Editing Copyright misuse (section)

{{Globalize|article|USA|2name=the United States|date=August 2013}}{{Competition law}}
'''Copyright misuse''' is an [[Equity (law)|equitable]] [[affirmative defense|defence]] to [[copyright infringement]] in the [[United States]] based upon the doctrine of [[Clean hands|unclean hands]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paredes|first=Troy|access-date=12 September 2023|year=1994|title=Copyright Misuse Tying: Will Courts Stop Misusing Misuse|url=https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1114932|journal=Berkeley Technology Law Journal|volume=9|issue=2|page=276}}</ref> The misuse doctrine provides that the copyright holder engaged in abusive or improper conduct in exploiting or enforcing the copyright will be precluded from enforcing his rights against the infringer. Copyright misuse is often comparable to and draws from the older and more established doctrine of [[patent misuse]], which bars a patentee from obtaining relief for infringement when he extends his patent rights beyond the limited monopoly conferred by the law.<ref>''Motion Pictures Patents Co v Universal Film Mfg Co.'', 243 U.S. 502 (1917);<br />''Morton Salt Co. v G.S. Superego Co.,'' 312 U.S. 488 (1942)   </ref>

The doctrine forbids the copyright holder from attempting to extend the effect or operation of copyright beyond the scope of the statutory right, for example, by engaging in restrictive [[License|licensing]] practices that are contrary to the public policy underlying copyright law.<ref>''Lasercomb America, Inc. v Reynolds'', 911 F.2d 970 (4th Cir. 1990)</ref> In fact, the misuse doctrine is said to have evolved to tackle such aggressive licensing practices.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Judge|first=Karthryn|year=2004|title=Rethinking Copyright Misuse|jstor=40040191 |journal=Stanford Law Review|volume=57|issue=3|page=915}}</ref>