IP Alerts

June 28, 2018

Today the U.S. Supreme Court granted writs of certiorari in two cases touching on intellectual property law. In the first case, Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com LLC, the Court granted certiorari to consider when registration of a copyright claim has “been made” under the Copyright Act. Currently, some appellate courts hold that registration has been made when the copyright holder files the copyright application, while others hold that registration has not been made until the Copyright Office issues the registration.

A second case, Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, is a dispute between frequent litigant Gilbert Hyatt and the California tax authorities. The case relates to Mr. Hyatt’s revenues from patent licenses.

Fitch Even attorneys will report on the Fourth Estate case and on any intellectual property issues in the Hyatt case once the Court has issued its opinion in each.

Fitch Even IP Alert^®