Eric Goldnman

Humvee asserted its trademark rights against Call of Duty, which is the kind of claim that can vex courts because trademark law wasn’t designed to regulate this kind of conduct. It can be inferred from Louis Vuitton and Simon & Schuster that an artistically relevant use will outweigh a moderate risk of confusion where the contested user offers a “persuasive explanation” that the use was an “integral element” of an artistic expression rather than a willful attempt to garnish the trademark owner’s goodwill for profit. The court starts applying its test by describing the artistic relevancy of Humvees to Call of Duty: Featuring actual vehicles used by military operations around the world in video games about simulated modern warfare surely evokes a sense of realism and lifelikeness to the player Unfortunately, IP law isn’t clear enough to prevent the bogus claims from being filed in the first place; there are countless other efforts to control videogame “reality” percolating through the courts right now.

On March 23, the U. S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Allen v. Cooper,  No. 18-877, that states have sovereign immunity from claims of copyright infringement, and that 17 U.S.C. § 511, which purports to waive that immunity, is unconstitutional. The majority opinion by Justice Kagan (for seven justices) emphasized stare decisis in holding that the case was not meaningfully different from Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank, 527 U. S. 627 (1999), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held 5-4 that the Patent and Plant Variety Protection Remedy Clarification Act was unconstitutional. In Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank, 527 U. S. 627 (1999), the Court held 5-4 that although patents are “property,” the Patent and Plant Variety Protection Remedy Clarification Act was not the type of “appropriate legislation” authorized by § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. All of the Courts of Appeals that had addressed the issue had concluded that the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act was unconstitutional under Florida Prepaid, and that states had sovereign immunity to claims of copyright infringement.

The plaintiff is a retailer of “motor vehicle accessories. ” The defendant manufactures towing supplies and has previously distributed its goods to the plaintiff

This lawsuit alleges censorship by the administrators of the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. The Facebook page invited “input and POSITIVE comments regarding the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office