Oren J. Warshavsky

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Copyright Content & Platforms – This Week’s Odds & Ends

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement
Fear the Walking Dead. Popularity and piracy go hand in hand. The most tormented television shows are Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. In many instances, episodes of those shows are available for illegal download before they air. This week, AMC took action by rolling out a new watermarking technology, which will not directly … Continue Reading

Timberlake & Will.I.Am Sued by Disco Artist’s Estate

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement, Music Industry
In a new case that is sure to draw comparisons to the “Blurred Lines” lawsuit, Justin Timberlake and Will.I.Am have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit from the estate of a disco artist. The suit alleges that key portions of their pop hit “Damn Girl” were taken from the relatively obscure 1969 jazz song … Continue Reading

1 in 5,000: How John Doe Defeated Porn Producer Malibu Media

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyPhoto of Tatiana MarkelBy Oren J. Warshavsky and Tatiana Markel on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement
Litigation-friendly pornography producer Malibu Media has suffered a rare loss, which may spell trouble as it proceeds with more cases. According to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Malibu Media has filed 5,207 copyright lawsuits in the past four years, only two of which have reached judgment. Malibu Media typically brings its cases as “John Doe” … Continue Reading

Copyright, Content, and Platforms – This Week’s Odds and Ends

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement
Copyrights in Tattoos? Can tattoos be copyrighted? That will be the central question in a new lawsuit filed by Solid Oak Sketches, which brought a copyright infringement claim against Take Two Interactive. According to the lawsuit, Solid Oak owns the copyrights to many of the tattoos visible in the NBA 2K14, NBA 2K15, and NBA … Continue Reading

Department of Commerce Issues Recommendation on Statutory Damages

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright
Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a long-awaited report titled White Paper on Remixes, First Sale, and Statutory Damages, which recommends amendments to U.S. copyright law. The task force report makes recommendations on three separate issues referenced in its title, though with respect to remixes and the first-sale doctrine, the recommendation is to … Continue Reading

Anne Frank’s “Diary of a Young Girl”: a Derivative Work with a Co-Author

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Co-authorship, Copyright, Copyright Term
On January 1, 2016, Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and Joseph Goebbels’ diaries will both enter the public domain in most of Europe, where the term of protection ends 70 years after the death of a work’s author. One of the Nazi’s most famous victims, Anne Frank, died the same year as Hitler and Goebbels – … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit: “Holy Copyright Law, Batman!” The Batmobile Is Copyrightable

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Batmobile is a copyrightable character. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion explaining its ruling begins with the sentence “Holy copyright law, Batman!,” and goes on to quote Adam West and invoke other pop culture references.  “ Since 1939, Batman has been featured in numerous publications by DC Comics, … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit: “Holy Copyright Law, Batman!” The Batmobile Is Copyrightable

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Uncategorized
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Batmobile is a copyrightable character. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion explaining its ruling begins with the sentence “Holy copyright law, Batman!,” and goes on to quote Adam West and invoke other pop culture references.  “ Since 1939, Batman has been featured in numerous publications by DC Comics, … Continue Reading

Pre-1972 Recording Rulings – Not as Happy Together or as a Settlement

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright
This week, after a string of wins, two members of the classic rock group the Turtles suffered a setback in their lawsuit against satellite radio provider, SiriusXM (Flo & Eddie Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio Inc.). Background: The dispute has been well explained by others, including here and here. But generally speaking, the dispute concerns the rights … Continue Reading

Video Interview: Discussing the Robin Thicke/Marvin Gaye ‘Blurred Lines’ IP Dispute with LXBN TV

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright Infringement, Music Industry
Following up on my recent post discussing copyright dispute surrounding Robin Thicke’s hit single ‘Blurred Lines,’ I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN on the story. In the interview, I explain the background of the suit and how these types of issues are normally decided.… Continue Reading

Robin Thicke, Marvin Gaye, and the Blurred Line Between Inspiration and Infringement

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement
Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines has been a pop-music juggernaut: the year’s best selling song in the United States and the UK is entering its 11th week at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.  When it was initially released many noted that it was reminiscent of Marvin Gaye’s hit Got to Give It Up.  And … Continue Reading

The New FTC Dot Com Disclosures – the FTC Updates its Digital Advertising Guidelines for the Twitter and Facebook Age

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Uncategorized
Authored by:  Fernando Bohorquez Editor’s Note: This post is a joint submission to BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. In what seems like a lifetime ago –and in the fast moving world of the Internet maybe it is –  in May 2000 the Federal Trade Commission issued “Dot Com Disclosures: Information about Online Advertising” to provide guidelines on … Continue Reading

Hulkamania is Running Wild: Let the Battle Begin (in Court)

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Uncategorized
Terry Bollea, better known as the professional wrestler with the stage name Hulk Hogan (“Hogan”), is involved in an unattractive legal battle that presents an unusual intersection of the First Amendment, copyright law, and privacy/publicity issues. Hogan filed two lawsuits arising out of a 2006 sexual encounter with Heather Clem (“Heather”), then the wife of … Continue Reading

Hulkamania is Running Wild: Let the Battle Begin (in Court)

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement, First Amendment
Terry Bollea, better known as the professional wrestler with the stage name Hulk Hogan (“Hogan”), is involved in an unattractive legal battle that presents an unusual intersection of the First Amendment, copyright law, and privacy/publicity issues. Hogan filed two lawsuits arising out of a 2006 sexual encounter with Heather Clem (“Heather”), then the wife of … Continue Reading

Artist Resale Royalties: U.S. Copyright Office Seeking Comments

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Uncategorized
Should artists have the opportunity to benefit from the increased value of their works?  At the request of Congress, the U.S. Copyright Office is considering whether artists and/or their heirs should be granted a percentage of the proceeds from the resale of their original works of art.  On Dec. 15, 2011, Senator Herb Kohl and Representative Jerry Nadler introduced the … Continue Reading

The Use and the Fury: Faulkner Estate’s New Enforcement Efforts

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Jessie Schweller and Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Fair Use, Trademark
In a pair of lawsuits filed about a week ago, Faulkner Literary Rights, LLC (“Faulkner Literary”), the owner of the literary rights to the late William Faulkner’s works, sued Sony Picture Classics (“Sony”), as well as Northrop Grumman Corporation (“Northrop Grumman”) and Washington Post Company (“Washington Post”) in the federal district court for the district … Continue Reading

The Use and the Fury: Faulkner Estate’s New Enforcement Efforts

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Jessie Schweller and Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Uncategorized
In a pair of lawsuits filed about a week ago, Faulkner Literary Rights, LLC (“Faulkner Literary”), the owner of the literary rights to the late William Faulkner’s works, sued Sony Picture Classics (“Sony”), as well as Northrop Grumman Corporation (“Northrop Grumman”) and Washington Post Company (“Washington Post”) in the federal district court for the district … Continue Reading

Pocket Full of Kryptonite: California Court Rules that Superman Heirs Forfeited Termination Rights

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Term
The Copyright Act’s provisions concerning termination rights are complex and nuanced: these rights are available only under certain circumstances and only during specified periods of time.  And that is not surprising, as these rights allow an author or an author’s beneficiaries to recapture potentially valuable rights that were previously assigned—basically, an author or her heirs have … Continue Reading

Pocket Full of Kryptonite: California Court Rules that Superman Heirs Forfeited Termination Rights

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Uncategorized
The Copyright Act’s provisions concerning termination rights are complex and nuanced: these rights are available only under certain circumstances and only during specified periods of time.  And that is not surprising, as these rights allow an author or an author’s beneficiaries to recapture potentially valuable rights that were previously assigned—basically, an author or her heirs have … Continue Reading

After Seven Years, Second Circuit Denies Claim to Stolen Art by Heirs of Holocaust Victim

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Art Law
Cases about Nazi-era stolen artwork can present some of the more complicated issues.   Stemming from cross border theft, these disputes often include difficulties regarding venue, complex factual scenarios, the sovereign decisions of foreign governments, and other issues of public and private international law.  But although these issues and more were present in a recent case … Continue Reading
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