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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)

Bimbo Bakeries USA, et al. v. Sycamore, et al.

Published on: March 18, 2022

Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. (“Bimbo Bakeries”) owned, baked, and sold Grandma Sycamore’s Home-Maid Bread (“Grandma Sycamore’s”). Bimbo Bakeries alleged that United States Bakery (“U.S. Bakery”), a competitor, and Leland Sycamore (“Leland”), the…

Gray v. Hudson

Published on: March 10, 2022

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order vacating the jury’s damages award for copyright infringement and granting judgment as a matter of law to Katy Perry and other defendants. Plaintiffs, Christian hip-hop artists, filed suit…

Bell v. Eagle Mountain Saginaw Independent School District

Published on: February 25, 2022

Plaintiff, a sports psychologist, filed suit against the school district for copyright infringement after the softball team and flag corps at a public high school used their Twitter accounts to post a motivational passage from plaintiff’s bo…

Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L. P.

Published on: February 24, 2022

Unicolors, the owner of fabric design copyrights, successfully sued H&M for copyright infringement, 17 U.S.C. 411(a). H&M argued that Unicolors knowingly included inaccurate information on its registration application, rendering its registra…

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…

Copyright Case Dockets

Source: Justia Dockets and Filings (feed)

STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 24.184.164.83

April 5, 2022

Filed: April 5, 2022 as 2:2022cv01954

Plaintiff: STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC

Defendant: JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 24.184.164.83

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

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 144.62.130.221

April 5, 2022

Filed: April 5, 2022 as 2:2022cv01953

Plaintiff: STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC

Defendant: JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 144.62.130.221

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

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 69.127.61.82

April 5, 2022

Filed: April 5, 2022 as 3:2022cv01956

Plaintiff: STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC

Defendant: JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 69.127.61.82

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

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe

April 5, 2022

Filed: April 5, 2022 as 3:2022cv00768

Plaintiff: Strike 3 Holdings, LLC

Defendant: John Doe

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

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Property Rights: Copyright

STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 68.197.72.142

April 5, 2022

Filed: April 5, 2022 as 2:2022cv01950

Plaintiff: STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC

Defendant: JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 68.197.72.142

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

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

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Copyright Legislation

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Copyright Legislative Developments

March 24, 2022

Bill Recently Introduced

S. 3880 - SMART Copyright Act of 2022

To amend title 17, United States Code, to define and provide for accommodation and designation of technical measures to identify, protect, or manage copyrighted works, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments

March 4, 2022

Bill Recently Introduced

H.R. 6769 - Pro Codes Act, introduced 2/18/2022.

To amend title 17, United States Code, to include requirements for works adopted by reference into law, and for other purposes.

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 Office News

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Jacklyn Napier Named Assistant Register and Director of Operations of the U.S. Copyright Office

March 29, 2022

Jacklyn Napier Named Assistant Register and Director of Operations of the U.S. Copyright Office NewsNet 953March 29, 2022 Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter has announced the appointment of Jacqueline “Jacklyn” Napier as Assistant Register and Director of Operations of the United States Copyrig

Copyright Office Issues Final Rule for Initiating Copyright Claims Board Proceedings and Related Procedures

March 25, 2022

Copyright Office Issues Final Rule for Initiating Copyright Claims Board Proceedings and Related Procedures NewsNet 951March 25, 2022 Pursuant to the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020 and after soliciting public comments, the U.S. Copyright Office has published a f

Copyright Office Announces Webinar Update on the Copyright Public Record System

March 18, 2022

Copyright Office Announces Webinar Update on the Copyright Public Record System NewsNet 951March 18, 2022 The U.S. Copyright Office will host its next public modernization webinar on April 19, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. As part of its modernization efforts, the Office released the Copyright Pu

Copyright Office Issues Final Rule for Small Claims Procedures for Library and Archives Opt-Outs and Class Actions

March 9, 2022

Copyright Office Issues Final Rule for Small Claims Procedures for Library and Archives Opt-Outs and Class Actions NewsNet 950March 9, 2022 Pursuant to the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020 and after soliciting public comments, the U.S. Copyright Office published a

Copyright Office Issues CASE Act Partial Final Rule Regarding Designated Service Agents

March 8, 2022

Copyright Office Issues CASE Act Partial Final Rule Regarding Designated Service Agents NewsNet 949March 8, 2022 Pursuant to the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020 and after soliciting public comments, the Copyright Office has published a partial final rule establis

Copyright Regulations

Source: Justia Regulation Tracker (feed)

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

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.

Copyright Blogs

Source: Justia BlawgSearch (feed)

Will the real Metaverse please stand up?

April 6, 2022

I am a big believer in the power of stories. In 1993, journalist Julian Dibbell wrote an article for the Village Voice entitled “A Rape in Cyperspace“, in which he described a series of moderating decisions that were taken at an early virtual community called LambdaMOO. The online shenanigans are […

3 Count: Shape of Victory

April 6, 2022

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday. 1: Ed Sheeran Wins Shape of You Copyright Case and Hits Out at ‘Baseless’ Claims First off today, the BBC reports that Ed Sheeran has emerged victorious in his lawsuit over the song Shape of You after a judge ruled that

CJEU rules that private copying also applies in the cloud and warns against thinking that everything is communication to the public

April 6, 2022

Kat cloud ...A few days ago the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered its judgment in C-433/20 Austro-Mechana, ruling that the notion of reproduction ‘on any medium’ extends to the cloud and, therefore, that private copying under Article 5(2)(b) of the InfoSoc Directive also applies

Design protection in China and abroad with a single filing

April 6, 2022

Design patents, sometimes referred to as industrial designs, protect the aesthetic appearance of a product. As with other registered IP rights, the protection offered is, generally speaking, territorial in scope. In other words, unless international or regional treaties are available, a grant of des

EPO Board of Appeal maintains functional epitope antibody genus claim (T 1964/18)

April 6, 2022

Antibodies may be defined in a patent claim by their amino acid sequence, by their target (epitope) and/or their functional characteristics. Functional and epitope antibody claims can capture a whole class ("genus") of antibody therapeutics, whereas sequence claim language captures a far n

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 […]