USA articles related to:
Recent cases should make software licensors review their distribution methods and license terms (and they may even make us look at open source licenses in a different way)
Andrews Kurth LLP - USA -
July 21 2011
Three recent copyright cases from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010), UMG Recordings Inc. v. Augusto, 628 F.3d 1175 (9th Cir. 2010) and MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 629 F.3d 928 (9th Cir. 2011), underscore how methods of distribution and license terms can be mutually reinforcing or, alternatively, mutually destructive.
Ninth Circuit rules on software transfers in Vernor v. Autodesk
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- October 19 2010
On September 10, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit issued a much-awaited ruling on appeal in Vernor v. Autodesk, No. 09-35969, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 18957, addressing whether software purchasers are owners or licensees of the copies of the software in their possession.
Update: Blizzard owns your software
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- January 10 2011
As expected, the Ninth Circuit has declared link that Blizzard's World of Warcraft (WoW) software licensees are just that -- licensees, and not owners -- because the WoW Terms of Use sufficiently restrict the transfer and use of the WoW software.
I bought it; I own itor do I?
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- September 13 2010
On September 10, 2010, the Ninth Circuit issued a much-awaited ruling on appeal in Vernor v Autodesk, addressing whether software purchasers are owners or licensees of the copies of the software in their possession.
Ninth Circuit decides that gamers' use of 'bots' is unlikely to constitute copyright infringement, but creator of bot still on hook for circumventing protections
- Reed Smith LLP
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- USA
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- December 23 2010
On December 14, 2010, the Ninth Circuit continued its clarification of copyright law as it relates to the use of software.
When is a software license actually a sale? A new district court decision addresses the copyright first sale doctrine and software
- Wiley Rein LLP
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- USA
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- September 5 2008
In Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., the federal district court in Seattle added a new decision to the mix of software-related first sale doctrine cases.
Vernor v. Autodesk: software and the first sale doctrine under copyright law
- Latham & Watkins LLP
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- USA
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- November 5 2010
The old adage that "possession is ninth-tenths of the law" may not be true any longer, at least with respect to software.
District Court holds software transfer not a license, okays downstream eBay auction under first sale doctrine
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- July 15 2008
Rejecting the authority of a trio of more recent Ninth Circuit cases on the ground that their holdings could not be reconciled with an earlier Ninth Circuit decision, a Washington District Court has held a transfer of computer software to represent a sale, not a license.
Recent federal cases impact end user software license agreements
- Hogan Lovells
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- USA
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- September 9 2008
Two recent federal district court decisions from the 9th Circuit may impact significantly the way in which software manufacturers distribute their copyrighted software.
Vernor v. Autodesk: product distribution and resale by licensees may infringe copyright
- Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
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- USA
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- September 27 2010
On Sept. 10, 2010, in Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., No. 09-35969, slip op. at 13861 (9th Cir. 2010), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that a software reseller was liable for copyright infringement for purchasing used software from a third party and reselling it online.
Ninth Circuit rules that promotional CDs are owned by recipient, may be sold
- Wiley Rein LLP
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- USA
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- January 12 2011
In a ruling that could have significant implications for companies that distribute copyrighted merchandise for promotional purposes, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that compact discs distributed to music critics and DJs for promotional purposes only are owned by the recipient and may be resold or otherwise transferred without the copyright owner's consent pursuant to the "first sale" doctrine of the Copyright Act and the Unordered Merchandise Statute.
Register of copyrights says "who knows?" on ownership of computer program copies
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- August 5 2010
Who owns the firmware on a smartphone, the device manufacturer or the purchaser?
Autodesk owns your software
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- September 23 2010
Autodesk owns your software if you (think you) own a copy of AutoCAD, that is.
UMG v. Augusto: allowing the sale of promotional CDs under the first sale doctrine could affect much more than the music industry
- Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
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- USA
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- July 17 2008
In a decision that could have far-reaching implications for technology licenses of all types, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California recently held that the first sale doctrine permits a recipient of promotional CDs to sell them online without violating the license pursuant to which the CDs were distributed and without being liable for copyright infringement.
DMCAnext up: Supreme Court review?
- Banner & Witcoff Ltd
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- USA
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- May 13 2011
Two Federal Courts of Appeals, the 9th Circuit and the Federal Circuit, have reached opposite views regarding the scope of rights andor remedies afforded by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA or Act).
Ninth Circuit says DMCA anticircumvention provision gives new, access-prevention right to copyright owners - MDY v. Blizzard, part II
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- January 4 2011
As we related in Part I of this post, Blizzard Entertainment, distributor of the World of Warcraft game software and the operator of the servers that enable online game play, sought to block the use of automated game playing software by deploying anti-bot software, WoW Warden.
Ninth Circuit rules on license versus sale of software
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- September 24 2010
The Register of Copyrights may have concluded that precedents defining the difference between a license and a sale of software are conflicting, but a panel of the Ninth Circuit had no difficulty in resolving the issue in its recent opinion Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS (9th Cir. Sept. 10, 2010).
Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- September 15 2010
The Ninth Circuit, reconciling earlier precedent, held that to determine whether a transferee of software is a licensee (and not an owner), a court must consider whether the copyright owner specifies that a user is granted a license; whether the copyright owner significantly restricts the user’s ability to transfer the software; and whether the copyright owner imposes notable use restrictions.
Recent decision reaffirms software license restrictions
- Sullivan & Worcester LLP
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- USA
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- September 29 2010
For decades, software vendors have allowed customers to obtain and use their computer software programs under contracts known as End User License Agreements ("EULAs").
Party can violate DMCA even absent copyright infringement
- McDermott Will & Emery
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- USA
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- January 31 2011
After considering and rejecting contrary holdings by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a party can be held liable for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) prohibition on anticircumvention technology even when the party did not engage in or facilitate copyright infringement.
Use of 'bots' in game play questionable under copyright law
- Reed Smith LLP
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- USA
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- January 20 2011
On December 14 2010 the Ninth Circuit continued its clarification of copyright law as it relates to the use of software. In MDY Industries, LLC v Blizzard Entertainment, Inc the court ruled that although gamers' use of 'bots' to manipulate game play violated the user licence in the software, the violation was not so tied to copyright as to destroy the user licence and turn the RAM copies on their computers into infringements.
Effects of recent rulings on the enforceability of open source licenses
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- July 7 2009
Increasingly, software licensors are opting to license their software under non-traditional license arrangements.
The end of the shrink-wrap license?
- Venable LLP
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- USA
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- June 30 2010
Who owns the software running on your computer?
Lessons of Vernor v. Autodesk: the importance of good drafting in software licenses
- White & Case LLP
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- USA
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- November 2 2010
In Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a reseller of software that had originally been distributed through a license agreement could not invoke the first sale or essential step defenses to copyright infringement.
The decision open source has been waiting for
- Bryan Cave LLP
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- USA
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- August 19 2008
As has been widely publicized in the industry, legal and even mainstream media, on August 13, 2008 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued its decision in the closely watched case of Jacobsen v. Katzer.
Copyright first sale doctrine does not apply to resale of licensed software
- Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
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- USA
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- September 28 2010
Generally, when someone purchases a CD containing software, or a DVD containing a video game, they believe they own the item.
Supreme Court allows pro-Autodesk decision to remain intact in Ninth Circuit
- Scott & Scott LLP
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- USA
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- October 11 2011
On October 3, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court declined a request to grant certiorari in the case of Vernor v. Autodesk, in which the Ninth Circuit found that Autodesk could use copyright law to prevent an eBay user from re-selling its software products via the popular auction site.
Ninth Circuit narrows applicability of the "first sale doctrine"
- Hogan Lovells
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- USA
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- October 14 2010
A recent decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) strengthens copyright owners' ability to prevent the resale and further distribution of products subject to copyright protection through narrowing the applicability of the "first sale doctrine."
Think twice before selling used copies of software
- Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
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- USA
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- September 13 2010
Roughly a year ago, I wrote about a couple of federal district court decisions.
The little license that could dangers of using open-source code after Jacobsen v. Katzer
- White & Case LLP
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- USA
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- March 31 2009
Although the open-source movement has been active for more than a decade, it is only in recent months that such a copyright license actually has received the imprimatur of enforceabilityfrom an unlikely court (the Federal Circuit) construing a perhaps unlikely license (the Java Model Railroad Interface for model train software).
Dollar bin divers rejoice! First sale doctrine applies to promo CDs
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- January 21 2011
Most of you serious music fans have at least one.
No sale? No first sale doctrine defense
- McDermott Will & Emery
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- USA
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- October 28 2010
Under the first sale doctrine, a copyright owner has the exclusive right to make and authorize a first sale of copies of his copyrighted work.
Practical strategies for developing open source compliance programs: why compliance (increasingly) matters
- Bryan Cave LLP
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- USA
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- November 16 2009
The legal risks of open source software need not be any greater than the legal risks of proprietary software if you pay proper attention and take action.
MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. et al.
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- February 11 2009
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (Blizzard) is the creator and operator of the popular online computer game World of Warcraft (WoW).
Ninth Circuit finds Autodesk software licensed, not sold
- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
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- USA
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- September 28 2010
On September 10, 2010, the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in Vernor v. Autodesk Inc., holding that, where software is transferred pursuant to a license agreement that restricts its use and distribution, the first sale and essential step defenses to copyright infringement do not apply.
Open source licenses: key Federal Circuit ruling on enforceability
- Hogan Lovells
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- USA
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- September 10 2008
A recent ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Jacobsen v. Katzer, No. 08-1001 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 13, 2008), found that the terms of an open source license are “enforceable copyright conditions,” allowing a plaintiff to assert a copyright infringement claim if a user of open source software fails to comply with the terms of the license.
Autodesk decision gives software companies tool to prevent resale of licensed software by unauthorized third parties
- Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
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- USA
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- September 16 2010
On September 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Vernor v. Autodesk that the first sale and the essential step doctrines do not apply to purchasers of a copy of software when the software was initially provided under a restrictive license.
First-sale doctrine protects sale of promotional CDs
- McDermott Will & Emery
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- USA
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- January 31 2011
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court holding that a defendant’s resale of promotional music compact discs was permissible under the first-sale doctrine and did not constitute copyright infringement.
Used DVD and video game resales one step closer to extinction
- Haynes and Boone LLP
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- USA
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- January 19 2011
Whether through online auctions or local resale stores, consumers have become used to turning unwanted or unused products into cash or credits for future purchases, as well as purchasing second-hand products at a discount.
Recent lawsuits reflect open source software users' copyright compliance obligations
- Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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- USA
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- May 7 2010
They say there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Tivoisation and the open source debate
- Bird & Bird
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- Germany, Global, USA
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- June 2 2008
Tivoisation is the creation of a computer system that incorporates open source software but uses technical methods to prevent users from running modified versions of the software on that hardware.
All license breaches may not constitute copyright infringement
- Scott & Scott LLP
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- USA
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- August 13 2012
At the conclusion of software audits where it appears that software products were installed and used without adequate licensing, many companies find themselves confronting two challenges.
UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Augusto
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- January 12 2011
In a copyright infringement action, the Ninth Circuit holds that (1) UMG’s shipment of promotional compact discs (“CDs”) constituted a “sale” within the meaning of the “first sale” doctrine, and (2) the defendant’s subsequent sale of those CDs “was therefore permissible without UMG’s authorization.”
Supreme Court inaction a win for software companies
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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- USA
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- October 5 2011
The Supreme Court has validated the ability of software developers to prevent customers from owning the copy of software they acquire.