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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)

CDK Global LLC v. Brnovich

Published on: October 25, 2021

A 2019 Arizona statute prohibits auto dealer management system (DMS) providers from “tak[ing] any action by contract, technical means or otherwise to prohibit or limit a dealer’s ability to protect, store, copy, share or use” data the dealer…

Horror Inc. v. Miller

Published on: September 30, 2021

The Second Circuit held that, for Copyright Act purposes, the screenwriter Victor Miller was an independent contractor of the film production company Manny, Inc., in 1979, when Miller wrote the screenplay for the landmark horror film Friday …

Perea v. Editorial Cultural, Inc.

Published on: September 13, 2021

In these cross-appeals, the First Circuit vacated the district court’s opinion and order entered on September 30, 2017 and part of the amended judgment entered on September 19, 2019 and directed the entry of an amended judgment in favor of a…

Bell v. Wilmott Storage Services, LLC

Published on: September 9, 2021

The Ninth Circuit wrote to clarify the role that de minimis copying plays in statutory copyright. The de minimis concept is properly used to analyze whether so little of a copyrighted work has been copied that the allegedly infringing work i…

Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc.

Published on: August 23, 2021

When an AM/FM radio station plays a song over the air, it does not pay public performance royalties to the owner of the original sound recording. Digital and satellite radio providers like Sirius, however, must pay public performance royalti…

Copyright Case Dockets

Source: Justia Dockets and Filings (feed)

NY Black and Gold Corp. v. WeWork Management LLC

January 21, 2022

Filed: January 21, 2022 as 1:2022cv00570

Plaintiff: NY Black and Gold Corp.

Defendant: WeWork Management LLC

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 501

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

TamarindArt, LLC v. Husain administrator of the Estate of Maqbool Fida Husain et al

January 21, 2022

Filed: January 21, 2022 as 1:2022cv00595

Plaintiff: TamarindArt, LLC

Defendant: Raisa Husain administrator of the Estate of Maqbool Fida Husain and Owais Husain as administrator of the Estate of Maqbool Fida Husain

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 172.91.30.118

January 20, 2022

Filed: January 20, 2022 as 2:2022cv00437

Plaintiff: Strike 3 Holdings, LLC

Defendant: John Doe subscriber assigned IP address John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 172.91.30.118

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

TAMARA WAREKA p/k/a TAMARA WILLIAMS v. SOCIETY19 MEDIA, LLC et al

January 20, 2022

Filed: January 20, 2022 as 1:2022cv10081

Plaintiff: TAMARA WAREKA p/k/a TAMARA WILLIAMS

Defendant: SOCIETY19 MEDIA, LLC and DOES 1through 10, inclusive

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101

Court: First Circuit › Massachusetts › US District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Panoramic Stock Images, Ltd. v. International Group LLC et al

January 20, 2022

Filed: January 20, 2022 as 1:2022cv20237

Plaintiff: Panoramic Stock Images, Ltd. doing business as Panoramic Images

Defendant: International Group LLC and Oscar Prieto

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 0501

Court: Eleventh Circuit › Florida › US District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Copyright Legislation

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Copyright Legislative Developments

October 14, 2021

Bill Recently Introduced

S. 2972 - A bill to repeal section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, introduced 10/8/2021.

To repeal section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934.

Copyright Legislative Developments

August 4, 2021

Bill Recently Introduced

H.R.4130 - American Music Fairness Act

To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide fair treatment of radio stations and artists for the use of sound recordings, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments

May 14, 2021

Bill Recently Introduced

H.R.1856 - Modern Television Act of 2021

To repeal certain provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, title 17 of the United States Code, and certain regulations, to allow for interim carriage of television broadcast signals, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments

March 1, 2021

Bills Recently Introduced

S. 169. ARTS Act. Introduced Feb. 2, 2021

H.R. 704. ARTS Act. Introduced Feb. 2, 2021

These bills direct the Copyright Office to waive various copyright registration-related fees for works that win certain competitions sponsored by the Congressional Institute or established by Congress.

Copyright Legislative Developments

January 4, 2021

Recent Legislation

H.R. 133, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 enacted Dec. 27, 2020:

New provision in 18 U.S.C. § 2319C on illicit digital transmission services, see bill excerpt.
CASE Act, see bill excerpt.

S. 5020, A bill to repeal section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, introduced 12/15/2020.

See here for more information.

Copyright Office News

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Copyright Office Announces 2022–2026 Strategic Plan: Fostering Creativity and Enriching Culture

January 20, 2022

Copyright Office Announces 2022–2026 Strategic Plan: Fostering Creativity and Enriching Culture NewsNet 944January 20, 2022 Today, January 20, 2022, the U.S. Copyright Office released its 2022–2026 Strategic Plan, Fostering Creativity and Enriching Culture, which sets out its goals for the next fi

Suzanne Wilson Named General Counsel of U.S. Copyright Office

January 5, 2022

Suzanne Wilson Named General Counsel of U.S. Copyright Office NewsNet 943January 5, 2022 Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter has announced the appointment of Suzanne “Suzy” Wilson as General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights of the United States Copyright Office, effective January 31,

Copyright Office Proposes Procedures for Representation by Law Students and Representation of Business Entities before the Copyright Claims Board

December 30, 2021

Copyright Office Proposes Procedures for Representation by Law Students and Representation of Business Entities before the Copyright Claims Board NewsNet 942December 30, 2021 The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing procedures governing representation of parties by law students and representation of b

Copyright Office Ending CARES Act Timing Adjustments

December 29, 2021

Copyright Office Ending CARES Act Timing Adjustments NewsNet 941December 29, 2021 The Register of Copyrights today issued a declaration that, as there is no evidence of a need for continued adjustments as a result of disruptions to the copyright system, the remaining adjustments will be allowed to

Copyright Office Announces a Series of Consultations on Technical Measures that Identify or Protect Copyrighted Works

December 22, 2021

Copyright Office Announces a Series of Consultations on Technical Measures that Identify or Protect Copyrighted Works NewsNet 940December 22, 2021 The U.S. Copyright Office has published a Federal Register notice announcing a series of consultations on technical measures that identify or protect co

Copyright Regulations

Source: Justia Regulation Tracker (feed)

Notice - Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Making Ephemeral Copies of Sound Recordings for Transmission to Business Establishments (Business Establishments IV)

January 5, 2022

The Copyright Royalty Judges (Judges) announce commencement of a proceeding to determine reasonable royalty rates and terms for the recording of ephemeral copies of sound recordings to facilitate digital audio transmissions of those sound recordings to business establishments pursuant to the limitat

Rule - Adjustment of Cable Statutory License Royalty Rates

December 23, 2021

The Copyright Royalty Judges published for comment a proposed settlement governing royalty rates and terms for the retransmission of over-the-air television and radio broadcast stations by cable television systems to their subscribers. Having received no comments, the Judges adopt the existing rates

Notice - Notice of Intent To Audit

December 22, 2021

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce receipt from SoundExchange, Inc., of notices of intent to audit the 2018, 2019, and 2020 statements of account submitted by commercial webcasters Audacy and Midwest Communications concerning the royalty payments they made pursuant to two statutory licenses.

Rule - Cost of Living Adjustment to Royalty Rates for Webcaster Statutory License

December 1, 2021

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in the royalty rates that commercial and noncommercial noninteractive webcasters pay for eligible transmissions pursuant to the statutory licenses for the public performance of and for the making of ephemeral reproductions of s

Rule - Cost of Living Adjustment to Satellite Carrier Compulsory License Royalty Rates

November 26, 2021

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 6.2% in the royalty rates satellite carriers pay for a compulsory license under the Copyright Act. The COLA is based on the change in the Consumer Price Index from October 2020 to October 2021.

Copyright Blogs

Source: Justia BlawgSearch (feed)

Online use of trademarks and copyrights by “unauthorized distributors”

January 24, 2022

LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION does not generally comment about active cases in which we are directly involved. But a very important and detailed (61 pages!) summary judgment decision came down in... The post Online use of trademarks and copyrights by “unauthorized distributors” appeared first on LIKELIHOO

CIPPIC Rebuffs Blacklock’s Bid to Block Intervention in Summary Judgment Motion

January 24, 2022

www.blacklocks.caBlacklock’s has a lengthy list of losses in its long litany of litigation against the federal government and many of its agencies. I have blogged about thismany times. It will be recalled that Blacklock’s lost decisively on fair dealing back in its first test case against Finance Ca

The Best Starting Place for People New to Copyright

January 24, 2022

If you are new to copyright, there are many great guides on the internet, including this one here. However, for someone coming in with almost no understanding of how copyright works, it may not be the best place to begin. The reason is fairly simple. Most guides, including my own, are geared toward

How does receiving a PPP Loan impact filing my company’s taxes?

January 24, 2022

Welcome to 2022 tax season! As the vast majority of businesses, small and large, were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies received support through the Paycheck Protection Program. However, there were many question marks with the Paycheck Protection Program, such as the timing of forgiv

3 Count: Frequent Flyer

January 24, 2022

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday. 1: American Airlines Suing The Points Guy Over App That Syncs Frequent Flyer Data First off today, Kim Lyons at The Verge reports that American Airlines has filed a lawsuit against the travel tips website The Points Guy

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 […]