There was much harmony along with a few discordant notes as an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit took up the copyright case involving Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."
November 01, 2019Scott Graham
The decision in Brammer v. Violent Hues sheds some light on when re-posting will be a "fair use" and when it will give rise to liability.
November 01, 2019Michael W. Mitchell and Edward RocheThe U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a series of silkscreen paintings and prints by Andy Warhol based on a photograph of music legend Prince taken by Lynn Goldsmith constituted a transformative fair use.
October 01, 2019Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. BernsteinIn a nearly half-century-long legal dispute over the rights to John Steinbeck's works, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's $5 million compensatory damages award against the author's daughter-in-law but vacated punitive damages against the heir.
October 01, 2019Alaina LancasterBranding is not a new concept, nor are the various intellectual property laws that protect brands. What is new to most is how this burgeoning industry can take advantage of those laws within the context of state and federal restrictions.
September 01, 2019David S. GoldThat U.S. copyright-assignment termination issues are among the most complex in the copyright field becomes even more apparent when attempts to reclaim copyrights involve aspects of international law. Few courts have ruled, however, on the impact of international law on U.S. copyright-assignment terminations. The most recent to do so is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Ennio Morricone Music Inc. v. Bixio Music Group Ltd.
September 01, 2019Stan SoocherTwo recent circuit court cases clarified copyright infringement of photographs on the Internet. Both cases serve as cautionary tales for those who takes photographs for their websites from the Internet without investigating copyright rights.
June 01, 2019Kyle-Beth HilferCopyright, Fortnite and the Ability to Protect How You Shake Your Groove Thing The U.S. Supreme Court just crashed the copyright world's latest dance party — stepping on the toes of a soiree of copyright infringement lawsuits against videogame developer Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite.
May 01, 2019Erin Hennessy, Annie Allison and Logan KotlerA unanimous U.S. Supreme Court, led by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, held that the phrase “full costs” in §505 of the Copyright Act means all of the costs specifically enumerated in the general cost-shifting statutes, such as transcripts and fees for court-appointed experts and interpreters.
April 01, 2019Scott Graham
