News & Analysis as of

Public Domain

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

The Pitch - January 2025

The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy... Public Domain Day

Some works enter the public domain the moment they are created, such as the AI-generated images below. Others take their sweet time, so when they finally do arrive, it’s cause for celebration....more

Fox Rothschild LLP

New Year, New Public Domain Works: Copyright Public Domain Day 2025

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Every year, the world celebrates the first of January as Public Domain Day, marking the release of copyrighted works into the public domain. In 2024, we saw popular intellectual properties enter the public domain, including...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Potential Concerns With Copyrighted Characters Entering the Public Domain

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Celebrated on the first day of every year, Public Domain Day marks the day works with copyrights that expired the year prior enter the public domain. While the calculations to determine copyright expiration can be complicated...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane - It’s in the Public Domain! USPTO Cancels Marvel and DC Comics’ Trademarks for SUPER HERO and SUPER...

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark office has done what Thanos and Lex Luthor never could—defeat the larger than life combined forces of Marvel and DC. Despite being well-known rivals, DC (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and...more

Vondran Legal

Copyright Law and BodyCam Video

Vondran Legal on

I saw this question online and decided to answer it here on my blog.  It raises some very interesting and timely questions about the scope and reach of copyright law in our modern age. Many people want to know, is police...more

Jaburg Wilk

Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Infringement, Navigating the Evolving Standards

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In the ever-evolving landscape of intellectual property law, one of the most pressing challenges is posed by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). Particularly in the realm of photography and visual content,...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

New York Employers Be Aware – Social Media Access Law Takes Effect

New York employers should take note of a new law that recently took effect that impacts their ability to access applicant and employee social media accounts. The law applies to all employers covered by the New York Labor Law...more

Dickinson Wright

Free Mickey? (Don’t Be Goofy)

Dickinson Wright on

January 1, 2024, brought numerous hangovers along with an unprecedented amount of media attention to intellectual property law. That is because, as of the new year, one of the most famous cartoon characters in history –...more

Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words (and Potentially Thousands of Dollars in Statutory Damages)

In the time it took you to read this far, a new website was built (per Siteefy, a new site goes live every three seconds). More than 70% of all businesses have a website, and there are more than 600 million blogs on the...more

Akerman LLP

Public Domain Full of Mousetraps After Steamboat Willie

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The expiration of the 95-year copyright for Disney’s first Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie marked a momentous day in IP history. It also shines a spotlight on the public domain, and the inescapable fact that, as time...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Disney's Icon Unleashed: Mickey Mouse & The Dual Dance of Copyright and Trademark Laws

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Copyrights protect creative works. Trademarks protect indicators of source. Can a creative work also act as a trademark? Yes, and the character of Mickey Mouse as portrayed in Disney’s animated classic Steamboat Willie is a...more

Foster Swift Collins & Smith

Under the Bridge | The Rise of Copyright Trolls in the Intellectual Property Space

Through tactical litigation practices, copyright trolls rely on copyright law to allege infringement and threaten major statutory damages upon unsuspecting defendants. The term “copyright troll” is an unflattering nickname...more

Conn Kavanaugh

It All Started With A Mouse: What Happens When Iconic Characters Enter the Public Domain?

Conn Kavanaugh on

As one of the largest and most iconic entertainment brands in the world, the Walt Disney Company is most readily associated with two things: their main mascot, Mickey Mouse, and the fierce protection of their intellectual...more

International Lawyers Network

Trademark Considerations for Copyrighted Works in the Public Domain

In the United States, an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression (meaning the work can be communicated in a visual or audio form) is a protectable copyright. This means that the owner has the...more

Foster Garvey PC

Sprinting Into 2024: From Mickey's New Chapter to Olympic Surprises and Star Controversies

Foster Garvey PC on

Happy New Year, and welcome back to the Spotlight! If your New Year’s resolution is to get up to speed on the latest in the sports and entertainment business, while also getting the occasional chuckle, you have come to the...more

Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Mickey Mouse and the Public Domain: Is Use of Mickey Mouse Now Fair Game or Is that Just Fantasyland?

If you know me well, you know that I am an admitted Disney fanatic. So, you can imagine my initial horror when I heard media rumblings that Disney was losing its copyright to my favorite mouse, Mickey. Upon further...more

Vondran Legal

Mickey Mouse headed to the public domain but what can you do with it?

Vondran Legal on

Mickey Mouse is one of the most prolific cartoon characters of all time. Walt Disney incorporated in 1923 and first aired a video of Mickey Mouse (which I shall refer to as Mickey Mouse 1.0) in the short cartoon "Steamboat...more

Vondran Legal

SRIP come calling for copyright infringement?

Vondran Legal on

According to their website they are an IP enforcement law firm that helps artists protect their content. We know them from pursuing many copyright infringement cases dealing with all kinds of photograpy. They list offices...more

AEON Law

Patent Poetry: TTAB: No Bright-Line Rule against Trademarks for Characters

AEON Law on

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has reiterated that there is no “strict or bright-line rule against registration of characters.” The case is In re Joseph A. Stallard, 2023 USPQ2d 1009 (TTAB 2023)....more

Womble Bond Dickinson

U.S. Supreme Court Alert: If you copy an unpatented furniture design, does that help prove that the design was iconic and...

Womble Bond Dickinson on

Furniture manufacturer admits intentionally copying designs, asks Supreme Court, What does copying really say about trademark status of design? While offering a new design for sale without obtaining a patent often means...more

BakerHostetler

Everyone Should Pay Attention to the USCO’s AI NOI

BakerHostetler on

There will be no special rules for your industry. What gets decided in the next six months to a year about artificial intelligence (AI) legislation, and regulatory action on copyrights and AI, will apply with equal force to...more

ArentFox Schiff

FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Best Practices for Selecting Predicate Devices for 510(k) Notifications

ArentFox Schiff on

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just issued a draft guidance entitled “Best Practices for Selecting a Predicate Device to Support a Premarket Notification 510(k) Notification.” This draft guidance is one of...more

Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics...

ChatGPT Risks for Compliance Programs

ChatGPT is, like the movie title, seemingly everywhere, all the time, and all at once. Individuals and corporations have rushed to embrace it, sometimes with great results, other times, not so much. For better or worse,...more

AEON Law

Patent Poetry: Sherlock Holmes and Winnie the Pooh Now in Public Domain

AEON Law on

Every year on January 1, new works enter the public domain. In 2023, all literary works, musical compositions, and movies first published or released in 1927 entered the public domain in the United States. Earlier works...more

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