Evergreen Safety Council v. RSA Network, Inc.Case No. 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64261 aff’d 697 F.3d 1221, 104 U.S.P.Q.2D (BNA) 1380, Copy. L. Rep. (CCH) ¶ 30,333 U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit We defended Evergreen Safety Council in defeating a copyright infringement claim filed by RSA for the use of traffic safety diagrams and text. We brought a preemptive declaratory judgment suit, and the court granted summary judgment dismissing the copyright infringement claims. RSA appealed, arguing that a 10-year delay in bringing the suit did not support a laches defense, when there would be future, willful infringement. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal, ruling a reasonable and good faith belief in that the existence of a license bars a finding of willful copyright infringement. The Court's focus on good faith was a departure from the formalistic Effects Associates test. The case was a variation of the classic hold-up problem, where an intellectual property owner after participating in a standard setting process and after the standard had been widely implemented, later demands royalties or a stoppage from competitors. |