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Full-Text Articles in Intellectual Property Law
Copyright Infringement’S Blurred Lines: Allocating Overhead In The Disgorgement Of Profits, Layne S. Keele
Copyright Infringement’S Blurred Lines: Allocating Overhead In The Disgorgement Of Profits, Layne S. Keele
BYU Law Review
In Williams v. Bridgeport Music, Marvin Gaye’s estate alleged that the popular song “Blurred Lines” infringed Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.” As part of the remedy for the infringement, the Gaye estate sought to disgorge the profits derived from defendants’ infringement, but the parties disagreed about how to calculate those profits. Specifically, they disagreed about whether the infringing song’s revenues should be offset by the infringers’ $7 million in overhead costs allocable to the song. The district court determined that the infringers’ ability to offset overhead costs would depend on whether their infringement was willful; it …
Deceptive Patents: Deconstructing Juicy Whip, Paul Spiel
Deceptive Patents: Deconstructing Juicy Whip, Paul Spiel
BYU Law Review
Moral utility largely prevents the granting of a patent if the patent would be injurious to the well-being of society. The moral utility doctrine has prevailed through much of American patent history and still endures in many parts of the world. In Juicy Whip I, the Federal Circuit chose to abandon the doctrine, but the court’s rationale in support of the decision was ill-suited. The court’s holding sanctioned deceptive patent applications but, intentionally or unintentionally, neglected applicable unfair competition, free speech, and consumer deception doctrines. In light of the Intellectual Property Clause of the U.S. Constitution, deceptive patents should be …