Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center

Home

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 […]

More Featured

What's New

Copyright Case Opinion Summaries

Source: Justia Daily Opinion Summaries (feed)

UNICOLORS, INC. V. H&M HENNES & MAURITZ, LP

Published on: November 10, 2022

Unicolors, which creates designs for use on textiles and garments, alleged that a design it created in 2011 (the EH101 design) is remarkably similar to a design printed on garments that H&M began selling in 2015 (the Xue Xu design). The Supr…

ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Sagan

Published on: October 6, 2022

A collection of music publishers alleged infringement of their copyrights in 197 musical works when a series of live concert recordings was made available by Defendants for download and streaming on their websites. Plaintiffs sought damages …

Melendez v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc.

Published on: October 4, 2022

Plaintiff appealed from the district court’s judgment granting Defendant Sirius XM Radio, Inc. (“Sirius XM”)’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s claims with prejudice for violations of his right of publicity under California common and statutory…

Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. Griffith

Published on: September 21, 2022

A world-famous boxer and a famous MMA fighter faced one another in a legendary fight, produced by Showtime, which allowed individuals to live-stream the fight from Showtime’s website for $99.99. Showtime granted Mayweather the exclusive rig…

Anthony Campbell v. June James

Published on: September 7, 2022

Plaintiff wrote and recorded the song “Everything Be Lit,” which he later copyrighted. Then Plaintiff filed suit against several parties and Think It’s a Game Records (TIG) for copyright infringement based on one of Defendant’s recordings an…

Copyright Case Dockets

Source: Justia Dockets and Filings (feed)

Working Simply, Inc. v. Simplicity by Day, LLC

November 28, 2022

Filed: November 28, 2022 as 2:2022cv00458

Plaintiff: Working Simply, Inc.

Defendant: Simplicity by Day, LLC

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

Court: Fifth Circuit › Texas › US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

HILL et al v. REPUBLIC FIRST BANCORP, INC. et al

November 28, 2022

Filed: November 28, 2022 as 2:2022cv04735

Plaintiff: VERNON HILL and INTERARCH, INC.

Defendant: REPUBLIC FIRST BANCORP, INC. d/b/a REPUBLIC BANK, a Pennsylvania corporation, RODNEY DEAN and JOHN CHESSA

Cause Of Action: 28 U.S.C. § 1338 Copyright Infringement

Court: Third Circuit › Pennsylvania › US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Type: Intellectual Property › Property Rights: Copyright

FJerry, LLC v. The Clean Supps LLC

November 28, 2022

Filed: November 28, 2022 as 1:2022cv10076

Plaintiff: FJerry, LLC

Defendant: The Clean Supps LLC

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

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Prepared Food Photos, Inc. v. Valley Distributing of Montana, Inc.

November 28, 2022

Filed: November 28, 2022 as 0:2022cv62223

Plaintiff: Prepared Food Photos, Inc. and Adlife Marketing & Communications Co., Inc.

Defendant: Valley Distributing of Montana, Inc.

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 0101 Copyright Infringement

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Atlantic Recording Corporation et al v. Iconic London Holdings Limited

November 25, 2022

Filed: November 25, 2022 as 2:2022cv08602

Plaintiff: ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION, a Delaware Corporation, Atlantic Records Group LLC, Bad Boy Records LLC and others

Defendant: Iconic London (Holdings) Limited and Does 1 through 10, inclusive

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

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Copyright Legislation

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Copyright Legislative Developments: S. 169

October 19, 2022

Bill Signed into Law

S. 169 - ARTS Act, became Public Law No: 117-201, October 17, 2022.

To amend title 17, United States Code, to require the Register of Copyrights to waive fees for filing an application for registration of a copyright claim in certain circumstances, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments: S. 4932

October 11, 2022

Bill Recently Introduced

S. 4932 - American Music Fairness Act, introduced 9/22/2022.

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: H.Con.Res.102

August 11, 2022

Bill Recently Introduced

H.Con.Res.102 - Expressing the sense of Congress that it is the duty of the Federal Government to establish a new royalty program to provide income to featured and non-featured performing artists whose music or audio content is listened to on streaming music services, like Spotify. Introduced 8/9/2022.

Copyright Legislative Developments: H.R.8250

July 8, 2022

Bill Recently Introduced

H.R. 8250 - Copyright Clause Restoration Act of 2022, introduced 6/28/2022.

To address the duration of copyright, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments: S. 4178

May 17, 2022

Bill Recently Introduced

S. 4178 - Copyright Clause Restoration Act of 2022

To address the duration of copyright, and for other purposes.

Copyright Office News

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Copyright Office and USPTO Announce NFT Study and Roundtables

November 22, 2022

Copyright Office and USPTO Announce NFT Study and Roundtables NewsNet 988November 22, 2022 The U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are publishing a Federal Register notice announcing a U.S. Copyright Office and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) joint study to examin

Copyright Office Extends Comment Period for Its Rulemaking on Termination Rights and the Music Modernization Act

November 21, 2022

Copyright Office Extends Comment Period for Its Rulemaking on Termination Rights and the Music Modernization Act NewsNet 987November 21, 2022 The U.S. Copyright Office is extending the deadline for the submission of comments in its rulemaking regarding the applicability of the derivative works excep

Copyright Office Hosts Dancing with Copyright: A Conversation with Janet Eilber and Jamar Roberts

November 17, 2022

Copyright Office Hosts Dancing with Copyright: A Conversation with Janet Eilber and Jamar Roberts NewsNet 986November 17, 2022 Today, the U.S. Copyright Office is releasing a video recording of a conversation the Office hosted with Janet Eilber, artistic director of the Martha Graham Center of Conte

Copyright Office Welcomes New Ringer Fellow

November 14, 2022

Copyright Office Welcomes New Ringer Fellow NewsNet 985November 14, 2022 The U.S. Copyright Office is pleased to announce that Heather Walters has joined the Office as a fellow (2022–2024) in the Barbara A. Ringer Copyright Honors Program. She started her two-year appointment in August and will work

Copyright Office Invites Public to Monthly Recordation System Webinar

November 14, 2022

Copyright Office Invites Public to Monthly Recordation System Webinar NewsNet 984November 14, 2022 On August 1, 2022, the Copyright Office expanded access to the Recordation System to the full public. Separate from the Office’s registration application, this new module allows users to transfer their

Copyright Regulations

Source: Justia Regulation Tracker (feed)

Proposed Rule - Determination of Rates and Terms for Making and Distributing Phonorecords (Phonorecords IV)

November 7, 2022

The Copyright Royalty Judges publish for comment and objection proposed regulations that set rates and terms applicable during the period from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2027, for the section 115 statutory license for making and distributing phonorecords of nondramatic musical works.

Proposed Rule - Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Making and Distributing Phonorecords (Phonorecords IV)

March 30, 2022

The Copyright Royalty Judges withdraw a proposed rule that would have set continued, unaltered rates and terms for subpart B configurations subject to the statutory license to use nondramatic musical works to make and distribute phonorecords of those works (the Mechanical License).

Notice - Distribution of 2015-17 Satellite Royalty Funds

March 14, 2022

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce partial settlement of controversies and request comments on a motion for partial distribution of satellite television retransmission royalties for royalty years 2015-17.

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

Copyright Blogs

Source: Justia BlawgSearch (feed)

Canadian Copyright Term Extension: Is December 30, 2022 Perhaps Premature Proclamation?

November 29, 2022

(not the recent proclamation) During the CUSMA negotiations with the Trump administration, Canada sadly handed over a gratuitous gift that will mostly by far benefit American copyright owners by extending the term of copyright for 20 years. Canada made a bad decision even worse by ignoring the cons

Beverly Hills TM Lawyer

November 29, 2022

For my money that can only mean Michael N. Cohen! And now he has a blog, giving it away for free like the rest of us, called TRADEMARK BLOG OF THE... The post Beverly Hills TM Lawyer appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION™.

[UPDATE] Calls to push back UPC sunrise period as 89% have not been able to obtain/authenticate security devices needed to access Case Management System

November 29, 2022

Last week the AmeriKat posted a survey on the IPKat to check how many people have been able to access a security device that is necessary to access the Unified Patent Court's (UPC's) Case Management System (CMS) via strong authentication. This was triggered by in-house counsel flagging to

What can GI scholars learn from food research?

November 29, 2022

As diverse as legal scholarship is on geographical indications (GI), historical and ethnological studies of food may still offer an often-overlooked perspectives on how GIs come into being. In this post, this Kat would like to share some books which caught her GI-focused attention from historical an

3 Count: Navy Piracy

November 28, 2022

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday. 1: US Navy Fined for Acts of Software Piracy First off today, Nicholas Slayton at Task & Purpose reports that the United States Navy has been ordered to pay $154,400 in damages to a software firm after a court found

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 […]