pinckney)

A series of recent decisions suggests that federal courts increasingly are accepting evidence derived from Internet Protocol (IP) geolocation databases, which make it possible to look up the geographic location of a computer or other similarly-equipped electronic device.  This development may be particularly significant in the area of copyright litigation, where alleged online infringers can resist enforcement suits on the ground that their activities are outside the court’s territorial jurisdiction.
Continue Reading Federal Courts Increasingly Receptive to IP Geolocation Data; Copyright, Other Lawsuits Affected

By Jacqueline Clover and Helena Marttila-Bridge

On 5 February 2013, the English High Court handed down a judgment in Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp & Ors v Harris & Ors [2013] EWHC 159 (Ch), according to which copyright owners have no proprietary rights to the money derived from infringement of their copyright.

The case involved an indexing website, Newzbin2, which made available to its users infringing copies of films and TV shows.  The claimants, who were owners or exclusive licensees of the copyright in those works, started copyright infringement proceedings against Newzbin2’s operator and companies alleged to have links to the website.  The claimants asked the High Court to grant proprietary injunctions over the proceeds that the defendants had derived from the copyright infringement.  The injunctions would have prevented the defendants from dealing in or disposing of the proceeds.
Continue Reading The English High Court Rules that a Copyright Infringer Is a Trespasser, Not a Thief

A recent study reports that country code Top-Level Domains (“ccTLDs”) belonging to Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are the most commonly used for online copyright infringement.  The study, published in January by Internet researcher Cedric Manara, focuses on data provided by Google regarding the requests it receives to remove search results that link to websites hosting infringing content.

Other ccTLDs rounding out the top ten sources of online infringement include Samoa (.ws), the Czech Republic (.cz), the European Union (.eu), India (.in), Russia (.ru), Tonga (.to), and Montenegro (.me). 
Continue Reading The Geography of Online Infringement: Study Names Sweden as Hotspot for Infringement

Earlier this week, Xiang Li pleaded guilty in Delaware federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Li, a Chinese national, was charged with selling “cracked” software (i.e., software for which access controls had been circumvented) to customers around the world through…
Continue Reading U.S. “Cracks” Software Piracy Scheme: Chinese Seller and U.S. Customers Plead Guilty