By Sharona Hakimi WTO Finds China’s Media Laws Violate International Trade Laws On August 12, Ars Technica and the New York Times reported that the World Trade Organization ruled against China in a complaint by the United States regarding China’s limitation on imports of songs, movies, and books. The Chinese laws constituting trade violations require that many forms of imported media must be distributed by a single, state-owned company. The laws also limit foreign ownership of Chinese media companies and ... Read More...

Federal Circuit Affirms Economic Interest of Open Source Copyright Holder By Yelena Shagall – Edited by Evie Breithaupt Jacobsen v. Katzer Federal Circuit, August 13, 2008, No. 2008-1001 Slip Opinion On August 13, the Federal Circuit ruled that open source license terms can create enforceable copyright conditions.  In Jacobsen v. Katzer, the Federal Circuit addressed the Northern District of California’s rejection of Jacobsen’s motion for preliminary injunction against competitor Matthew Katzer and Kamind Associates, Inc (“Katzer/Kamind”) for infringement of the ... Read More...

District Court Declares Purchasers of Software to Be Licensees By Anna Volftsun — Edited by Joshua Gruenspecht MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. et al. District Court of Arizona, July 14, 2008, No. CV-06-2555-PHX-DGC Order (via Justia) The District Court of Arizona entered a summary judgment motion finding that MDY Industries, LLC (“MDY”), creators of a software program called WoW Glider (“Glider”), were liable for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement because their program loaded a copy of a copyrighted ... Read More...