Two of our colleagues, Patricia Flanagan and and Alex Braunstein, recently wrote an alert on trademark and copyright changes that have been included in the most recent stimulus package. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which was signed into law on December 28th, makes significant changes to American intellectual property laws via its inclusion of the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TM Act); the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (CASE Act); and an amendment to Title 18 of the United States Code that adds Section 2319C titled “Illicit digital transmission services.”
As the alert points out, a few highlights of these new laws include:
- Clarifying that a reputable presumption of irreparable harm exists for trademark violations, making it easier for trademark owners to obtain injunctive relief
- Implementing new procedures for addressing false use claim problems
- Establishing a new voluntary alternative dispute resolution process for copyright infringement disputes before the U.S. Copyright Office
- Making illegal streaming of copyright material a felony
For a full summary of the changes included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, you can read Patricia and Alex’s alert here.