29 Dec Newman | LLP Persuades Federal Court to Recognize that Cascading Style Sheets are Copyrightable

On January 12, 2016, Newman | LLP attorneys Leeor Neta and Derek Linke secured an unprecedented summary judgment ruling regarding copyright protection for online content.

On behalf of Media.net Advertising, the firm sued NetSeer, Inc. for stealing and misusing the HTML and style sheet (or CSS) underlying Media.net’s online services. In response, NetSeer sought an early summary judgment motion.

Because the Copyright Office generally refuses to register claims based on CSS, U.S. District Court Edward Chen was prepared to invalidate at least a portion of the copyright. But Newman | LLP persuaded the Court that the CSS was sufficiently creative to warrant protection. No federal court has ever extended copyright to CSS.

Companies that provide online services now have another way to protect against copycat competitors singulair medicine. Companies also have to evaluate how they design their HTML and CSS to improve their chances of securing copyright protection.

Jake Bernstein, former Assistant Attorney General for Washington State, assisted in the opposition by drafting and editing a separate portion of the summary-judgment opposition.

The case is Media.net Advertising FZ-LLC v. NetSeer, Inc., Case No. 14-03883. Leeor Neta argued against summary judgment on behalf of Media.net.

If you have a digital advertising or intellectual-property legal issue, you can reach Leeor Neta at 415-944-5424.