HRFM Today

TV Without Cable, Antenna or Violating Copyright? The Aereo Story

On April 22, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc.  Aereo is a small New York-based company that provides services for capture and retransmission of over-the-air (OTA) television broadcasts on behalf of customers.

Is it OK to make a copy of a work to submit to the Patent Office to satisfy a patent applicant's duty of disclosure?

A copyright owner has the right to prevent others from making copies of his work.  In certain situations one may make copies without the copyright owner's permission.  There are various situations in which such a "Fair Use" applies including in an educational context. 

The Patent Office requires that a patent applicant submit relevant prior art (e.g., patents, technical articles, technical journals, etc.) to the Patent Office to help the Office perform its examination of patent applications.  Does this requirement conflict with a copyright owner's right to control reproduction of a copyrighted work?

HRFM IP Law Bulletin

A special edition of the HRFM IP Law Bulletin provides a summary of key appellate-level patent decisions of 2011 from the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  The Bulletin is available here.