It’s Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas: A Brief Overview of Holiday Songs and Their Copyright Implications

The holidays are just around the corner, which means the Christmas songs we know and love are soon to be heard over and over again. No doubt about it, it’s the most wonderful time of the year when it comes to the holiday standbys about to permeate the airwaves.

The month of December is especially wonderful for the lucky few cashing in on the music that brings such joy to the world. (Read More)

IP Deadlines and Fees Extended Under the CARES Act

The headlines coming out of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act becoming law have, in large part, been reserved for the financial relief, loans, and grants it provides for businesses and individuals nationwide. Lesser known, or reported, is the legislation’s impact on the intellectual property world. Yet to owners or would-be owners of IP, that aspect of the CARES Act is a big deal. (Read More)

Attention Indie Musicians

Attention indie musicians: Rhapsody International Inc. has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve claims that they failed to pay songwriters royalties for their streamed music. What this means is that you may be entitled to compensation. (Read more)

A Different Route: Challenging Orange Book Patents Via Inter Partes Review

Since the passage of the America Invents Act (AIA) in 2012, and the corresponding implementation of the inter partes review (IPR) process, patent challengers have been utilizing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) as an alternative venue for patent adjudication. The IPR process permits anyone other than the patent owner to challenge a patent's validity for alleged obviousness or lack of novelty based on patents or printed publications. This has become an increasingly popular avenue for challenging “orange book” pharmaceutical patents, many of which are simultaneously at issue in Hatch-Waxman / Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) litigation in the federal courts. (Read More)