Discussions held over the past several months regarding authorship of AI-generated works have suffered from at least two things—1) an outsized focus on whether the users of commercially available generative AI (GAI) can own the content returned to them by the AI software, and 2) an outsized focus by the Copyright Office on a need … Continue Reading
Many people were disappointed when the most-watched copyright case of the past 10 years, Oracle’s lawsuit against Google over Google’s copying Java application programming interface (API) code, failed to yield better guidance on the scope of copyright protection for computer programs. The case was probably a bad test case anyway, as it involved some very … Continue Reading
The District of Delaware is renowned as a patent litigation hot spot, but the district sees its fair share of other IP litigation. Two recent opinions shed some light on this practice and are useful for anyone seeking to file a trademark or copyright suit, or called to defend against one, in the district. First … Continue Reading
In many countries, marks such as single letters or numerals are considered nondistinctive. This is not so in the US, which has a very broad definition of what comprises a trademark in 15 U.S.C. Section 1127: A trademark is any word, name, symbol, or design, or any combination thereof, used in commerce to identify and … Continue Reading
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
As the metaverse continues to become a more established marketplace, and consumers become more familiar with non-fungible tokens (NFTs), NFT marketplaces, decentralized domains, bitcoin, crypto wallets and the blockchain, it is no surprise that intellectual property (IP) owners are starting to see an increase in unauthorized uses of their trademarks and copyrights. There is a … Continue Reading
In addition to another year of the pandemic, 2021 brought with it several key developments in the realm of intellectual property (IP) that BakerHostetler has covered in this blog series. We hope readers have found these posts informative and entertaining thus far. Looking forward to 2022, there are a number of issues already teed up … Continue Reading
For attorneys frequently engaged in copyright infringement litigation, drilling down into the specifics of the four fair use defense factors set forth in 17 U.S.C. § 107 is common practice. While the details of any particular case will imbue certain factors with more importance than others, more often than not, copyright plaintiffs are quick to … Continue Reading
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
The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on April 27, 2020, in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, upholding the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling that the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) is not entitled to copyright protection. The majority’s decision found that the OCGA falls under the “government edicts” doctrine: “government officials empowered to speak with the force … Continue Reading
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools, colleges, universities, libraries and other institutions have closed and migrated their in-person classes and other offerings to an online model. But with the rapid migration of physical content to online platforms, questions have arisen regarding the application of copyright law to books and other texts that now are … Continue Reading
On March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its first of three anticipated copyright decisions for this term – Allen v. Cooper – in which the Court unanimously held that states are shielded from copyright suits by sovereign immunity. Thus, the plaintiff filmmaker did not prevail in his copyright infringement suit against the state of … Continue Reading
2017 was a big year for raising the profile of copyright in protecting computer programs. Two cases in particular helped bring attention to a myth that was addressed and dispelled some time ago but persists in some circles nonetheless. Many lawyers hold on to the notion that copyright protection for software is weak because such … Continue Reading
Amended 9th Circuit Decision Does Not Clarify the Extent to Which Service Providers Can Manually Screen for Inappropriate User Content In April 2017, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals startled online service providers that allow users to post content (known as UGC, or user-generated content), by holding that the use of moderators to screen out … Continue Reading
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
On May 30, 2017, Judge William H. Pauley III, in the Southern District of New York, ruled that rapper-singer-songwriter Drake was permitted to use a sample of jazz artist Jimmy Smith based on the fair use doctrine, even though Drake and his record label did not license the publishing rights to the song. The court … Continue Reading
Last week, in Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc., Case No. 15-1189 (May 30, 2017), the Supreme Court ruled that under the “exhaustion doctrine,” patent owners cannot use patent law to impose restrictions on the downstream sales or transfers of lawfully purchased patented goods. The decision took many patent practitioners by surprise. Not … Continue Reading
On May 4, 2017, Golden Crown Publishing, LLC, the publishing company behind Freddie GZ’s song Turn Down for What, sued Lil Jon and DJ Snake in the Southern District of New York, alleging that their hit song by the same name infringes on Golden Crown’s copyright. The plaintiff is seeking monetary damages and a permanent … Continue Reading
A bill was formally introduced in Congress on March 23, 2017, that would, in effect, remove the Copyright Office from the oversight of the Librarian of Congress. Introduced by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Ranking Member John Conyers of Michigan, H.R. 1695 seeks to amend 17 U.S.C. § 701 and change the … Continue Reading
On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc. regarding the scope of copyright protection for “pictorial, graphic or sculptural features” that have been added to useful articles—in this case, cheerleading uniforms. The case has mostly gained attention because its facts crystalize the tension between … Continue Reading
Former recording artists Flo & Eddie’s three-and-a-half-year battle against Sirius XM Radio, Inc., for recognition of a public performance right under New York law for pre-1972 sound recordings has come to an end. On Feb. 16, 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeal issued an order directing the district court to grant Sirius XM Radio’s … Continue Reading
The name “Cindy-Lou Who” likely invokes thoughts of the holiday season and Dr. Seuss’s beloved How the Grinch Stole Christmas (“Grinch”), which reminds us that the holidays are not all about toys and trinkets. But what happened after the Grinch “carved the roast beast”? Matthew Lombardo’s play Who’s Holiday! (the “Play”) tells us that story … Continue Reading
On Dec. 20, 2016, we wrote about a decision out of England’s High Court of Justice finding that members of music group Duran Duran breached their agreements with a music publisher by filing notices to terminate assignments of copyrights in 37 of their songs under section 203 of the Copyright Act. That decision shocked much … Continue Reading
Sirius XM Radio received an early present for the holidays: On Dec. 20, the New York Court of Appeals issued an opinion addressing a question certified by the U.S. 2d Circuit Court of Appeals regarding whether “there is a right of public performance for creators of sound recordings under New York law and, if so, … Continue Reading