In a Commercial General Liability policy, which exclusion would apply to a copyright infringement claim arising from a video advertisement?

In a Commercial General Liability policy, which exclusion would apply to a copyright infringement claim arising from a video advertisement?

• A. Coverage for infringement of copyright, patent, trademarks, or trade secrets applies only to on-site advertising.
• B. Coverage for infringement of copyright, patent, trademarks, or trade secrets is excluded unless it occurs in an advertisement exclusion.
• C. Infringement claims are covered whenever the claim arises from marketing materials.
• D. The policy excludes all intellectual property claims with no exceptions.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is how intellectual property infringement is treated in a Commercial General Liability policy when it comes to advertising. Copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret infringement is generally excluded, but there is an important exception tied to the insured’s advertising activities. If the infringement arises from the insured’s advertisement, it can fall under the policy’s advertising injury coverage rather than being barred by the IP infringement exclusion. A video advertisement is clearly part of the insured’s advertising. So a copyright infringement claim based on that video would be addressed under the advertising injury provisions, not treated as a blanket IP exclusion with no exception. That’s why the correct choice points to an exclusion that applies generally but allows coverage when the infringement arises in connection with an advertisement. The other options misstate the scope of coverage or exclusions—either limiting to on-site advertising, claiming universal coverage for IP in marketing materials, or asserting there are no exceptions at all.

The key idea is how intellectual property infringement is treated in a Commercial General Liability policy when it comes to advertising. Copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret infringement is generally excluded, but there is an important exception tied to the insured’s advertising activities. If the infringement arises from the insured’s advertisement, it can fall under the policy’s advertising injury coverage rather than being barred by the IP infringement exclusion.

A video advertisement is clearly part of the insured’s advertising. So a copyright infringement claim based on that video would be addressed under the advertising injury provisions, not treated as a blanket IP exclusion with no exception. That’s why the correct choice points to an exclusion that applies generally but allows coverage when the infringement arises in connection with an advertisement. The other options misstate the scope of coverage or exclusions—either limiting to on-site advertising, claiming universal coverage for IP in marketing materials, or asserting there are no exceptions at all.