In an opinion yesterday, Judge Cote concluded that a plaintiff’s software patent was not eligible for patent protection because it amounted to an abstract idea. The patent covered a “method of creating a dynamically adaptable tutorial,” and, in essence, it described a method of linking website elements so as to facilitate, and easily update, online tutorials. As Judge Cote explained:
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Judge Cote Rejects SEC Defendants’ Attempt to Delve Into Stale, Highly Personal Affairs of SEC Witness
In an opinion today, Judge Cote denied a motion to compel brought by the defendants in an SEC enforcement action relating to one of the SEC’s witnesses. The defendants claimed that the witness gave inaccurate deposition testimony about having been disciplined at work for having harassed a former romantic partner, and so wanted more documents about the incident, and an additional deposition. Judge Cote, who chose not to identify the witness by name, emphatically denied the motion:
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Judge Cote Won’t Disqualify SEC Trial Team For Receiving Privileged Documents Via DOJ’s Search Warrant
Yesterday, Judge Cote declined a defendant’s request to disqualify the SEC’s entire trial team on the eve of trial after the SEC received allegedly privileged communications between the defendants and their counsel. The documents were seized by federal agents during the execution of a search warrant and provided to federal prosecutors, who in turn provided…
Judge Cote: First Verse of “We Shall Overcome” Not an Original Work Subject to Copyright
Last week, Judge Cote granted a motion for summary judgment challenging the copyright for the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.” Plaintiffs, the We Shall Overcome Foundation, argued that the similarities between the copyrighted song and a 1948 version in the public domain meant that the first verse of the famous song was not sufficiently original to survive a copyright challenge.
Judge Cote agreed, noting the overwhelming evidence of the connection between the copyrighted version of “We Shall Overcome” and older, historical versions:
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Challenge to “We Shall Overcome” Copyright Survives Motion to Dismiss
In an opinion yesterday, Judge Cote granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss a case challenging the copyright to “We Shall Overcome,” the unofficial anthem of the U.S. civil rights movement. (See our prior post on the case here.)
The defendant copyright owners argued that the copyrighted song was sufficiently different from songs in the public domain to merit copyright protection as a matter of law, but Judge Cote found that the question was not so clear that it could be resolved on a motion to dismiss. She also found that there fact questions as to whether the original copyright was obtained by fraud:
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Class Action Suit Challenges Copyright for “We Shall Overcome”
Last week, the We Shall Overcome Foundation filed a complaint on behalf of a purported class challenging the copyright of “We Shall Overcome,” the unofficial anthem of the U.S. civil rights movement. The We Shall Overcome Foundation attempted to use the song in a documentary film, and the defendant copyright holders denied the request. The…
Supreme Court Denies Cert in Apple E-Books Antitrust Case
Today, the Supreme Court denied Apple’s petition for certiorari in the government’s antitrust case against it over e-books. Our prior posts on the case are here.
Judge Cote Grants Permanent Injunction for Fake Internet Reviews About Competitor
On Monday, Judge Cote granted a laser hair removal operator’s request for an injunction (included as part of a summary judgment motion) against another laser hair removal operator that had posted false reviews from fake accounts on internet consumer forums including Yelp.com and CitySearch.com. Judge Cote found that these reviews represented unfair trade practices under the Lanham Act and granted a permanent injunction, citing the defendants’ “willingness to use deceit to shape the market in which it functioned.”
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Second Circuit Affirms Antitrust Ruling Against Apple in E-Books Case
In a 2-1 opinion yesterday, the Second Circuit affirmed the bench trial findings of Judge Cote that Apple orchestrated a price fixing conspiracy with book publishers to collectively raise the $9.99 per-book price that Amazon was charging and that publishers believed was damaging to their business in the long term. Apple signed contracts with the publishers for its own e-bookstore under an “agency model” (in which the publishers set the price and Apple would take a cut), and those contracts included a “most-favored nations” clause requiring the publishers to price the books in Apple’s store at the lowest offered anywhere else. The Second Circuit agreed with Judge Cote that the intended effect of these terms was to compel the publishers to act together to challenge Amazon’s flat, $9.99 pricing:
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After Bench Trial, Judge Cote Rules For FHFA in Case Against Nomura, RBS
Following a bench trial, Judge Cote today issued a 361-page ruling in favor of FHFA (the conservator to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) in a case accusing Nomura and RBS of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages underlying various securities. There had been 16 similar cases before Judge against various banks, all of which settled except this one. Judge Cote resolved various disputes between the parties as to how damages should be calculated, but did not specify the final judgment amount. She instead directed the FHFA, which had initially sought over $1 billion, to submit a proposed judgment following the formula in her opinion. The opinion begins:
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