Fenwick represented Sega of America and Electronic Arts in a copyright infringement case filed in the Central District of California by Kenneth Penders, an artist who contributed content to certain “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic books and claimed to own copyrights in that content. Fenwick convinced the district court that Penders’ case should be dismissed because of another similar case pending in the Southern District of New York. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Penders’ claim based on the first-to-file rule, which had the effect of wiping out Penders’ claim for damages.
The Fenwick team was led by Rodger Cole, Jennifer Kelly and associate Annasara Purcell,