Insurance Policies Can Be Copyrighted, Judge Rules

By Marius Meland

Law360, New York (February 07, 2006, 12:00 AM ET) -- In what may be the first ruling of its kind, a federal court has found that insurance policies by American Family Life Assurance Co. (Aflac) were copyrightable and needed injunctive protection from competitors trying to crack into the market for supplemental insurance.

Aflac sued New-York based Assurant Inc. and two of its subsidiaries, Fortis Insurance Co. and John Alden Life Insurance Co. in June 2005, alleging copyright infringement of four of Aflac's insurance policies, including two of its biggest sellers.

In a 45-page opinion, U.S. District...
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