USPTO & Copyright Office to Take on Sovereign Immunity in Copyright

On April 28, 2020, in the wake of the disastrous Supreme Court decision against copyright holders in Allen v. Cooper, Senators Thom Tillis (R) and Patrick Leahy (D) have called for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office to “advise on the pervasiveness and prevalence of States’ infringements of copyrights.” The letters state that, “The Supreme Court's ruling last month in Allen v. Cooper created a situation in which copyright owners are without remedy if a State infringes their copyright and claims State sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” READ MORE