News & Analysis as of

Reversal Copyright Infringement

Loeb & Loeb LLP

Sound and Color, LLC v. Samuel Smith

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Ninth Circuit reverses summary judgment in favor of pop singer Sam Smith in music copyright dispute, holding in unpublished opinion that hook in plaintiff’s song may be protectable as unique selection and arrangement of...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Ninth Circuit Revives Copyright Suit Over Sam Smith’s “Dancing with a Stranger” and Reaffirms the Jury’s Role

On April 29, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals revived the copyright infringement case filed by Sound and Color, LLC against Sam Smith, Normani, and related parties (collectively, “Defendants”) concerning the hit song...more

Sunstein LLP

Dance, Fortnite, and the “Epic” Battle for Copyright Protection

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On November 1, 2023, in a first-of-its kind decision, the Ninth Circuit revived a copyright lawsuit based on dance choreography. Hanagmi v. Epic Games pitted Viral celebrity choreographer Kyle Hanagami against Epic Games,...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Tenth Circuit Contributes Clarity to Contributory Liability in Copyright Infringement

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Addressing the elements of contributory copyright infringement, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit found that a plaintiff had plausibly alleged contributory copyright infringement when he alleged that the...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Off the Charts: Derivative Work Copyright Registers All Material in Derivative Work

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In a matter of first impression, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s partial grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants, vacated a jury verdict and an award of attorneys’...more

Snell & Wilmer

Supreme Court Holds Specific Use of Warhol’s “Orange Prince” Not Fair Use

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Yesterday, the Supreme Court held 7-2 that a specific use of Andy Warhol’s “Orange Prince” silk screen—based on a copyrighted photograph of Prince—was not fair use. In doing so the Court focused not solely on the...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Nitpicking Allowed When Determining Statutory Damages

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On the second round of a copyright dispute, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded (again) to the district court to apply the “independent economic value test” handed...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Don’t Throw in the Towel: Retroactive Copyright Protects Fight Live Stream

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The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s summary judgment of noninfringement in a copyright dispute, finding that the transfer of ownership prior to the display of the copyrighted work...more

McDermott Will & Emery

A Work of Art? Ninth Circuit Analyzes Foreign Judgments and Fair Use

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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit analyzed the fair use doctrine of US copyright law in a dispute for recognition of a 2001 French judgment relating to a finding of copyright infringement of certain photographic...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Tableware Designer Gets Heavenly Results on Its Pearly Plates

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The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a district court decision, reversing the dismissal of a copyright claim based on lack of standing and finding ownership of the copyright in the claimant based on an...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

SCOTUS Agrees to Consider Whether Copyright Act Section 411 Requires an Intent to Defraud

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The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to tackle a technical copyright registration question: when a defendant alleges knowing inaccuracies in a copyright registration, does 17 U.S.C. § 411 require referral to the...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Fair Use Mashup Theory Ga-Fluppted by Ninth Circuit

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Just in time to steal ComicMix’s Christmas, the Ninth Circuit recently held that the bookmaker’s mashup story Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go! (which combines elements of the Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! with Star...more

Sunstein LLP

Supreme Court Denies Copyright Enforcement to State Legislature

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In Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, decided by the Supreme Court on April 27, the principle at stake was whether, under the copyright law, a state legislature can have the rights of an “author” in publishing an annotated...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

U.S. Supreme Court: States Cannot Copyright Legal Code Annotations

On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the annotations found in Georgia’s official state law code—Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA)—are ineligible for copyright protection. Georgia et...more

WilmerHale

Supreme Court Expands the Government Edicts Doctrine to Legislators

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The law – judicial opinions, statutes, and regulations – cannot be copyrighted. In Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., No.18-1150 (April 21, 2020), the US Supreme Court was presented with the question whether annotations,...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Georgia On Our Minds: Annotations Authored by Legislators Not Eligible for Copyright Protection

On April 27, the Supreme Court took us on a stroll down memory lane in its decision in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., referring us back to its very first copyright case and revisiting the government edicts doctrine for...more

Snell & Wilmer

If No One Owns the Law, Who Owns the Statutory Annotations?

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Last week, the Supreme Court held in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., that legislators cannot copyright any works that they created in the course of their official duties. Though the holding may appear straightforward...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

SCOTUS Holds that Annotations to Georgia Code Are Not Copyrightable

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On April 27, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held that annotations in the State of Georgia’s official codes are not eligible for copyright protection. The 5-4 decision marked the first time in over a century that the...more

Jones Day

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Georgia’s Copyright in Annotated Statutory Codes - The holding will impact states and publishing...

Jones Day on

Revisiting the government edicts doctrine for the first time in more than a century, the U.S. Supreme Court in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., No. 18–1150, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), split 5-4 to hold that annotations to...more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

States Cannot Copyright Annotated Versions of Legal Codes

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

Womble Bond Dickinson

Georgia’s Loss is the Public’s Gain: Supreme Court Says States May Not Copyright Legal Codes

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The US Supreme Court ruled that state governments may not copyright annotated versions of their state’s legal code, saying that as a government edict, such information must be freely available to the public. The Court’s 5-4...more

BakerHostetler

‘No One Can Own the Law’: Supreme Court Holds Annotations to State Statutes Are Not Protected by Copyright

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The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on April 27, 2020, in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, upholding the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling that the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) is not entitled to copyright protection....more

McDermott Will & Emery

Official Statute Annotations Are Not Copyrightable

In a split decision, the Supreme Court of the United States in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. affirmed a previous ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and held that annotations to the Official Code of...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Supreme Court Rules Georgia Cannot Copyright Explanatory Annotations to Legislative Materials

On April 27, 2020,  the U.S. Supreme Court extended limits on the states’ ability to claim copyright protection over legislative materials and, specifically, over explanatory annotations added to legislative materials. The...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

US Supreme Court Rejects Attempt To Copyright Annotated Version of State Laws

On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., 590 U.S. ____, that pursuant to the “government edicts” doctrine, annotations to Georgia’s state code could not be...more

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