Features

Second Circuit Ruling on Copyright Fair Use Defense and Infringement Lawsuit Default Judgments
In copyright litigation, an infringement defendant may claim fair use as an affirmative defense. But the Second Circuit recently ruled that a district court, on its own initiative, could raise a fair use defense for a defendant that hadn’t appeared in the case.
Features

ChatGPT’s Ghibli-Style Images Are Testing Copyright Law
Last month, a flood of whimsical, dreamlike portraits in the style of Studio Ghibli (the Japanese animation studio) swept across social media. What began as a playful social trend quickly raised legal concerns. Within days, users began reporting that OpenAI had restricted prompts referencing specific artistic styles. This trend offers a live case study of how generative AI may implicate core doctrines of copyright law, including derivative works, substantial similarity, and fair use.
Features

AI-Training Ruling Finds No Fair Use
A recent AI copyright ruling out of federal court could have a sprawling impact on how companies, both big and small, use the technology responsibly.
Features

Internet Archive’s Decision Not to Appeal Second Circuit’s Fair Use Ruling Could Lead to More Litigation As Issue Remains Unsettled
The Second Circuit’s decision may have significant downstream implications for other digital lending services, making it more difficult to operate absent licensing agreements with copyright holders of the various works they seek to distribute. With Internet Archive deciding against petitioning the Supreme Court, we may well see similar litigation pop up in other jurisdictions outside the Second Circuit until the issue is more widely settled.
Features

Artists Release Silent Album to Protest Change In UK Copyright Law
More than 1,000 artists are credited on a “silent” record released on February 25 in protest over changes that the UK government is considering to its copyright law, changes which critics say will make it easier for AI models to use copyrighted material without securing a license.
Columns & Departments

IP News
Federal Circuit: PTAB Jurisdiction Exists Over Expired PatentsFederal Circuit: No Estoppel on Unadjudicated Claims
Features

Amazon-Backed AI Company Agrees to ‘Guardrails’ On Using Copyrighted Lyrics to Train Claude AI Product
Music publishers have reached a partial agreement with Anthropic that requires the Amazon-backed artificial intelligence company to implement “guardrails” around its use of copyrighted song lyrics to train its flagship product, Claude.
Columns & Departments
Copyright Cases Roundup
A roundup of recent cases in entertainment-related copyrights.
Features

Secondary Liability for Copyright Infringement At the Supreme Court
In February 2024, the Fourth Circuit addressed a jury’s 2020 damages award of $1 billion finding Cox secondarily liable for its subscribers’ copyright infringement through illegal copying of copyrighted songs. Both Cox and Sony filed petitions for certiorari.
Columns & Departments
Upcoming Event: Copyright Year In Review
CLE sponsored by the Copyright Society of the South, Nashville, TN, Dec. 12, 2024.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Beach Boys Songs Written Decades Ago Triggered Current Quarrel With LawyersThere's current litigation in the ongoing Beach Boys litigation saga. A lawsuit filed in 2019 against Nevada residents Mike Love and his wife Jacquelyne in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that alleges inaccurate payment by the Loves under the retainer agreement and seeks $84.5 million in damages.Read More ›
- The Article 8 Opt InThe Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.Read More ›
- Conducting Discovery in JapanConducting discovery in Japan is not easy and litigants should not expect to obtain nearly the same quantity or quality of information from Japan. However, if you know the available discovery devices and the special procedures to take advantage of those devices, discovery may not be lost.Read More ›
- Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright LawsThis article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.Read More ›