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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 […]

Who’s the Owner: A White Paper on “Improving Copyright Information Management: An Investigation of Options and Areas for Further Research”

The U.S. Copyright Office came to Stanford Law School yesterday to conduct a roundtable on Recordation Reengineering, The Stanford Law School Law and Policy Lab submitted comments and a thoughtful White Paper, and live tweeted the proceeding along with us (see @slspolicylab and @fairlyused). The Law and Policy Lab was represented at the roundtable by Peter Holm, third year law […]

Deadline: April 14th. Public invited to weigh in on orphan works – US Copyright Office

ORPHAN WORKS is red hot again. After a number of failed legislative attempts and a couple of high profile court cases, its back to the drawing board, albeit a better defined drawing board. On the one hand, most everyone agrees that for true orphans, it would be great for us all to be able to […]

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Copyright Case Opinion Summaries

Source: Justia Daily Opinion Summaries (feed)

Corbello v. Vallli

Published on: September 8, 2020

Four Seasons front man Frankie Valli and other defendants associated with Jersey Boys did not infringe Rex Woodard’s copyright in the autobiography of Tommy DeVito, now owned by Donna Corbello, Woodard’s surviving wife.

The Ninth Circuit a…

ECIMOS, LLC v. Carrier Corp.

Published on: August 21, 2020

Carrier manufactures residential Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. ECIMOS produced the quality-control system that tested completed HVAC units at the end of Carrier’s assembly line. ECIMOS alleged that Carrier infri…

Oracle America, Inc. v. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Published on: August 20, 2020

Oracle, owner of the proprietary Solaris software operating system, filed suit alleging that HPE improperly accessed, downloaded, copied, and installed Solaris patches on servers not under an Oracle support contract. Oracle asserted direct c…

Jackson v. Roberts

Published on: August 19, 2020

Plaintiff Curtis James Jackson III, the hip-hop recording artist known as 50 Cent, appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Defendant William Leonard Roberts II, the hip-hop recording artist known as Rick Ross, on the grou…

Music Choice v. Copyright Royalty Board

Published on: August 18, 2020

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a lower grandfathered royalty rate is paid by some music services that were early providers of digital music transmissions. Music Choice, a digital broadcast music service that consists of s…

Copyright Case Dockets

Source: Justia Dockets and Filings (feed)

Prokos v. Kedis Capital, LLC et al

September 11, 2020

Filed: September 11, 2020 as 2:2020cv04244

Defendant: Kedis Capital, LLC, Does 1-10

Plaintiff: Andrew Prokos

Cause Of Action: Copyright Infringement

Court: Second Circuit › New York › US District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Salinas v. Amber (Heavenly) USA, Ltd. et al

September 11, 2020

Filed: September 11, 2020 as 2:2020cv08363

Court: Ninth Circuit › California › US District Court for the Central District of California

Type: Other Statutes › Other

American Medical Experts, LLC v. Hamad et al

September 11, 2020

Filed: September 11, 2020 as 1:2020cv01074

Defendant: Prime Medical Experts LLC, John Doe, Ronny Nizar Hamad and others

Plaintiff: American Medical Experts, LLC

Cause Of Action: Copyright Infringement

Court: Fourth Circuit › Virginia › US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Iconic Images Ltd. v. Mid-Hudson Auction Galleries, Ltd. et al

September 10, 2020

Filed: September 10, 2020 as 7:2020cv07426

Defendant: Does 1-10, Mid-Hudson Auction Galleries, Ltd.

Plaintiff: Iconic Images Ltd.

Cause Of Action: Copyright Infringement

Court: Second Circuit › New York › US District Court for the Southern District of New York

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

LICKERISH LTD. v. ELMO LEATHER INC.

September 10, 2020

Filed: September 10, 2020 as 2:2020cv12534

Plaintiff: LICKERISH LTD.

Defendant: ELMO LEATHER INC.

Cause Of Action: Copyright Infringement

Court: Third Circuit › New Jersey › US District Court for the District of New Jersey

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

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 […]

protect your site from copyright lawsuits

By Mary Minow

Published on: November 16, 2016

Everyone who thought they were protected from copyright lawsuits based on user postings, read this and take action on December 1st 2016 and no later than December 2017. lawofthelevel.com/2016/11/articles/intellectual-property/dont-lose-dmca-safe-harbor-protection/

Happy Birthday – ruling plus full court docket filings

By Mary Minow

Published on: September 25, 2015

Justia has made the full docket of legal filings in the Happy Birthday case available for free online at https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2013cv04460/564772