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
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
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
Many of us grew up reading comic books, watching cartoons Saturday mornings and/or after school, and we are currently in Phase Two of the most ambitious and successful cinematic project of all time: The Marvel Cinematic...more
Sharing images on Instagram and other social network platforms is such a common practice that we do it without hardly even thinking about it. But we must be aware that sharing a piece of creative content (picture, text, etc.)...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
Back to Basics: A Primer on Intellectual Property Rights in Video Games - In this series, we discuss some of the fundamental concepts of intellectual property law as they relate specifically to video game companies and...more
Copyrights protect original works of authorship. This gives a copyright holder exclusive rights to modify, distribute, perform, display, and copy the work. However, as with other forms of intellectual property, there are...more
The Supreme Court of the United States granted the State of Georgia’s request to address whether it can claim copyright ownership over annotations made to its official legal code. State of Georgia, et al. v....more
It is long established that “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” but what if that ignorance is born out of restricted access to the law? If the full extent of the law can be revealed only by paying subscription fees, is it...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
Most of us have at least a basic understanding of the laws that impact our daily lives. We understand, for example, that drivers are supposed to carry vehicle insurance and that they shouldn’t run a red light. We might be...more
Once a copyright is created, protection generally lasts for 70 years after the death of the author and in some cases 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation. That’s a long time! After that time, the copyright...more
As we previously reported on our blog, the doors to the public domain will open in the United States for the first time since 1998. On January 1, 2019, any works published in the United States in 1923 or prior are freed from...more
While scholars and pundits are busy listing the most important copyright rulings of 2018, a development that arguably beats them all is about to occur just as 2018 turns into 2019. On January 1, 2019, copyrighted works will...more
In 2006, Warner Bros. filed suit against A.V.E.L.A., X One X Productions, and ArtNostalgia.com, Inc. (collectively, “AVELA”) for copyright and trademark infringement under the Copyright Act, the Lanham Act, and state law....more
If you’ve ever applied for, or researched copyright law, you likely learned one thing above all else: it’s not a perpetual right. So, how, you might wonder, have companies like The Walt Disney Company managed to maintain...more
As a leader of a start-up company, you are probably aware of the importance of protecting your company’s innovative products, services and technologies through patent filings. If you are savvy, you are also aware of the...more
Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” brings back memories of my seventh-grade talent show where I performed the routine with Brandon Berry at Atascocita Middle School. I can’t remember if we won second or third place —...more
This August will mark the 75th anniversary of the release of the classic film The Wizard of Oz. As Warner Bros. celebrates the iconic status acquired by the film and its characters during the past seven-plus decades, the...more