The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals calendared oral argument Dec. 6 at 9:30 a.m. in Richmond, Virginia, in Simply Wireless’ “Simply Prepaid” trademark appeal against T-Mobile, said the court’s notification Thursday (docket 22-2236). Each side is normally allowed 20 minutes for oral argument, said the notice. Simply Wireless is seeking to reverse the district court’s granting of summary judgment in T-Mobile’s favor when it ruled that Simply Wireless had abandoned rights to the “Simply Prepaid” trademark (see 2307270001).

Maggie’s Bar and Grill in Jackson, New Jersey, denies the allegations of BMI and five music publishers that it engaged in willful copyright infringement through the public performance of six musical compositions in the BMI repertoire (see 2306080044), said the establishment’s answer Monday (docket 3:23-cv-03135) in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Trenton. The musical compositions performed at Maggie’s were “licensed use,” or fair use, it said. The six musical compositions “have been performed in public venues with such frequency and duration that they are now part of the public domain,” said the establishment.

BMI went to U.S. District Court for Eastern Ohio in Akron Thursday on behalf of itself and eight music publishers to stop the Whiskey Stop Bar & Grill in Louisville, Ohio, and owners Scott and Kathryn Kelly from publicly performing musical compositions in the BMI repertoire without a license, said their complaint (docket 5:23-cv-01889). BMI has contacted the defendants more than 40 times since October 2021 by phone, mail and email in an effort to educate them about their obligations under the Copyright Act, “with respect to the necessity of purchasing a license for the public performance of musical compositions” in the BMI portfolio, said the complaint. Included in the letters were cease and desist notices, giving the defendants formal notice they must immediately cease all use of BMI-licensed music in their establishment, it said. The plaintiffs allege six claims of willful copyright infringement, based on the defendants’ unauthorized public performance of musical compositions from the BMI repertoire, it said. All the claims for copyright infringement joined in the complaint “are governed by the same legal rules and involve similar facts,” it said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell for Western Texas in Austin granted Grande Communications Networks' motion, approving the $46.8 million supersedeas bond that Grande procured against a jury’s contributory infringement damages award (see 2308300005), said Howell’s signed order Wednesday (docket 1:17-cv-00365). Howell’s order also stayed the execution of the court’s Jan. 30 copyright infringement judgment against Grande, pending the resolution of all appeals. Howell said the plaintiff record labels’ argument is without merit that allowing Grande the option to pay first undermines the purpose of supersedeas bonds, said his order. The judge also said there’s “no precedent” supporting the plaintiffs’ claim that supersedeas bonds “may not allow the litigant the obligation to pay first,” said his order.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s Aug. 29 decision in Valancourt Books v. Garland said correctly the book deposit requirement contained in Section 407 of the Copyright Act, as applied to a book publisher, “was an unconstitutional taking of private property” under the Fifth Amendment, said an analysis Wednesday by Seth Cooper, Free State Foundation director-policy studies and a senior fellow. The decision was a “straightforward Takings Clause case” because copies of copyrighted books are personal property, and the deposit requirement involved “no form of just compensation or like kind exchange to justify it,” said Cooper. In Valancourt, the D.C. Circuit observed that the deposit requirement isn’t a precondition for copyright protections, “and it rightly concluded that Section 407 confers no benefit for compliance,” he said. But the court's analysis in Valancourt “also deserves scrutiny for appearing to deviate from the Founding Fathers' understanding of the nature of copyrights as a type of public contract between creative artists and the government that is rooted in natural property rights,” he said. Valancourt also provides a window “into the open question of the applicability of the Takings Clauses” of the Fifth and 14th amendments “to takings by state governments of exclusive rights in creative works,” he said.

The Old Fountain Tavern in suburban Atlanta, and its owner Stephen Clark, deny the allegations of BMI and eight music publishers that they’re publicly performing musical compositions without the authorization or license of the copyright owners (see 2308180027), said their answer Friday (docket 1:23-cv-03657) in U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in Atlanta. The defendants allege the plaintiffs “unreasonably delayed filing any claims,” causing them to suffer prejudice. Owner Clark “presently has insufficient knowledge and information upon which to form a belief as to whether he may have additional, and as yet unstated, affirmative defenses available,” said the answer. He reserves the right to seek leave to amend his answer “to assert additional affirmative defenses in the event that discovery reveals facts which render them appropriate,” it said.

Redoak Communications reached settlements with Best Buy, Target, Walmart and two other defendants, resolving allegations the online retailer sold unlicensed DVD and Blu-ray copies of the 1981 horror film Just Before Dawn, said the parties’ stipulation for dismissal with prejudice Monday (docket 9:23-cv-80008) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in West Palm Beach. Best Buy and Target invoked affirmative defenses March 31 in which they contended Redoak’s claims were barred by the first-sale doctrine, because once Redoak’s licensees sold products in commerce, Redoak no longer had any right to control subsequent disposition or sales of those products (see 2304020001). Each party will bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs, said the stipulation.

The Weather First Alert logo used by Tegna-owned KSDK in St. Louis violates Gray Media’s First Alert Weather trademark that Gray’s KMOV has used in the same market since August 2022, Gray alleged in an infringement lawsuit Friday (docket 4:23-cv-01163) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Missouri in St. Louis. Patent and Trademark Office records show the First Alert Weather mark (registration number 3290987) was granted to Raycom Media, Gray’s predecessor company, in September 2007. The First Alert Weather mark “has been prominently and repeatedly featured on Gray’s weather broadcasts, websites, social media accounts, radio spots, vehicles, and various other marketing materials,” said the complaint. The mark “has acquired a strong and favorable public recognition and secondary meaning identifying Gray as the preeminent source for reliable weather reporting nationwide,” it said. Rather than compete fairly on “their own merit,” Tegna and KSDK “engaged in a blatant pattern of willful, deliberate infringement in order to wrongfully benefit from the goodwill that Gray has built up” in connection with the First Alert Weather mark, it said. Tegna and KSDK “suddenly debuted” the Weather First Alert logo in October, having previously used the “5 on Your Side” brand in reference to playing on local Channel 5, it said. Since the defendants’ infringing conduct began late last year, Gray has requested that they “terminate their infringement and have unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate a co-existence agreement between the parties,” it said. Tegna “is aware of Gray’s rights,” and has licensed the First Alert Weather mark from Gray in different markets, including the St. Louis market, the complaint said. KSDK decided not to renew its license for use of the mark in St. Louis in 2015. Tegna and KSDK didn’t comment Monday.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tentatively calendared Simply Wireless’ appeal against T-Mobile for in-person oral argument for the Dec. 5-8 session in Richmond, said a signed clerk’s order Wednesday (docket 22-2211). Simply Wireless is seeking to reverse the district court’s granting of summary judgment in T-Mobile’s favor when it ruled that Simply Wireless had abandoned rights to the “Simply Prepaid” trademark (see 2307270001).

The Internet Archive “is in compliance with all of its obligations” under the Aug. 11 permanent injunction imposed by U.S. District Judge John Koelti for Southern New York in Manhattan, said a signed declaration Monday (docket 1:20-cv-04160) by IA founder and Chair Brewster Kahle. The judge’s “narrowly tailored” injunction bars IA from scanning print copies of physical books and lending the digital copies to users of IA’s website without the publishers’ permission, so long as those physical books also have an e-book component (see 2308150012). In Kahle’s role as IA’s digital librarian, “I oversee the Internet Archive’s digital lending library,” said his declaration. IA’s library was at the heart of its copyright infringement dispute with the four book publishers that was resolved in the publishers’ favor.