In an important decision for policyholders, a New York state appellate court rejected AIG’s effort to avoid defending McGraw-Hill in a series of copyright suits. In doing so, it reversed the trial court and rejected the insurer’s attempted use of the contract exclusion and fortuity doctrine as a bar to coverage under various multimedia liability insurance policies.
Continue Reading New York Appeals Court Finds Contract and Conduct Exclusions No Bar to Defense of Publisher’s Copyright Claims
Copyright
IP Lawsuit Triggers Insurers’ Duty to Defend
By Michael S. Levine & Geoffrey B. Fehling on
A federal court in Pennsylvania has held that Liberty Mutual must defend its insured, Hershey Creamery Company, in an intellectual property infringement lawsuit because the suit raises claims that potentially implicate coverage under the policies’ personal and advertising injury coverages. The court further found that the alleged wrongful conduct was not subject to the policies’ IP infringement exclusion.
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Continue Reading IP Lawsuit Triggers Insurers’ Duty to Defend
Massachusetts High Court Says Use of Olympian’s Name Is Covered “Advertising Idea,” Not An Excluded IP Violation
By Michael S. Levine on
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently construed the undefined term “advertising idea” in a case of first impression in the Commonwealth, holding that a footwear company’s insurers must provide a defense against an underlying claim alleging unfair use of a former Olympian’s name to promote a line of running shoes.
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Continue Reading Massachusetts High Court Says Use of Olympian’s Name Is Covered “Advertising Idea,” Not An Excluded IP Violation