Impact of Mickey Mouse on public domain. The latest artificial intelligence and intellectual property cases - Thaler lost again. Nirvana Nevermind baby gets day in court. Tolkien estate and more.
ChatGPT Risks for Compliance Programs
Why Did Godzilla & James Bond Need Congress' Protection?
New Happy Birthday Song, Copyright-Free
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Public Domain Day is one of the lesser known winter holidays celebrated by the elite few – artists of all sorts and copyright attorneys. We either mourn the passing of works into the public domain after decades of keeping...more
1. Zusammenfassung - Nach langer Debatte traten am 07.06.2021 die Änderungen am Urheberrechtsgesetz (UrhG) und am Verwertungsgesellschaftengesetz (VGG) in Kraft. Am 01.08.2021 wird außerdem das sog....more
2021 was a big year for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) resulting in significant commercial value. The creators behind Cryptopunks, an NFT project with over $2 billion worth of trading volume, signed a representation deal with a...more
[co-author: Avanthi Cole] Main Quest - How To Tell ROM From Right - As we review some of the more prominent legal issues that impacted the video game industry this past year and consider what 2022 may have in store,...more
Addressing the nuanced nature of trade secret protection of patented products, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s trade secret protection determination, finding that the asserted trade...more
Substantively, copyright protection is the same in the digital world and on the internet as in traditional form. The only practical difference is the likelihood that the copyright will be infringed. Works available in cyber...more
If you want to use content that you did not create, it is helpful to know whether that content is copyright-protected or whether you can use it without permission. Whether the content is text, drawings, graphics, photographs,...more
Non-Disclosure Agreements (“NDA”) are customary at the onset of discussions for many commercial transactions, including mergers/acquisitions and joint ventures, and are among the most common agreements that come across a...more
Most of us were thrilled to see the calendar turn to 2021 on January 1, closing the chapter on what was an extremely challenging year around the globe. Now that we are a month into the new year, and the fireworks have faded...more
With most K-12 schools moving to exclusively online educational programming necessitated by shelter-in-place and other limitations imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers want to know if, when, and how they can use...more