Intellectual Property News and Reports

In this appeal, Cynthia Foss, a graphic designer, challenges the dismissal on preclusion grounds of her claim alleging copyright infringement against Marvic, Inc., d/b/a Brady-Built Sunrooms ("Marvic"), and Brady-Built, Inc., based on Marvic's allegedly unauthorized use of a marketing brochure that Foss had created. She also challenges both the dismissal on jurisdictional grounds of her claim for a declaratory judgment that Charter Communications, Inc. and Charter Communications, LLC (Marvic's internet service provider), are not eligible for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") safe-harbor defense, see 17 U.S.C. § 512(a), and the dismissal of that same claim on the merits under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). We vacate the dismissal of the copyright-infringement claim. As to the declaratory-judgment claim, we affirm the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction and therefore vacate that claim's dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6).

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