Copyright
"The Law Has Already Sawed That Claim in Half"
The latest from Paul Alan Levy (Public Citizen), pushing back against threats of trademark litigation over parody.
Abolish Intellectual Property Rights?
Patent lawyer Stephan Kinsella debates Law Professor Richard Epstein
Abolish Copyrights and Patents? A Soho Forum Debate
Patent lawyer Stephan Kinsella debates law professor Richard Epstein
Some Thoughts on Google v. Oracle, from Prof. Rebecca Tushnet (Harvard)
"Categories, microworks, and market circularity."
University Trying to Block Distribution of Faculty Senate Meeting Video Excerpts Using Copyright Law
An interesting controversy involving Portland State University.
Publishing Another Newspaper's Spiked Story: Copyright Infringement or Fair Use?
Likely fair use, at least under the Second Circuit's precedents.
Fair Use to Republish, in Annotated Form, Drone-Taken Photograph Used in a Political Argument
As with all fair use claims, the analysis turns on the particular facts.
Creating a Version of a Work Solely for "Artistic Experimentation and to Seek License Approval from the Copyright Holder" = Fair Use
So holds Judge Virginia A. Phillips (C.D. Cal.) in Tracy Chapman's lawsuit against Nicki Minaj.
Sargon of Akkad Wins Attorney Fees in We Thought She Would Win/SJW Levels of Awareness Copyright Lawsuit
"[T]he Court has little difficulty concluding that Hughes's dual goals in bringing her baseless suit were to inflict financial harm on Benjamin and to raise her own profile in the process."
More in the Richard Liebowitz Saga
"The Movants are undoubtedly correct in asserting that 'nationwide sanctions' are rare, but that is only because they are rarely warranted."
More Massive Sanctions on Richard Liebowitz, "Copyright Troll" and "Legal Lamprey"
"One of the most frequently sanctioned lawyers, if not the most frequently sanctioned lawyer," in the Southern District of New York.
Supreme Court Rules That Georgia Can't Copyright Its Annotated Code
A long-running legal battle ends with a victory for open government.
Hospital Technicians Ignore Copyright Law to Fight COVID-19
They trade tips and manuals through a decentralized information-sharing network. Biomedical technicians say it's the fastest and easiest way to get life-saving information.
Last Monday: Second Circuit Fair Use Day (Drake + Sargon of Akkad)
Four Second Circuit judges gave fair use victories (separately) to rapper Drake and blogger Sargon of Akkad, concluding that defendants' uses of plaintiffs' work to comment on it and criticize it were fair use and thus not copyright infringement.
Google v. Oracle
The Supreme Court now has before it a case in which some very important copyright principles are at stake.
A German Museum Tried To Hide This Stunning 3D Scan of an Iconic Egyptian Artifact. Today You Can See It for the First Time
After a three-year freedom of information campaign, everyone can finally see the Egyptian Museum of Berlin’s official scan of the Bust of Nefertiti.
More in the "Copyright Troll" Saga
"This judge joins the chorus of those telling this attorney [Richard P. Liebowitz] to clean up his act."
Stairway to Heaven and the Scope of Musical Copyright
Led Zeppelin may have borrowed from the band "Spirit" in creating the well-known intro to their classic hit, but did they infringe anyone's copyright in doing so?
Sanctions Imposed on Alleged "Copyright Troll"
for what the judge concludes are discovery violations, in a copyright case involving photos of model Emily Ratajkowski.
Che Guevara, Donald Trump, Public Citizen (Founded by Ralph Nader), and Copyright Law
A fun copyright controversy.
Lawyer Loses Bid To Redact Opinion Labeling Him a "Copyright Troll"
But at least he wasn't labeled a "copyright orc" ....
Costume Manufacturer Alleges Competitor's Banana Suit Costume Looks a Little Too Much Like a Banana, Is Copyright Violation
Rasta Imposta has a history of defending its "unique" banana costume design with copyright litigation.
Hide Those Memes, Folks! Europe Passes Massive Online Copyright Changes That Will Lead to Censorship
Do you have a license to link to that story? Will your sexy Tinder photo get confused with a celebrity's?
Maybe Now We Can Finally Read This Star Trek/Dr. Seuss Mash-Up
Federal judge's ruling in a fair-use lawsuit "is a big win for the First Amendment."
Hyperlink Taxes? Meme Bans? E.U. Pushes Forward with Massively Terrible Copyright Regulations
The media are supposed to fight censorship. But to protect their financial interests, some European publishers want to mandate it.
Google Says E.U. Copyright Plans Will Kill Citizens' Online News Access
Big publishers want new sources of revenue. But trying to force license fees for linking will backfire.
Cheese Fight Ends With Court Declaring Producers Can't Copyright Taste
Taste is subjective and food producers have to deal with it
Debate: Intellectual Property Must Be Protected
Should the law respect copyrights and patents?
The European Union Wants to Control the Internet—and You
How a risk-averse bureaucracy across the ocean may decide what you say and do online.
E.U. Passes Censorship-Inducing Online Copyright Regulations
Online platforms will be subjected to a costly, easily-abused system that will likely pull down legal content.
Creativity and Copyright in the Data Age
Does the rise of data-driven authorship change our intuitions about intellectual property? Does it matter?
Copyright and (Un)Human Creativity
What does the rise of data-driven authorship mean for the future of art, culture, and intellectual property rights?
Intellectual Property, Big Data, and Streaming: Porn and Beyond
Profs. Kal Raustiala & Chris Sprigman will be guest-blogging about this week, based on their new law review article.
Pepe the Frog Meets the Copyright Cops
When alt-right activists adopted this amphibian as their own, were they stealing a cartoonist's property or exercising free speech?
Copyright Infringement of 'Sexier' Statue of Liberty Costs Postal Service $3.5 Million
The Post Office must pay $3.5 million for using a "fresh-faced," "sexier" Statue of Liberty replica on a stamp.
Europe Delays Plan to Destroy the Internet With Terrible Copyright Enforcement Proposal
Lawmakers resist plan that would likely lead to widespread censorship of online media sharing.
Forget Net Neutrality: The E.U. Seems Determined to Destroy the Internet
A poorly written proposal to expand copyright claims could potentially decimate online sharing of information.
Do You Have a Right To Repair Your Phone? The Fight Between Big Tech and Consumers
Meet Eric Lundgren, who got 15 months in prison for selling pirated Microsoft software that the tech giant gives away for free.
Taylor Swift Decision: Copiers Gonna Copy, Copy, Copy
And that's not copyright infringement, if they only copy short phrases, especially ones that were themselves largely copied from others.
Playboy Sues Boing Boing Over Link to Playboy Centerfolds
Boing Boing has filed a motion to dismiss.
