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Seward & Kissel Successfully Defends Joint Authorship Claims for Client Exceller Software
Friday, November 12, 2010
New York, NY -- Seward & Kissel LLP (www.sewkis.com) is pleased to announce that on November 9th, 2010, Judge Paul G. Gardephe in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued his decision in the case of Exceller Software Corporation v. Pearson Education, Inc., No. 10-cv-00381-PGG, denying the defendants' motion to dismiss the joint authorship, copyright infringement, and breach of contract claims.
Seward & Kissel represented plaintiff Exceller Software Corporation (Exceller), a software designer, in a suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against defendants Pearson Education, Inc. and Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc. (together, Pearson). Included in the suit are claims alleging that Exceller is a joint author of the series of software titles Focus on Grammar developed by the parties, and that Pearson violated Exceller's rights as a joint author in issuing the software series called "Focus on Grammar Interactive."
Exceller also brought claims of copyright infringement in the alternative and breach of Exceller's contractual right to make "major enhancements" to the Focus on Grammar software. The defendants moved to dismiss all claims, and as a result, on November 9th, 2010, the District Circuit denied Pearson’s motion to dismiss the joint authorship, copyright infringement, and breach of contract claims.
Exceller’s litigation team was led by Seward & Kissel LLP attorneys Jack Yoskowitz, Jeffrey Dine and Celinda Gebhardt.
About Seward & Kissel LLP
Seward & Kissel LLP (www.sewkis.com) is a law firm with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., originally established in 1890, offering legal advice emphasizing business, financial and commercial law and related litigation. The Firm’s practice includes mergers & acquisitions and other business transactions, corporate finance and securities, investment management, bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, litigation, tax, real estate, employment and employee benefits, trusts and estates, intellectual property and legislative and regulatory advice.
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