wmcgrath@davismcgrath.com
(312) 332-4748
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Reported Cases and Representative Matters
  • Silkwood vs. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238 (1984). One of the team of attorneys that represented defendant in a matter involving the scope of preemption under the Atomic Energy Act.
  • In re Amsted Industries, Inc., 972 F.2d 1326 (Fed. Cir. 1992). Represented Amsted Industries in an appeal of a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) ruling refusing to register a solid color trademark for thermoplastic encapsulated wire rope. Obtained such registration after successful appeal.
  • Roulo vs. Russ Berrie & Co., 886 F.2d 931 (7th Cir. 1989). Represented plaintiff in the trial and appeal of a case involving copyright and trade dress infringement of greeting card designs. The case resulted in a $4.3 million verdict for plaintiff.
  • Hot Samba, Inc. vs. Caterpillar, Inc., 2004 WL 609797 (N.D.Ill. 2004). Represented plaintiff in claim of copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation relating to e-commerce software package.
  • Storm Impact, Inc. vs. Software of the Month Club, 13 F.Supp.2d 782 (N.D.Ill. 1998). Represented plaintiff in a copyright infringement suit involving unauthorized use of computer shareware. The case resulted in an award of statutory damages and attorney's fees to plaintiff.
  • Pioneer, Inc. vs. Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc., 74 U.S.P.Q.2d 1672 (2005). Represented Hitachi in a TTAB Opposition Proceeding, concerning registration of a mark for video and audio products.
  • Allstate Insurance vs. Olafsson. Represented petitioner, Allstate Insurance, in so-called "cyber-squatting" arbitration filed under the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP).
  • Nightingale vs. Nightingale-Conant Corporation. Co-counsel for the publisher in an arbitration matter relating to copyright ownership and royalty claims on the entire body of works of radio personality and author Earl Nightingale.
  • La Preferida vs. Sun Garden Gangi Canning. Represented plaintiff in a claim for trade dress infringement arising out of defendant's use of similar labels and packaging for Mexican food products.
  • Natkin vs. Winfrey, 111 F.Supp.2d 1003 (N.D.Ill. 2000). Filed a report as an expert witness for plaintiff in copyright infringement case dealing with issues of work-made-for-hire and joint authorship of photographs of Oprah Winfrey show.
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin Articles
  • "Hall of Fame Cybersquatters End Up in Federal Court." (Jan 2011).
  • "Meet John Doe – Copyright Defendant." (Dec 2010).
  • "Regulation of Behavioral Advertising on the Internet." (Nov 2010).
  • "The Copyright Legacy of Learned Hand." (Oct 2010).
  • "Jury Awards of Statutory Damages." (Sept 2010).
  • "Trademark Dilution and Unicorns." (Aug 2010).
  • "YouTube Finds Safe Harbor from Copyright Claim." (Jul 2010).
  • "Pondering Trademark Genericide." (June 2010).
  • "Holden Caulfield and Copyright Injunctions." (May 2010).
  • "Moral Rights in the U.S." (Apr 2010).
  • "SCOTUS Tackles Copyright Registration." (Mar 2010).
  • "The Naked Truth about Trademarks and the First Amendment." (Feb 2010).
  • "Student's Fair Use Defense Falters in Music Copyright Case." (Jan 2010).
Articles
  • "Copyright Subject Matter and Exclusive Rights" and "Copyright Infringement, Fair Use, and Remedies." Intellectual Property Law. (IICLE 2008).
  • Annual updates on U.S. copyright law sections. 2009 - present. World Copyright Law. J.A.L. Sterling, editor. (Sweet & Maxwell 2008).
  • Annual updates for U.S. Copyright law units. 2005 - present. Postgraduate Diploma Course Handbook. (King's College, London.) Co-author with Professor Adrian Sterling.
  • "Film Clips and Fair Use: The King is Dead But His Copyrights Live On" IP Litigator 10.2 (Mar 2004): 31.
  • "Does the Copyright Act Preempt Right of Publicity Actions?" IP Litigator, 9.6 (Sept 2003): 27.
  • "Thin-Skinned Barbie Meets the Fair Use Doctrine" IP Litigator, 9.5 (July 2003): 37.
  • "Seventh Circuit Adds New Twist to Attorney Fee Issue" IP Litigator, 9.2 (Feb 2003): 23.
  • "Has the Day of State Court Copyright Infringement Litigation Arrived?" IP Litigator, 8.10 (Dec 2002): 19.
  • "Review of Bowker's Copyright: Its History and Its Law." Copyright World, 124 (Oct 2002): 12.
  • "Revenge of the Troll Dolls: Copyright Restoration for Foreign Works." IP Litigator, 8.8 (Sept 2002): 23.
  • "The 'Publication' Puzzle in Copyright Law." IP Litigator, 8.7 (Aug 2002): 22.
  • "Copyright Infringement and the De Minimis Doctrine." IP Litigator, 8.5 (May 2002): 18.
  • "Independent Creation and the Case of the Competing Doll Heads." IP Litigator, 8.3 (Mar 2002): 20.
  • "U.S. Copyright Case Law Developments in 2001." Copyright World 117 (Feb 2002): 18.
  • "Answered Prayers and Jury Trials: Mr. Feltner's Lesson." IP Litigator, 8.2 (Feb 2002): 24.
  • "The Presumption of Irreparable Harm in Copyright Infringement Cases." IP Litigator, 8.1 (Jan 2002): 19.
  • "The Case of the Inchoate Copyright Registration." IP Litigator, 7.10 (Dec 2001): 14.
  • "Exceptions to the Copyright Infringement Suit Registration Requirement." IP Litigator, 7.8 (Sept 2001): 23.
  • "Funky Eyewear Helps Second Circuit See Actual Damages More Clearly." IP Litigator 7.8 (Aug 2001): 22.
  • "U.S. Copyright Case Law Developments in the New Millennium." Copyright World 110 (May 2001): 16.
  • "Copyright: A Historical Perspective." InFocus Magazine. Oct., 2000.
  • "Are You Ready? New Federal Legislation Protects Some Y2K Readiness Disclosures." Computer Litigation Journal 5.8 (Jan 1999): 14.
  • "Drafting Software License Agreements on the Eve of the Millennium." Publ. in newsletter of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago. Aug., 1998.
  • "The Night I Learned The Essence of Copyright." CBA Record, 12.2 (Feb 1998).
  • "High Court's 'Lotus' Ruling Will Stifle Innovation." National Law Journal, Feb. 12, 1996, C8.
  • "Copyright and the Public Domain." National Law Journal, May 8, 1995, C23.
  • "Fair Use in the High-Tech Arena." National Law Journal, Feb. 20, 1995, C29.
  • "Copyright and Typeface: Can A Letter Design Be Protected?" HOW Magazine. Feb., 1994.
  • "Written Deals Have The Right Stuff." SCREEN Magazine (Apr 1992).
  • "Do You Own The Copyright In Your Customized Software?" Corporate Legal Times. March, 1992.
  • "Feist v. Rural Telephone Service Co. -- White Pages Not Entitled to Copyright Protection." Editor & Publisher Magazine. June, 1991.
  • "Copyright Protection For User Interfaces In The 90's." Software Law Journal. Dec., 1991.
  • "Digital Manipulation and The Law." HOW Magazine. Jan., 1991.
  • "Copyright Ownership in Computer Programs Developed By Independent Contractors." BYTE Magazine. April, 1990. Repr. in KNOWLEDGEBASE (Int'l Assoc. of Knowledge Engineers); AISP Newsletter (Association of Information Systems Professionals); HUG Int'l, Inc. Journal.
  • "The Cost of Copyright Infringement." HOW Magazine. May, 1990.
  • "U.S. Supreme Court Issues Landmark Decision On Work Made For Hire." Feature. APA Magazine. Nov., 1989.
  • "Group Exemptions For Exclusive Distribution Agreements in the Common Market." 9 N.C.J. of International Law 231 (1984). Repr. in Laws of International Trade, Business Laws, Inc. (1987).
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Presentations
  • "Regulatory and Self-Regulatory Regimes for Social Media." Law Seminars International Conference on Social Media. Nov 2010.
  • "New Cases in Copyright Litigation." Practicing Law Institute. June, 2010.
  • "Using Other People's Materials - Copyright and Trademark Fair Use and Nominative Use." Law Bulletin Conference on Corporate Intellectual Property. May 2010.
  • "U.S. Perspectives on Moral Rights." U. K. Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property, London, England. Mar 2010.
  • Developments in Copyright Litigation." Chicago Bar Association. Oct 2009.
  • "New Cases in Copyright Litigation." Practicing Law Institute. Jun 2009.
  • "Recent Developments in Copyright Law." IICLE Intellectual Property Law Institute. Dec 2008.
  • "Open Source Software - Panel Discussion of Jacobsen v. Katzer." Intellectual Property Law Society, Chicago-Kent College of Law. Nov 2008.
  • "New Cases in Copyright Litigation." Practicing Law Institute. June 2008.
  • "Copyright Update" 2nd Annual Intellectual Property Institute for Corporate Counsel (IICLE). Apr 2008.
  • "Copyright Licensing For Software Transactions." National Business Institute. Apr 2008.
  • "Online Content and the DMCA." Law Bulletin Conference on Corporate Intellectual Property. Feb 2008.
  • "New Cases in Copyright Litigation." Practicing Law Institute. June 2007.
  • "Copyright Law Update." Law Bulletin Conference on Corporate Intellectual Property. May 2007.
  • "Copyright Update." IICLE Intellectual Property Law Institute for Corporate Counsel. Apr 2007.
  • "Legal Aspects of Self-Publishing." Chicago Women in Publishing. Mar 2007.
  • "High School Sports and Photo Rights." Illinois Press Photographers Association. Mar 2007.
  • "Who Owns Culture: Ownership Disputes Relating to Art and Cultural Property." Panel discussion. 51st Annual Conference on Developments in Intellectual Property Law, John Marshall Law School. Feb 2007.
  • "Strategies for Intellectual Property Enforcement for Individuals and Small Businesses." Chicago Bar Association. Feb 2006.
  • "Supreme Court Intellectual Property Cases 2004-2005." John Marshall Alumni Association. June 2005.
  • "The Fair Use Doctrine in U.S. Copyright Law." Society of Midland Authors. Apr 2006.
  • "Ownership of Academic Intellectual Property." North Central Association Higher Learning Commission Annual Meeting. Apr 2006.
  • "Copyright Protection and Fair Use of Online Content." Law Bulletin Corporate Intellectual Property Conference. Mar 2006.
  • "Strategies for Intellectual Property Enforcement for Individuals and Small Businesses." Chicago Bar Association. Feb 2006.
  • "Supreme Court Review: Intellectual Property Cases 2004-05." John Marshall Law School. June 2005.
  • "Developments in Copyright Law - 2004." 49th Annual Conference on Developments in Intellectual Property Law, John Marshall Law School. Feb 2005.
  • "That's Mine and I Can Prove It! The Evidentiary Aspects of Intellectual Property Litigation." Chicago Bar Association. Feb 2005.
  • "Is Copyright Broken." Copyright Society of the U.S.A., Midwest Chapter. Dec 2004.