On November 5, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Allen v. Cooper, a copyright case in which the petitioner claims that the State of North Carolina infringed his copyrights in images and video of the salvage of Blackbeard’s famed pirate ship. Westlaw IP Journal reached to Finnegan partner Margaret Esquenet for her predictions on the outcome of the case. 

Margaret said, "While it is always difficult to predict how the court will decide, I think that the oral argument in Allen v. Cooper provides interesting insights regarding the issues the justices are weighing. On one side, the court is openly concerned about giving states the green light to freely—and without consequence—infringe privately held copyrights. On the other hand, the justices are reluctant to part with precedent and directly or indirectly overturn Florida Prepaid or to undermine state sovereign immunity with a new, potentially broadly applicable constitutional law decision."