In a fifty-seven-page memorandum opinion and order, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a fashion brand its motion for a preliminary injunction preventing its lead designer from...more
3/18/2021
/ Advertising ,
Arrangement and Promotion ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Instagram ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Name and Likeness ,
Personality Rights ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Social Media ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
TRO
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 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which added § 710 to the Copyright Act. § 710 explains that if the Register of Copyrights determines that a...more
On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which added § 710 to the Copyright Act. § 710 explains that if the Register of Copyrights determines that a...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
The Supreme Court unanimously decided two Copyright Act cases on March 4, 2019.
In Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc., the Court held that the provision in the Copyright Act that gives federal district courts...more
3/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright Exhaustion ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v Wall-Street.com LLC ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Rimini Street Inc v Oracle USA Inc ,
SCOTUS ,
Solicitor General ,
Split of Authority ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniformity
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
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
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 19, 2015, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a “V-I-C-T-O-R-Y” for the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of cheerleader uniforms in its copyright infringement lawsuit against another cheerleading gear...more
On July 31, 2015, the Ninth Circuit reversed the Central District of California’s dismissal of an action brought by the Ray Charles Foundation, seeking, among other things, a judicial determination of the validity and...more
8/17/2015
/ Article III ,
Audio Recording ,
Copyright ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
Music Industry ,
Royalties ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
Standing ,
Termination ,
The Copyright Act ,
Transfer of Interest
The Central District of California recently awarded over $5 million in attorneys’ fees and over $400,000 in costs, emphasizing the degree of success obtained by Defendants and the improper motivations of Plaintiff. The court...more