Winston & Strawn Settles Copyright Suit Claiming It Copied Brief

Winston & Strawn LLP reached a settlement with a Boston boutique firm that accused it of ripping off its motion to dismiss brief while representing a different defendant against a common plaintiff, according to a Tuesday filing in New York federal court.

Hsuanyeh Law Group PC said Winston attorneys filed a nearly identical copy of its motion to dismiss against a common plaintiff a day after it filed its own motion last August in a patent lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiff itself noted the “nearly verbatim” quality of the motions in a response, and Winston’s response letter rejecting Hsuanyeh’s legal claims didn’t deny the copying, Hsuanyeh said.

Tuesday US District Judge Denise Cote filed an order discontinuing the case in light of the parties reporting that the case has been settled. Winston & Strawn officials didn’t respond to a request for comment. Lance Liu, an attorney for Hsuanyeh, said, “The case is still considered pending and I can not comment on it.” Parties have until May 16 to reopen the case.

The resolution leaves unresolved questions about the bounds of how copyright law applies to legal briefs, a topic that doesn’t appear to have be addressed by any circuit-level case law. Legal briefs often follow templates within firms and feature various unprotectable elements like facts and law, plus copyright protects expressive rather than functional work.

Lancce Liu represents Hsuanyeh. Winston & Strawn represents itself.

The case is Hsuanyeh Law Group PC v. Winston & Strawn LLP, S.D.N.Y., No. 23-11193, Order of discontinuance 4/16/24.