The US Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in December that the Copyright Act could not be used to apply the first sale doctrine to goods manufactured overseas, after it declined to issue an opinion in Costco v Omega. The 4-4 split, with Justice Kagan recusing, affirmed a decision in a closely watched case involving a model of watches made in Switzerland, sold to an authorised foreign distributor, and imported to the US through an unauthorised sale. The ruling leaves several questions of international copyright exhaustion unanswered. "Nobody carried the day," said Jeanne Gills of Foley & Lardner. "We haven't seen the last of the issue." The ruling essentially grants foreign manufacturers greater control over pricing in the US and the grey market's distribution of their goods. This could present challenges for online retailers such as Amazon and eBay, known for providing luxury products, many from abroad, at discounted prices. "If you're a consumer or a discount retailer, it places a great burden on you," Gills said. "How do you find out where the goods came from?"Until the law is amended or the issue is clarified by the courts, manufacturers may try to avoid these issues through contract law and alternate marketing strategies.
US: Online piracy stays ahead of legislation A report by MarkMonitor into online piracy, originally part of a study commissioned by the US Chamber of Commerce, shows the extent of traffic going to so-called cyberlockers such as rapidshare.com, which according to the study attracts 32 million daily visits. Cyberlockers are sites that allow users to store files online. Typically, an email is sent with a link to the content to be downloaded, which expires after a set period.
Europe: European Commission targets ISPs to tackle IP abuse The Commission wants to "explore how to involve" ISPs more closely, according to a report examining the application of an EU Directive (2004/48/EC) on the enforcement of IP rights. While praising the effect of the Directive, the report highlights the "alarming" scale of IP abuse primarily due to the internet, which the Directive is not powerful enough to combat.
Europe: Microsoft: Copyright is not dead yet The flexibility of copyright means it is key to promoting IT in developing countries, according to Microsoft's associate general counsel for IP policy and strategy. Jason Albert said he disagrees with opponents of copyright that argue it has become irrelevant in the digital age. "Copyright is a very flexible tool that enables a wide variety of economic activity," he told Managing IP in an interview.
Japan: Apple accused by Japanese publishers The Japan Book Publishers Association has written a letter to US computer company Apple, accusing it of allowing pirated copies of novels to be sold on its App Store. The association, which was joined by the Japan Magazine Publishers Association, the Electronic Books Publishers Association and the Digital Comic Association, said Apple aided and abetted illegal acts.
| Entertainment company Viacom has filed an appeal in its dispute with Google-owned YouTube over copyright infringement. The company argues that a district court's finding that YouTube was protected by provisions in the DMCA was incorrect. The appeal is expected to be heard by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit this year. Science fiction film Avatar was the most pirated film of 2010 but also the highest grossing film at the box office of all time. According to pirating blog TorrentFreak, Avatar was downloaded 16.6 million times this year. That beat last year's top film, Star Trek Reboot, which was downloaded just under 11 million times. Avatar may have been an exception, however, as the second biggest film of 2010 was Kick-Ass, which 11.6 million downloads. Avatar also took nearly $2.8 billion at the box office, making it the highest-grossing movie ever. Telstra's last ditch attempt to protect copyright in its telephone directories by filing for special leave to appeal to the Australian High Court is likely to fail, say lawyers.The application, filed by Telstra and its subsidiary Sensis on January 12, follows a unanimous Federal Court of Australia decision last December, which rejected the telco provider's appeal against an earlier ruling that found copyright did not subsist in its Yellow Pages and White Pages telephone directories. Several lawyers say the application is likely to be turned down. |
