Dastar Interpreted in Internet Video Streaming Case | Practical Law
On March 8, 2012, in Zuffa, LLC v. Justin.tv, Inc., the US District Court for the District of Nevada, citing the US Supreme Court's opinion in Dastar v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., dismissed plaintiff Zuffa LLC's claims for infringement of Zuffa's "octagon" fighting arena design mark because the mark was an inherent part of a streaming mixed martial arts video in which it was displayed. The court expressed concern that enforcing Zuffa's rights in a trademark displayed as an inherent part of a copyrighted broadcast would run afoul of the rule of Dastar, which bars trademark protection for copyrightable works.