When copyrights aren’t a federal case
Ron ColemanCan copyright disputes ever be litigated in state court? It’s generally understood that the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over copyright claims, in contrast to trademark claims. Before you answer,…
Even in slow motion, fair use is confusing
Via Twitter, Rick Sanders pretty much writes a guest post for us — read his whole thread: Photographer took time-lapse photograph of a neighborhood at night. Promoter of festival taking…
Decline and fall of the dumb copyright trick (Best of 2017)
First published on November 13, 2017. One of the dumbest things people — overlawyered, and, sadly, mainly professionally-licensed people — have tried to do to avoid negative online reviews is…
Decline and fall of the dumb copyright trick
One of the dumbest things people — overlawyered, and, sadly, mainly professionally-licensed people — have tried to do to avoid negative online reviews is to find ways of claiming some…
Who Owns First?
Matthew David BrozikIs the beloved routine in the public domain? Say it with me: “I don’t know. Third base.”
Follow the dancing baby
Whoa! HUUGE! #copyright https://t.co/PeNgW4yYXD — Ron Coleman (@RonColeman) September 16, 2015 It is huge. Here’s the New York Times‘s coverage; here’s the Wall Street Journal; and here’s the actual 9th…
Where Were You When “Happy Birthday to You” Was Found to Be in the Public Domain?
Newly discovered evidence “proves conclusively that Happy Birthday has been in the public domain since no later than 1922.” At stake is the more than $5,000 per day—or $2 million…
Best of 2009: They always get their man
Posted November 24, 2009. Yes, people do have some funny ideas of what kinds of things to protect with copyright, don’t they? A few years ago, criminal enterprise Milberg Weiss…
Best of 2009: The DMCA and the search engine
Posted on August 6, 2009. Traverse Legal: Mary Roach has a great post at CircleID on an area that we have talked about extensively, namely, copyright takedowns under the Digital…
Best of 2008: Someone dropped in an extra zero, right? RIGHT?
Posted on October 16, 2008. It’s a month-old story, and how it got past us here notwithstanding, it’s not getting past us now. Per the ABA Journal, remember the Bratz…
What’s your poison? Copyright infringement.
You’ve heard the tale in one form or another: A bar plays a recorded song over its sound system (without permission), then gets sued for violating the public performance right…
Covering your assets.
Over the weekend, all the nerdiest news outlets reported that Volpin Props‘ company that makes props and replicas “mostly videogame related,” according to the outfit’s Facebook page — “but anything…
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?” you wonder. “Why don’t they…
The Future of “Happy Birthday” Might Be a Present to Us All, Because of Its Past.
As a rule—specifically Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 8(a)(2)—a pleading that states a claim for relief must contain… a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the…