Digital Analogy: Behind the Scenes of Aereo
"Judge Roberts, I remember Sputnik. I knew Sputnik. Sputnik was a friend of mine. Judge Roberts, the respondent’s system is no Sputnik." Read more
Author: Matthew David Brozik
Now you can go Holmes again!
“Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Watson.” “Watson who?” “Not much. But there is this decision from the U.S. District Court for the... Read more
Where Were You When “Happy Birthday to You” Was Found to Be in the Public Domain?
Newly discovered evidence [according to a court filing] “proves conclusively that Happy Birthday has been in the public domain since no later than 1922.” At... Read more
Zediva: The world’s longest extension cord
The AP reports that a small California (of course) company thinks it has a brilliant idea, a way to out-Netflix Netflix: Zediva Inc. is going... Read more
Darth Vader versus the United States of America! (Okay, not really.)
This post discusses what by all rights should be the most exciting case ever heard by any court anywhere. One of the plaintiffs is Darth... Read more
Inside s©oop.
The other day, I received an email from a Registration Specialist, Literary Division at the U.S. Copyright Office. She’d written to ask me to submit... Read more
Covering your assets.
Over the weekend, all the nerdiest news outlets reported that Volpin Props—a company that makes props and replicas “mostly videogame related,” according to the outfit’s... Read more
Louboutin gets the boot
In a case that has everyone seeing red — No, let me start over. And without the jokes. Because in a decision in Christian Louboutin... Read more
Verb That Adjective Noun! “Google” Is Not (Yet) Generic.
It was bound to happen sooner or later—and in fact it happened back in 2012. Someone sued to have “Google” declared generic and the registration... Read more
A Short Novel About a Girl and Her Copyright Problem
I, Matthew David Brozik, your dedicated lieutenant blawger, have written a novel. Actually, I’ve written three. And, also, this one—Taking Ivy Seriously—is really a novella,... Read more
When an Issue of First Impression Makes a Bad One
Have you ever read a decision and just marveled at the apparent restraint of the judges? “Why don’t they tell this party to shut up?”... Read more
Caveat Animator (guest post by Brozik)
[A woman] has filed a lawsuit claiming that Disney’s animated film about [a princess, her magical sister, and their talking snowman] took elements from her... Read more
ReDigi Redux: A Decision in Two Dialogues
There is a case so plainly inappropriate for a fair use defense, and this is that case. Read more
Looking for “Peace of Mind” (BOSTON 2)
You might recall this previous post, addressing the nascent lawsuit brought by a corporate music publisher/exploiter and its principal (plaintiffs Next Decade Entertainment, Inc. &... Read more