The Southern District of New York recently issued an opinion that held the Internet Archive, an organization whose professed mission is to provide universal access to all knowledge, infringed plaintiffs’ copyrights when it scanned print copies of books and offered free digital copies to users of its website without the copyright owners’ permission. » Read More

For a long time, courts were divided over the importance of securing copyright registration prior to bringing an action claiming that a party infringed (that is, trespassed upon) the owner’s copyright in a creative work (film, tv program, literary work, art, etc.).  » Read More

Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the “Federal Circuit”) ruled that only human beings may qualify as inventors of patentable inventions. See Thaler v. Vidal, Appeal No. 2021-2347 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 5, 2022). In the case at issue, computer scientist Stephen Thaler developed an artificial intelligence system for which he coined the name “DABUS” (“Device for Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Science”), and which is the “creativity machine” named as the sole inventor on patent applications for a food container and a light beacon. » Read More

“It seems our diamond requires a closer inspection,” famously says the fictional character Lady Whistledown of Regency-era London’s most beautiful debutante in Bridgerton (Season One). Bridgerton, for the uninitiated, is the Netflix hit series based on historical romance novels by Julia Quinn. » Read More

Internet memes spread like wildfire online and capture the core essences of Internet culture. “Meme” is a broad term that generally includes any image, video, text, or other online content that is usually humorous or light-hearted and shared with slight modifications. » Read More

As we all know, social media has taken the world by storm. Unsurprisingly, it’s had an impact on trademark and copyright law, as the related right of publicity. A recent case involving an actor’s voice being used on the popular app TikTok is emblematic of the time. » Read More

The recent collapse in NFT sales may have cooled general interest in the digital assets, but the legal questions they raise remain very much alive and relevant to rightsowners and creatives alike.  We reported previously about Hermés’ complaint against the creator of MetaBirkin NFTs, and the Court’s decision this week denying the creator’s motion to dismiss that complaint goes to the ever-relevant question of boundary between art and commerce. » Read More

So many times in my three decades of practice I’ve shaken my head at the perils a trademark owner can so easily avoid by searching and clearing a mark. The litigations! The unnecessary attorneys’ fees! The time and resources lost! All because my client (or adversary) didn’t conduct a proper trademark search. » Read More

On Jan. 1, 2022, all works first published in 1926 and all sound recordings from before 1923 entered the public domain in the United States. This means they are no longer protected by copyright, and anyone and everyone are free to copy, publish, perform, and create derivative works of these books, plays, artworks, films, and recordings.  » Read More

Working today through an interesting copyright notice issue prompted me to write today’s post. While current copyright law doesn’t require a copyright notice, placing one on a creative work such as online content, websites, promotional materials, books, films, sculptures, toys, games, or paintings can enhance the copyright owner’s rights by providing “constructive notice” of those rights. » Read More