Copyright Infringement

Almost every company has a large investment in some form of a creative work that can be protected by the copyright laws.  Such works may include computer code, a web site, training or user manuals, or more traditional forms of copyrighted media such as songs, paintings, sculptural works, or books and plays.  The ability to protect the unlawful copying of such works may spell the difference between the success and failure of your company.  At W|N, we have the experience and expertise to protect your investment in such works.

Speed is often critical in protecting your investment in copyrighted materials. We have successfully asserted copyright claims against infringers and obtained both preliminary and permanent injunctions.  Such injunctions stop infringers from continuing in ill-gotten gains even before trial, and provide the strategic advantage to which a copyright entitles you.

If suit is threatened or brought against you for copyright infringement, we can provide timely, savvy advice to help you develop a strategy for addressing such an attack.  If you have used, whether intentionally or inadvertently, a portion of a competitor’s copyrighted work, we can work with you to determine whether that use qualifies as “œfair use” and is free from infringement. 

If you have been threatened with suit by a third party to whom you have paid money to develop software, we can work with you to determine whether that work qualifies as a work made for hire.  If you are threatened with a copyright suit over the design of three-dimensional objects you are making and selling, we can work with you to determine whether those designs are within the scope of a protectable by copyright.

Beyond determining the proper application of the copyright law to your case, we work closely with clients to develop dispute resolution strategies to match the client’s goals.  For example, simply avoiding copyright infringement may be insufficient if you have to spend millions of dollars and hundreds of hours of executive time to prove that point in the courts.  Where litigation is unavoidable, we work to develop successful exit strategies while minimizing your expenditure of time and money.

Here are some examples of some of the copyright cases W|N has handled:

Lifetime Products, Inc. v. GSC Technology Corp., Case No. 1:03-cv-00062-TC (D. Utah)
W|N sued the competitor of its client for copyright and design patent infringement related to blow-molded tables. W|N obtained preliminary injunctions on both the copyrights and the design patents.  The preliminary injunctions were ultimately converted to permanent injunctions as part of the judgment resolving the case.

Leisa Hancock v. Richard Paul Evans, Case No. 1:99-CV-00068 (D. Utah)
The plaintiff sued Richard Paul Evans, a best-selling-author, arguing that Mr. Evans had used the plaintiff’s work in writing one of his books. W|N developed a defense that resulted in summary judgment in favor of Mr. Evans.  The Court found that the plaintiff had not established copying of protectable subject matter.

Lyubner v. Sizzling Platter, Inc. d/b/a Sizzler Family Steakhouses, Case No. 2:00CV-605S (D. Utah)
This was an action by a local artist against a restaurant chain for exceeding the scope of a license in a painting that had been licensed to the restaurant chain.  W|N persuaded the Court to reject the restaurant chain’s allegation that its art director was a co-author of the copyrighted work.

Beasley v. SOG Knives
W|N’s client was an artist and former Navy Seal.  W|N successfully negotiated a favorable settlement with SOG Specialty Knives and Tools in a dispute arising out of the unauthorized use in an advertisement of our client’s sketches of Special Forces members.  Our prompt resolution of this dispute avoided the necessity of filing a complaint.