Art. Money. Copyright. Fair use. Andy Warhol. And Prince, the Purple One. (Or in this case, Orange.)
These were the hot topics in the recently decided Supreme Court case of Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts,...more
6/6/2023
/ Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc v Goldsmith ,
Artists ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Derivative Works ,
Fair Use ,
Fine Art ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Photographs ,
SCOTUS ,
Transformative Use
On March 25, 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Andy Warhol’s “Prince Series” sufficiently transforms Lynn Goldsmith’s 1981 photograph of Prince (the “Photograph”) to qualify for the Copyright Act’s fair use...more
4/7/2022
/ Certiorari ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Fair Use ,
Fine Art ,
First Amendment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Personal Expression ,
SCOTUS ,
Transformative Use
On March 26, 2021, the Second Circuit reversed a 2019 district court ruling and held that Andy Warhol’s “Prince Series” did not qualify as fair use of Lynn Goldsmith’s 1981 photograph of Prince (the “Photograph”). ...more
On April 27, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held, in Georgia et al. v. Public.Resource.Org., Inc., in a 5-4 decision, that copyright law does not protect annotations contained in the official annotated compilation of...more
5/6/2020
/ Annotated Case Law ,
Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org Inc ,
Government Edicts Doctrine ,
Legislative Duties ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Code ,
The Copyright Act
On March 23, 2020, in Allen v. Cooper, the Supreme Court held that Allen, who spent over two decades, photographing the shipwreck of Queen Anne’s Revenge, better known as the flagship for the pirate Blackbeard, cannot sue the...more
4/2/2020
/ Abrogation ,
Allen v Cooper ,
Authors ,
Certiorari ,
Congressional Intent ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Copyright Remedy Clarification Act ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity
On March 23, 2020, in Allen v. Cooper, the Supreme Court held that Allen, who spent over two decades, photographing the shipwreck of Queen Anne’s Revenge, better known as the flagship for the pirate Blackbeard, cannot sue the...more
4/1/2020
/ Abrogation ,
Allen v Cooper ,
Authors ,
Certiorari ,
Congressional Intent ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Copyright Remedy Clarification Act ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity
Nearly 40 years after Led Zeppelin released Stairway to Heaven – viewed by many as one of the greatest rock songs of all time – Led Zeppelin was sued for copyright infringement. The estate of guitarist Randy Wolfe, who...more
In June 2019, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Allen v. Cooper, No. 18-877. The case presents a question “whether Congress validly abrogated state sovereign immunity via the Copyright Remedy...more
9/11/2019
/ Abrogation ,
Allen v Cooper ,
Authors ,
Certiorari ,
Congressional Intent ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Copyright Remedy Clarification Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity
In Silvertop Associates, Inc. v. Kangaroo Manufacturing, Inc., the Third Circuit applied the two-part test set forth in the Supreme Court’s decision in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc., and held that a full-body...more
On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether states can claim copyright protection in annotated codes. State of Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., No. 18-1150. ...more
6/28/2019
/ Annotated Case Law ,
Certiorari ,
Copyright ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org Inc ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Public Domain ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
The Copyright Act
Under certain circumstances, U.S. Copyright Law provides for “safe harbor” protection from liability for copyright infringement to entities (e.g., ISPs and website operators) hosting content provided by third parties. To...more
The Eleventh Circuit has widened the circuit split on whether a copyright application or completed registration is required before filing a copyright infringement lawsuit. In Fourth Estate Public Benefit v. Wall-Street.com,...more
As we previously blogged, the Sixth Circuit held in 2015, that the colors, stripes, chevrons, and similar graphic designs of the plaintiff’s cheerleading uniforms “are copyrightable pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works”...more
3/28/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Fashion Design ,
Graphic Designs ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Separability ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniforms
Calling the district court’s action an “abuse of discretion,” the 11th Circuit reversed a decision that cut by more than 90 percent a successful copyright infringement plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees and costs. Yellow...more
On January 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission released updated Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property (the “Guidelines”). These Guidelines replaced those issued...more
On December 20, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court) issued a landmark state copyright law decision, holding in response to a certified question from the Second Circuit in Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius...more
1/5/2017
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Internet Streaming ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Musical Sound Recordings ,
Public Performance Rights ,
Radio Broadcasting ,
SiriusXM ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
The Copyright Act ,
Unfair Competition
In Urbont v. Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 15-1778, the Second Circuit recently revived claims against Sony and Ghostface Killah, holding that although third parties may raise a work for hire defense, here there were factual...more
8/9/2016
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Marvel Comics ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Preemption ,
Sony ,
Summary Judgment ,
The Copyright Act ,
Work-For-Hire
The Second Circuit recently decided Capitol Records, LLC, et al. v. Vimeo, LLC (2d Cir. June 16, 2016) (“Vimeo”), a landmark decision concerning the interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the...more
7/11/2016
/ Capitol Records ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DMCA ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Music Industry ,
Red Flags Rule ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
Takedown Notices ,
The Copyright Act ,
Vimeo ,
Willful Blindness
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. continues to make controlling copyright law, visiting the U.S. Supreme Court for the second time on an issue of great importance to copyright owners and litigants. This time, the issued...more
6/22/2016
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Fee-Shifting ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons ,
Publishers ,
Publishing Copyrights ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act
In a copyright decision that rocks the music industry and splits from the Sixth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit recently held that Madonna’s mega-hit “Vogue” did not violate copyright rights by sampling a 0.23-second horns segment...more
In Baldwin, et al. v. EMI Feist Catalog, Inc., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals was tasked with determining when and how the rights to the song “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” (the “Song”) would properly terminate. The...more
On October 30, 2015 the Second Circuit held that an unauthorized parody that makes “fair use” of its source material is eligible for copyright protection and that copyright protection may extend to a work that exhibits the...more
On September 15, 2015, the Southern District of California awarded over $500,000 in attorney’s fees to a songwriter who successfully prevailed on his right to terminate grants of copyright under 17 U.S.C. § 203 because...more
n Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. et al, the Ninth Circuit held that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”) requires copyright holders to consider fair use before sending a takedown notice and that the failure to do...more
9/16/2015
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Digital Media ,
DMCA ,
Fair Use ,
Good Faith ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Music Industry ,
Online Videos ,
Summary Judgment ,
Takedown Notices ,
The Copyright Act ,
Universal ,
YouTube
On August 25, 2015, the Southern District of New York held that the archiving function of a media monitoring service was protected by fair use and that the e-mailing feature could qualify for fair use if certain protective...more