Scientific Journal Program

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We protect STM publishers' rights in their journals.

STM Publishers develop scientific, technological, and medical journals.

The publishers license and sell copies of their journals to institutions and individuals, which promotes the progress of science, technology, and medicine. 

We represent the publishers to pursue infringers who make pirated copies of the journals.

The Comprehensive Microfilm Action

 

In December of 2010, we filed the action Elsevier Inc., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and American Chemical Society v. Comprehensive Microfilm & Scanning Services, Inc., 3:10-cv-02513 (RDM) (M.D. Pa.) on behalf of a group of STM publishers.  

Defendants had engaged in systematic pirating of the publishers' journals involving unauthorized microfilm copies.  Defendants raised the affirmative defense of fair use.

In December of 2013, the jury returned a verdict finding infringement by one of the defendants of 2,515 copyrights and damages of $1,500,000, reduced by set-offs from our prior settlements.  Post-trial motions are pending.

The Patent Law Firm Program

 

Patent attorneys frequently reference scholarly articles published in journals as part of their practice, especially in patent prosecution.  Some patent attorneys, however, copy and distribute the copyrighted articles without securing licenses for those uses.  Although the cost per use is minimal, the overall impact on copyright owners is significant.

Dunnegan & Scileppi LLC has represented two scientific publishers in enforcing their copyrights in their journal articles.  We have commenced actions against Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A. in the District of Minnesota, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff in the Northern District of Illinois and Winstead, P.C. in the Northern District of Texas.  We received adverse judgments in two of these actions, and settled the third action.  In connection with these actions, we have vigorously litigated the issue of fair use.