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Copyright, Fair Use & AI

This seminar explores the complexities of copyright issues related to AI and provides a summary of many relevant AI copyright lawsuits.

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources (OER)

American University’s Washington College of Law, along with other academic contributors, has launched the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources (the Code). This forty-plus page report, the goal of which is to assist professors, teachers, librarians, and other educators in evaluating when and how they can incorporate third party copyright […]

New Legislation: The CASE Act

The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act) was passed by Congress on December 21, 2020 and signed into law on December 27, 2020 as a part of a much bigger omnibus spending bill. What Is It? The CASE Act creates a “Copyright Claims Board” (the Board) within the U.S. Copyright Office which can […]

Stanford Copyright & Fair Use – Key Overview Updates

Q: Thank you for updating the copyright overview on this site. What are the most important changes that you want us to know? A: Because the update reflects changes from 2014 through 2016 it includes a few decisions that readers may be familiar with such as the Google book scanning decision (Author’s Guild v. Hathitrust, […]

How much of a photo do you need to alter to avoid copyright infringement? Hint: Cheshire Cat

Bloggers and artists often ask, “how much of a photo do you need to alter to avoid copyright infringement?” Five changes? Fifteen? The Seventh Circuit addressed the issue in the Kienitz v Sconnie Nation case recently. According to the court, Sconnie Nation made t-shirts displaying an image of Madison Wisconsin mayor Paul Soglin, using […]

Guidance on websites and copyright registration from the U.S. Copyright Office

As part of its new draft Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition, we have guidance on registration for websites. The draft of the full compendium is over 1200 pages and covers publication, recordation, notice, deposits, along with other topics. Members of the public may make comments anytime before (or after) the Third Edition […]

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Copyright Case Opinion Summaries

Source: Justia Daily Opinion Summaries (feed)

4DD HOLDINGS, LLC v. US

Published on: July 16, 2026

The dispute centers on the government’s use of TETRA® software, developed by 4DD Holdings, LLC. The Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs sought to improve data interoperability for healthcare records and decided to purcha…

Dmarcian, Inc. v. DMARC Advisor BV

Published on: July 10, 2026

An American software company based in North Carolina and a Dutch company entered into a business relationship that later soured. The American company alleged that the Dutch company stole its brand name, software code, and customer base. The …

Dmarcian, Inc. v. Millen

Published on: July 10, 2026

A North Carolina software company initiated a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina against its former business partner, a Dutch entity, after their business relationship dissolved. The plaint…

Cortes-Ramos v. Martin-Morales

Published on: June 12, 2026

After participating in a songwriting contest co-sponsored by Sony and a well-known Puerto Rican singer, the plaintiff submitted an original song and accompanying music video for consideration. Upon advancing as a finalist, the plaintiff was …

Deque Systems Inc. v. Browserstack, Inc.

Published on: June 5, 2026

Deque Systems Inc., a company specializing in web accessibility software, developed and registered multiple versions of its DevTools and Rules Help Pages products. To access these, users agreed not to copy, reverse-engineer, or otherwise mis…

Copyright Case Dockets

Source: Justia Dockets and Filings (feed)

Elizabeth Karlson v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

November 3, 2025

Filed: November 3, 2025 as 1:2025cv13447

Plaintiff: Elizabeth Karlson

Defendant: The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101 Copyright Infringement

Court: Seventh Circuit › Illinois › U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Julie Stiebritz v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

November 3, 2025

Filed: November 3, 2025 as 1:2025cv13416

Plaintiff: Julie Stiebritz

Defendant: The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101 Copyright Infringement

Court: Seventh Circuit › Illinois › U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Andrea Alice Muller v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

November 3, 2025

Filed: November 3, 2025 as 1:2025cv13427

Plaintiff: Andrea Alice Muller

Defendant: The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101 Copyright Infringement

Court: Seventh Circuit › Illinois › U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Azima v. Sand LLC

November 3, 2025

Filed: November 3, 2025 as 2:2025cv10540

Plaintiff: Maheleh Sadat Azima and Mali Sadat Azima

Defendant: Sand LLC

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 501 Copyright Infringement

Court: Ninth Circuit › California › U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Suzhou Jihekai Network Technology Co., Ltd v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations identified in Schedule A

November 3, 2025

Filed: November 3, 2025 as 0:2025cv62217

Plaintiff: Suzhou Jihekai Network Technology Co., Ltd

Defendant: The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations identified in Schedule A

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 0501 Copyright Infringement

Court: Eleventh Circuit › Florida › U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Copyright Legislation

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Copyright Legislative Developments: S.5379

December 10, 2024

Bill Recently Introduced

S.5379 TRAIN Act, introduced 11/21/2024.

To create an administrative subpoena process to assist copyright owners in determining which of their copyrighted works have been used in the training of artificial intelligence models.

Copyright Legislative Developments: H.R.10103

November 14, 2024

Bill Recently Introduced

H.R.10103 TRIPS Waivers Act, introduced 11/8/2024.

To amend titles 17, 18, and 35, United States Code, the Plant Variety Protection Act, and the Lanham Act to require the submission of a report to Congress before the negotiation of any international agreement relating to an intellectual property right, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments: S.4875

September 4, 2024

Bill Recently Introduced

S.4875 NO FAKES Act of 2024, introduced 7/31/2024.

To protect intellectual property rights in the voice and visual likeness of individuals, and for other purposes.

Termination Rights, Royalty Distributions, Ownership Transfers, Disputes, and the Music Modernization Act

August 30, 2024

Termination Rights, Royalty Distributions, Ownership Transfers, Disputes, and the Music Modernization Act

NewsNet 1051
August 30, 2024

The U.S. Copyright Office is adjusting certain compliance dates related to the corrective adjustment process in its July 9, 2024, final rule on termination rights and other topics related to the Music Modernization Act. The final rule contained a discrepancy between a date in the rule’s regulatory text and its preamble. To resolve any confusion created by the discrepancy and ensure parties have adequate time to participate in the corrective adjustment process, the Office is adjusting the relevant compliance dates for all parties by extending each date by approximately thirty days from the original dates provided in the rule’s regulatory text.

The original final rule and the rule adjusting the compliance dates can both be found on the website.

Copyright Legislative Developments: S.4674

August 19, 2024

Bill Recently Introduced

S.4674 - Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act of 2024, introduced 7/11/2024.

To require transparency with respect to content and content provenance information, to protect artistic content, and for other purposes.

Copyright Office News

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

U.S. Copyright Office Submits Proposed Fee Schedule and Analysis to Congress

July 14, 2026

U.S. Copyright Office Submits Proposed Fee Schedule and Analysis to Congress NewsNet 1090 July 14, 2026 The Copyright Office has submitted to Congress a proposed new fee schedule for Copyright Office services, along with a supporting analysis, in accordance with copyright law. This is the first chan

U.S. Copyright Office Announces Copyright Essentials: Copyright 101 Webinar

June 23, 2026

U.S. Copyright Office Announces Copyright Essentials: Copyright 101 Webinar NewsNet 1089June 23, 2026 The U.S. Copyright Office invites you to register to attend the upcoming online webinar, “Copyright Essentials: Copyright 101,” on Wednesday, July 15 at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. This event is the lat

U.S. Copyright Office Announces Start of Tenth Triennial Rulemaking Proceeding Under Section 1201

June 9, 2026

U.S. Copyright Office Announces Start of Tenth Triennial Rulemaking Proceeding Under Section 1201 NewsNet 1088June 9, 2026 The Copyright Office has published a notice of inquiry and request for petitions initiating the tenth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

U.S. Copyright Office Issues Final Rule Redesignating Mechanical Licensing Collective and Digital Licensee Coordinator Under the Music Modernization Act

June 3, 2026

U.S. Copyright Office Issues Final Rule Redesignating Mechanical Licensing Collective and Digital Licensee Coordinator Under the Music Modernization Act NewsNet 1087June 03, 2026 The Register has determined that the existing designations of the entities serving as the mechanical licensing collective

U.S. Copyright Office Proposes an Amendment to the Group Registration Option for Updates to News Websites

May 28, 2026

U.S. Copyright Office Proposes an Amendment to the Group Registration Option for Updates to News Websites NewsNet 1086 May 28, 2026 The U.S. Copyright Office proposes an amendment to the group registration option for frequently updated news websites. The Group Registration for Updates to a News Webs

Copyright Regulations

Source: Justia Regulation Tracker (feed)

Copyright Blogs

Source: Justia BlawgSearch (feed)

Copyright Fee Changes

July 17, 2026

On July 14, 2026 the U.S. Copyright Office submitted a proposed new fee schedule to Congress. Changes could be coming in November, 2026. Read what the proposed fee increases are. The post Copyright Fee Changes appeared first on Cokato Copyright Attorney: The Law Blog of Thomas James.

TTAB / Al Qaeda Claim: Trademarks Make the Big Time

July 17, 2026

Originally posted 2005-08-02 14:34:17. Republished by Blog Post PromoterSometimes we microniche bloggers get a little antsy with the self-imposed limitations on our scope. Ah, to be an early adopter! … but this was not our blogging fate. Sometimes, however, the system kicks one up and all of a sudde

Friday’s Endnotes – 07/17/26

July 17, 2026

Bad Bunny asks judge to reconsider reggaeton ‘dembow’ copyright ruling or certify it for appeal to the Ninth Circuit — The motion comes in response to a July 1 ruling denying defendants’ motion for summary judgment on claims that over 150 artists infringed on works in which foundational reggaeton el

US Congress faces its own debate about a "patent ban" for plants

July 17, 2026

Just as the EU finalised its regulation on new genomic techniques and left the "patent ban" debate behind [Merpel: for now, at least] (see IPKat here and here for summaries of the EU developments), a bill was introduced this week in the House of Representatives t

The Persistent Myth: Filing IP in China is “Pointless”

July 17, 2026

For many years, businesses questioned the merits of filing intellectual property (IP) rights in China because of concerns of widespread counterfeiting and limited enforcement and practical protections. While those historic concerns were not entirely unfounded, today, the greater risk for many busine

Fairly Used Blog

Source: Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center (feed)

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources (OER)

By Cicely Wilson

Published on: June 10, 2021

New Legislation: The CASE Act

By Cicely Wilson

Published on: June 7, 2021

Celebrating the unfreezing of the public domain

By Mary Minow

Published on: January 30, 2019

For the first time in twenty years, published works in the U.S. expired into the public domain. This anomaly was the direct result of the Copyright Term Extension Act that extended the length of copyright for works still in their renewal term at the time of the Act to 95 years. This effectively froze the […]

Stanford Copyright & Fair Use – Key Overview Updates

By Mary Minow

Published on: April 11, 2017

Future of Libraries – Need First Sale for ebooks

By Mary Minow

Published on: February 19, 2017

How will libraries hold onto ebooks and other digital files like mp3s so that readers and scholars in the future can still read them? The current state of affairs relies on license agreements with publishers who in turn license to vendors, who in turn, license to libraries. Hardly sustainable when files can and do disappear […]

Termination Rights, Royalty Distributions, Ownership Transfers, Disputes, and the Music Modernization Act

NewsNet 1051August 30, 2024

NewsNet 1051
August 30, 2024