Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a ruling that may make it more difficult for Pennsylvania policyholders to obtain coverage for the misappropriation of advertising ideas under standard commercial general liability policies. In The Hanover Insurance Company v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., No. 14-3705 (Oct. 23, 2015), the Third Circuit adopted a standard for the “prior publication” exclusion – an exclusion that precludes coverage for misappropriation of material that was first published before the insurance policy incepted – that may prove difficult to overcome.

In a recent client alert, members of Reed Smith’s Insurance Recovery Group discuss the Third Circuit ruling, and its potential impact on Pennsylvania insureds.