CLE November 28: Removal of Copyright Cases From State Court and Preemption of State Law By the Copyright Act

Tomorrow, November 28, West LegalEdcenter is hosting a live audio CLE titled Copyright Litigation:  Removal and Preemption Below is the description from the West LegalEdcenter website, more information and signup here. Description: Ray Dowd, author of West’s acclaimed Copyright Litigation Handbook and a partner in Dunnington Bartholow & Miller LLP in New York City will take us through the surprisingly complex process of deciding whether an action belongs in federal or state court and whether claims are properly pleaded under federal or state law. The situation: client storms in wanting a lawsuit filed tomorrow over a copyright dispute. What court should it be filed in? Do the claims “arise under” the Copyright Act or are they really state law claims? If you are not sure, should your complaint plead lots of “kitchen sink” state law claims? Another situation: your client has been sued in state court. You think it’s a federal case. How do you kick it out (remove) it to federal court? And what are the downsides if you are wrong and the case is remanded to state court? Conserving and focusing litigation resources at the outset of a case may save a client thousands of hours of litigation anguish. Dowd walks practitioner through some of the tactical and strategic choices that a litigator faces in understanding the interplay between the federal and state fora and legal regimes. Dowd’s entertaining presentation will clue you in to some of the tricks and surprises that may cut off the rights of the unprepared. The Copyright Act and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure interact in ways that may help your client to turn early skirmishes into decisive victories. Dowd’s Copyright Litigation Handbook is the first publication aimed at the practitioner who must make quick practical decisions in the heat of battle and evaluate the immediate procedural consequences. Copyright Litigation Handbook devotes attention to procedural case law that rarely reaches the appellate level, but is of critical importance to the life of everyday practitioners. The New York Law Journal called Dowd’s Copyright Litigation Handbook “an indispensable guide and supplement to the ins and outs of copyright litigation…”. Join us for a lively session on a hot topic. For more information on Copyright Litigation Handbook 2012-2013 ed, please visit the Thomson Reuters Westlaw Store here. Practice Areas: Copyright Law, Intellectual Property Law Online Media Type: Audio Production Date: 11/28/2012 12:00 PM EST Level: Basic Category: Standard Duration: 1 Hours, 0 Minutes Online Format: Live

 www.dunnington.com
 Purchase Copyright Litigation Handbook 2011 by Raymond J. Dowd from West here  

The Black Keys "Tighten Up" and Sue Della Femina for Copyright Infringement

Enjoy the YouTube video of "Tighten Up" from the album Brothers by the Black Keys, above. The Black Keys are not happy with the Della Femina advertising agency and Valley National Bank and claim that the agency has used Tighten Up without permission in an advertisement.

Complaint filed in the Southern District of New York below:

Nonesuch Records v Della Femina Complaint

 http://www.dunnington.com/rdowd_bio.html
 Purchase Copyright Litigation Handbook 2010 by Raymond J. Dowd from West here  

Pleadings and Iqubal - How Courts Are Interpreting Rule 12(b)(6)

Good article here in The Federal Lawyer on Iqubal in the Circuit courts by John McCarthy, President of the SDNY Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Disclosure: I am on the Editorial Board of The Federal Lawyer and serve as a Federal Bar Association Vice President for the Second Circuit.  I still think it's a good article.  McCarthy found 5,200 cases citing Iqubal, 242 of which were appellate decisions.