As discussed in Part 1, understanding the application of the Copyright Act’s works made for hire doctrine is needed to protect an organization’s intellectual property. Specifically, the application of the doctrine to...more
Understanding the work made for hire doctrine under the Copyright Act of 1976 is key for effective intellectual property management. The default ownership rule under the Copyright Act provides ownership to the author (i.e.,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Collaborations with athletes, actors, and singers have always been a great way for companies to grow their brand recognition and create profitable products. With the Super Bowl (and, of course, its famed...more
In Short - The Background: Generative artificial intelligence ("GenAI") tools allow individuals to readily generate content, including works that traditionally would be copyrightable if authored by a human being, such as...more
The D.C. district court recently affirmed the U.S. Copyright Office’s position that a work generated entirely by artificial intelligence (AI) technology is not eligible for copyright protection. The case is Stephen Thaler v....more
We recently wrote about Dr. Stephen Thaler’s challenge to the Copyright Office’s refusal to register copyright in “A Recent Entrance to Paradise,” in which he has asked a federal appellate court to grant him summary judgment...more
It is ideal for a business to employ policies and strategies to own intellectual property, not merely to receive an assignment or license thereto. One tool for doing so is to ensure that copyrightable works are created under...more
Welcome back, true believers! We continue our exploration into the Copyright journey of some of our most iconic heroes. It will make it easier to follow if the authors divide the most relevant aspects of this story....more
There are many common misconceptions about copyrights and other rights associated with the ownership and control of a creative work, such as moral rights. These misconceptions often result in poor contract drafting, which can...more
Due to the size and complexity of computer code, the software is usually created by a team of programmers. Consequently, to fully own software one must first make sure that each of the developers has relinquished any...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a summary judgment grant, ruling that an author was an independent contractor when writing the screenplay for a horror film and entitled to authorship rights, and...more
- What will the “Endgame” be for the lawsuit between Walt Disney Company and former Marvel comic book creators? In the spring of this year, a host of famed artists and illustrators of Marvel characters such as Iron Man,...more
Whether a contract is "executory" such that it can be assumed, rejected, or assigned in bankruptcy is a question infrequently addressed by the circuit courts of appeals. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit...more
For most employers, it is important to own the intellectual property rights in written and/or graphic work commissioned from independent contractors. But including a Work Made for Hire Clause (“WMFH Clause”) in an...more
Many businesses work hard and invest heavily to develop and protect their intellectual property rights, including trade secrets and proprietary processes, designs, and know-how. However, special rules apply in determining...more
Copyright laws were enacted to protect owners of creative works from others claiming or using a work as their own. A work is protected from the time it is created in a fixed form. If a creator produces a work, he is generally...more
What would it take to be Joe Exotic’s attorney? To steal a page from the first episode of the Netflix docuseries, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” not your average attorney. Just imagine all the questions they’d...more
Long ago the “government edicts doctrine” established that state and federal law is not entitled to copyright protection. Essentially, original works that have the force of law and created by officials in the course of their...more
The Second Circuit issued a remarkable decision on termination rights under Sections 203 and 304(c) of the Copyright Act that seemingly, whether knowingly or otherwise, limits the Act’s extraterritorial reach. Ennio Morricone...more
The cardinal principle of copyright law is deceptively simple. It protects a creative work as it passes from the fevered brow of its creator to something more tangible – a writing pad, an electronic manuscript, a sound...more
Musical scores incorporated into films are usually produced with the specific film in mind. In the U.S., we call such works “works made for hire,” meaning that the artist does not retain authorship rights to the music....more
With the growth of mobile apps, non-tech companies face the challenge of creating apps to promote and sell their services or goods. Because the creation of an app can be a one-time project, hiring an independent software...more
In a recent blog, I wrote about whether the U.S. Copyright Act’s work-made-for-hire doctrine applies to copyrights in sound recordings as that status affects artists’ termination rights in transfers. The responses I received...more