Recent Circuit Cases Address Implied Copyright Licenses
In this edition of their Copyright Law column, Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein discuss two cases that demonstrate that proving the copyright owner's intent in the absence of a written agreement—and in the face of strenuous disagreement by the copyright owner—can present a difficult evidentiary challenge for defendants.
March 18, 2021 at 12:45 PM
8 minute read
In two very recent cases, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Federal Circuit both have delved into the sometimes-murky world of implied copyright licenses, which can arise from the totality of the circumstances surrounding the dealings between a copyright owner and an alleged infringer. In both cases, the defense was unsuccessful, and in the process of rejecting it both courts confirmed that the defendant bears the burden of showing that the copyright owner intended that its copyrighted works be used in the manner that defendant used them. As these cases demonstrate, proving the copyright owner's intent in the absence of a written agreement—and in the face of strenuous disagreement by the copyright owner—can present a difficult evidentiary challenge for defendants.
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