Tag Archives: Copyright Act

A Recent Entrance to Copyright Protection: Can AI Qualify as an Author Under U.S. Copyright Law?

Photo of Cory BarnesPhoto of Ashtar AbboudBy Cory Barnes and Ashtar Abboud on Posted in Intellectual Property
Should copyright protection be given for AI-generated inventions? Stephen Thaler, the president and CEO of Imagination Engines, thinks so. The Complaint In 2018, Thaler filed an application to register a copyright for an AI-generated work produced by one of his AI systems, the Creativity Machine. The work, titled “A Recent Entrance to Paradise,” is part … Continue Reading

A Pattern of Deceit? SCOTUS to Consider Whether Section 411(b) of the Copyright Act Imposes a Mental State Requirement Akin to Fraud

Photo of Jacqueline LesserBy Jacqueline Lesser on Posted in Copyright Act
On June 1, 2021, the Supreme Court granted certiorari on the question of whether Section 411(b) of the Copyright Act is intended to be a “fraud” statute that requires scienter for cancellation of a copyright registration. See Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P., No. 20-915. In 2008, Congress amended the Copyright Act to … Continue Reading

Application Rejected: Supreme Court Requires Registration to Commence Copyright Infringement Suit

By Peter Shapiro on Posted in Copyright
In Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, the Supreme Court settled the long unresolved question of whether registration or simply the application for registration is required to commence a suit for copyright infringement. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Ginsburg, the high court ruled that a copyright owner cannot pursue infringement claims in … Continue Reading

Determining Fair Use Under the Copyright Act: Judge Versus Jury

By Robert Welsh on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Act
When the Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that copyright infringement lawsuits were subject to the Seventh Amendment’s right to jury trial, the natural consequence of that ruling was that fair use would likewise become a jury issue. However, at the time Congress enacted the Copyright Act’s fair use provision, 17 U.S.C. § 107, copyright infringement … Continue Reading

Not Dat Function, Dis Function

Photo of Chad RutkowskiBy Chad Rutkowski on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Act, Patents
  When we talk these days about the role of functionality in determining the copyrightability of a useful article, we are generally talking about the 10 different separability tests currently duking it out at the Supreme Court in the Varsity Brands case. Our posts on that case are here, here and here. These tests enforce … Continue Reading

How Will the Supreme Court Function With the Varsity Brands Test?

Photo of Chad RutkowskiBy Chad Rutkowski and Robert Welsh on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Act, Copyright Protection
On Monday, the Supreme Court announced it had agreed to review the Sixth Circuit’s copyright decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, which involves the issue of whether certain designs appearing on cheerleading uniforms are copyrightable or are instead non-copyrightable functional elements that are an inherent part of cheerleading uniform designs. In a split decision, … Continue Reading

Apparel Designs and the “Metaphysics” of Copyright Protection

By Robert Welsh on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Act, Copyright Infringement
Varsity Brands, Inc. v. Star Athlectica, LLC, 110 U.S.P.Q.2d 1150 (W.D. Tenn. 2014) Metaphysics is usually thought to be the province of philosophers or theologians.  A recent decision by a U.S. District Court in Tennessee, Varsity Brands, Inc. v. Star Athletica, LLC, 110 U.S.P.Q.2d 1150 (W.D. Tenn. 2014), reminds us that copyright law can also … Continue Reading

Apparel Designs and the “Metaphysics” of Copyright Protection

By Robert Welsh on Posted in Copyright
Varsity Brands, Inc. v. Star Athlectica, LLC, 110 U.S.P.Q.2d 1150 (W.D. Tenn. 2014) Metaphysics is usually thought to be the province of philosophers or theologians.  A recent decision by a U.S. District Court in Tennessee, Varsity Brands, Inc. v. Star Athletica, LLC, 110 U.S.P.Q.2d 1150 (W.D. Tenn. 2014), reminds us that copyright law can also … Continue Reading
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