by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 29 – A six-attorney law firm in Boston late on December 26 sued Winston & Strawn for stealing its brief - actually, a Rule 12 Motion which it says was protected by copyright law.
The lawsuit, filed past 10 pm in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, was found minutes later in the dockets by Inner City Press, which closely covers SDNY - but will not be quoting the complaint, even though that would be fair use.
Hsuanyeh Law Group filed a Rule 12 motion on August 23, 2023 for Phison Electronics Corporation. The motion, it was, was copyrighted as of August 30.
On August 24 Winston and Strawn filed Rule 12 motion that Hsuanyeh says was a"nearly verbatim" copy. Hsuanyeh cites a decision by SDNY Judge Jed S. Rakoff (in White v. West Pub. Corp. 12-cv-1340), and a 2016 CDCA decision.
Winston & Strawn, in a letter annexed to the complaint, argued that "any suggestion that the act of filing the Motion constitutes publication is incorrect." Instead, it was a "public display" on PACER. Note we are quoting from Winston's letter...
On March 29, District Judge Denise L. Cote held a conference. The plaintiffs want a statement; Judge Cote explained the only way to get that is on a summary judgment motion, or trial (which she set for December). In April, there will be a mediator or Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
This case is Hsuanyeh Law Group PC v. Winston & Strawn LLP et al., 23-cv-11193 (Cote)
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