Features

9th Cir. Finds No Fair Use In Dr. Seuss/Star Trek "Mashup"
In Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P. v. ComicMix LLC, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit held in December that ComicMix's illustrated book combining elements of several Dr. Seuss children's books with characters, themes and other features of the popular sci-fi series Star Trek was not a fair use of the Seuss material from which it had admittedly been "slavishly" copied.
Features

Additional Perspective on Dr. Seuss/Star Trek Ruling
The court's decision means that in the Ninth Circuit commercial mash-ups will have to do more than place new characters in old settings to qualify for fair use.
Features

Lawyer Disbarred Over Mishandling of Investors' Funds for Film Project
The New Jersey Supreme Court disbarred lawyer Gary Mason after finding he knowingly misappropriated $690,000 that investors paid to support the work of a fledgling filmmaker.
Features

2d Circuit Blocks NY Litigation of 'Girl 6' Copyright Infringement Case
Fort Lauderdale copyright attorneys Matthew Nelles and Adriana Kostencki of Nelles Kostencki were in a Los Angeles airport in February 2019, when movie director, producer and actor Spike Lee called the day after winning an Oscar for his historical crime drama BlacKkKlansman. But the call wasn't about the win.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Promotional Use of Supermodel's Appearance in Reality TV Show Didn't Violate Lanham Act Taylor Swift Shakes Off Fifth Copyright Infringement Lawsuit by Jesse Graham
Features

Legal Issues and Monetization Strategies In a Quarantine-Streaming Music World
Part One of a Two Part Article While the livestreaming of music performances is not an entirely new phenomenon, the COVID crisis has transformed the live performance landscape, compelling artists from around the world to reach their fanbase by producing "quarantine streams," in which they livestream their sets on social media platforms. Unsurprisingly many questions have arisen.
Features

A Look at the EU's Latest Proposal for Regulating Online Content
The DSA is intended to reset the rules around online content moderation and to reframe the responsibility of platforms for illegal content uploaded to their websites.
Features

Fair Use Applied to Embedded Photograph
The extremely flexible character of social media has required equal flexibility in courts' intellectual property analysis. Happily, under U.S. copyright law, that kind of flexibility is possible.
Features

How U.S. Court Ruled Whether France's Right of Publicity Law Is Descendible
Battles over celebrities' estates often end up in litigation, but a recent court ruling involving the estate of French oceanic explorer, environmentalist and documentary filmmaker Jacques Cousteau included a not-often-seen right of publicity consideration: how a U.S. court determines whether right-of-publicity protection in another nation is descendible.
Features

Allocation Issues for Settling Weinstein Sex Assault Claims
This article examines the recent judicial dialogue concerning allocation of Weinstein settlement proceeds among Weinstein crime victims, Weinstein Company creditors and defense counsel who have defended the Weinstein corporate officers and directors, and the overall negative impact these various episodes of the Weinstein settlement story likely have on victims' willingness to participate or come forward at all.
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