Incontestable Trademark Newsletter - July/August 2010
In this article Finnegan partner, Lawrence R. Robins, analyzes Barclays Capital Inc. v. THEFLYONTHEWALL.COM decision and discusses the implications for newspapers in protecting the value of their newsgathering. The appeals court ruled in this case that investment recommendation reports issued by the plaintiffs Barclays, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley are protected under the common law "Hot News" doctrine and enjoined the defendant "Fly" from aggregating and distributing such recommendations. Robins states that the Barclays decision highlights several factors that are key to news services and other content providers that seek to protect time sensitive content. The article concludes with his assertion that the Barclays decision is a strong statement to others engaged in the development and distribution of time-sensitive information and that the courts will continue to protect purveyors of "hot news" from misappropriation by direct competitors.
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