NEWS
The First Ever Teleconferenced Supreme Court Hearing
The U.S. Supreme Court held its first ever oral argument over teleconference, which was live-streamed to the public. The case was concerned with the registrability of Booking.com’s name, even though Booking.com simply added “.com” to the end of a common word. Following Booking.com’s win in two U.S. District Courts, the USPTO petitioned the Supreme Court for review in US Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V. (Argued May 4, 2020).
Reposting Photograph on Instagram not Copyright Infringement
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York recently ruled that use of another’s photograph on Instagram, without permission from the photograph’s owner, did not constitute copyright infringement. The owner had previously posted the photograph herself on Instagram, and in doing so, she effectively granted a license for others to use the photograph on Instagram. Sinclair v. Ziff Davis, LLC and Mashable, Inc.