Venable partner Joshua Kaufman was quoted in a January 1 Law360 article discussing copyright and trademark suits in 2010, citing large payouts in cases concerning digital technology and Internet commerce.
On the reasons for this increase, Kaufman said, "Back in the day, if somebody wanted to knock off something, it probably wasn't that easy to copy a label. Now, you slap it on a $99 scanner and you've got a perfect digital reproduction of the trademark and logo. E-mail it and 30 seconds later someone in China has a perfect digital replica."
According to the article, some attorneys have said they expect big copyright and trademark judgments to continue in 2011.
Kaufman said, "Today, the ability to infringe on a mass, global scale is so easy that the size of the infringements is increasing, and so I think that's one of the reasons for the larger judgments."
He added, "Instead of knocking off 150 copies, you're knocking off 150,000 copies. The nature of digital media is just increasing the volume, which is obviously reflected in the awards."
On the reasons for this increase, Kaufman said, "Back in the day, if somebody wanted to knock off something, it probably wasn't that easy to copy a label. Now, you slap it on a $99 scanner and you've got a perfect digital reproduction of the trademark and logo. E-mail it and 30 seconds later someone in China has a perfect digital replica."
According to the article, some attorneys have said they expect big copyright and trademark judgments to continue in 2011.
Kaufman said, "Today, the ability to infringe on a mass, global scale is so easy that the size of the infringements is increasing, and so I think that's one of the reasons for the larger judgments."
He added, "Instead of knocking off 150 copies, you're knocking off 150,000 copies. The nature of digital media is just increasing the volume, which is obviously reflected in the awards."