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: Cogito Ergo Teneo; an intellectual property blawg

04/27/07 Copyright Law: PODS

By Sean Fowler

So tragically long since my last post. Things got really busy. Among these things, I have a new job at last. Anyway:

PODS v. Porta Stor, Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 2006-1504 (April 27, 2007):

Issue:
PODS came up with a patent for lifting and moving storage units. Porta Stor went into business doing the same. PODS sued, claiming not only patent infringement but also that Porta Stor's leasing agreement was so identical to PODS' own that it was copyright infringement. The magistrate court granted judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) to PODS on the copyright claim, and Porta Stor appealed.

Pertinent issue of copyright law:
1) Does a company have a valid copyright interest in a leasing agreement?

Conclusion:
The court found that it depends. The leasing agreement was created by outside counsel. The court perhaps suggested that this might truly be a work-for-hire case, but -- as near as it could tell -- PODS was arguing that it created the leasing agreement only with help from outside counsel. PODS argued that the president and several vice presidents all gave input to the outside counsel, so -- as best as the court could determine -- the company was asserting that it had joint copyright ownership over the lease. Because the JMOL was granted on the premise that PODS owned the copyright on the contract outright, the court found that the grant of JMOL should be vacated, and the next jury should evaluate whether there is enough evidence to establish PODS as the owner of the lease.

Full post as published by Cogito Ergo Teneo; an intellectual property blawg on May 20, 2007 (boomark / email).