A recent post over at the Trademark and Copyright Law Blog (a great blog which I highly suggest you read) discussed a case from the Southern District of New York that addressed de minimis copying in copyright. And after reading it, I decided that we should touch on this defense here, because I think too… Read more »
Of all the companies that might get into a copyright dispute over a video game, I wouldn’t have guessed it would be Atari vs. Nestle. But 2017 has been a crazy year, and now here it is. This case concerns a recently launched ad campaign for that delicious chocolate and crispy wafer candy, Kit Kats…. Read more »
Though I have doubted in the past (and continue to doubt) that any real, substantive copyright reform will make it through Congress any time soon, there have been a few recent legislative proposals that I want to recognize. First there is the is the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important contributions to… Read more »
Today the New York Times has an interesting story about Frank Ocean and the copyrightability of Tweets that I’d like to dig into a little bit further. The story goes that Frank Ocean performed at the Panorama Music Festival in New York City on July 28, 2017. At the show, he wore a T-shit that read:… Read more »
Spotify, the digital music streaming giant, is in a bit of hot water for failing to properly pay for many of the songs on the service. Bluewater, a company that manages music publishing rights, and Robert Gaudio, a songwriter and member of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, have sued Spotify, claiming that Spotify did not… Read more »
There’s a little piece of news from the Copyright Office about supplementary registrations: A new rule on supplementary registration is now in effect. As you may be aware, copyright law offers optional registration that, while not mandatory, provides some nice benefits for copyright owners. Under the law, you receive a copyright over your original works when… Read more »
Did you know that if you transfer your copyright to someone, it may be possible to get it back under your control, at least eventually? The other day, I read a post from Variety entitled Getting Your Grooves Back: Understanding Copyright Termination. This article makes a great point about how people often don’t know about… Read more »
Back in 2011, British photographer, David Slater, set out to Indonesia to photograph the endangered macaque. While he was trying to get his shots, one wily primate snagged his camera and took hundreds of selfies. A few years later, when one particularly great picture appeared on the Wikimedia multimedia repository, Slater sent a takedown notice… Read more »
In 1998, The United States passed one of the most important amendments to copyright law, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Responding to burgeoning copyright concerns at the dawn of the internet age, the DMCA added several provisions to the law that have proven to be both very important and quite controversial at the same time…. Read more »
On June 9, 2017, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 810, a new piece of legislation designed to support Open Educational Resources in Texas. Sponsored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-18), Rep. Donna Howard (D-48), Sen. Larry Taylor (R-11), and Sen. Royce West (D-23), in response to the rising cost of college text books,… Read more »
