Friday’s Endnotes – 02/03/23

By , February 03, 2023.

UK Government axes plans to broaden existing text and data mining exception — “In mid-2022, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) announced that Government would consider broadening the scope for unlicensed TDM activities and introduce a new E&L that would allow TDM for any purpose (including commercial TDM), subject to a lawful access requirement to the relevant copyright works and other protected subject-matter. The latest news, however, is that such a reform will not go ahead.”

USTR Releases 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy — “Reflecting the Biden-Harris Administration’s worker-centered trade policy, the 2022 Notorious Markets List’s issue focus section examines the impact of online piracy on U.S. workers.  The section describes how online piracy can impact the wages, residuals, pensions, and health care benefits that workers in the creative industries depend on and how combatting online piracy requires coordination between relevant actors in order to effectively address the rapidly shifting delivery methods of infringing content.”

Defendants seek dismissal of copyright infringement lawsuit brought by collage artist Deborah Roberts — “Lawyers for Beavers and Edwards are seeking to dismiss the Roberts suit, citing in documents filed yesterday (1 February) in US District Court in New York ‘numerous legal deficiencies’ in the original complaint. They argue that Roberts’s claims rest on general stylistic similarities and underlying subject matter, which are not protected by copyright law.”

Comedy rights agency seeks court sanctions against Pandora in ongoing copyright dispute — “One of the rights agencies representing comedians in the US has asked the courts to sanction Pandora and its lawyers for claims they have made about said agency as part of an ongoing copyright dispute. Various comedians have sued Pandora through the US courts over allegations it has been streaming their comedy material without all the correct licences in place.”

Microsoft, GitHub, and OpenAI ask court to throw out AI copyright lawsuit — “Microsoft, GitHub, and OpenAI want the court to dismiss a proposed class action complaint that accuses the companies of scraping licensed code to build GitHub’s AI-powered Copilot tool, as reported earlier by Reuters. In a pair of filings submitted to a San Francisco federal court on Thursday, the Microsoft-owned GitHub and OpenAI say the claims outlined in the suit don’t hold up.”

Friday’s Endnotes – 01/27/23

By , January 27, 2023.

How Easy Is It to Pirate Ebooks? — “The most recent addition to this ebook piracy drama is Internet Archive, which has been hosting digital copies of books for years. In 2020, some publishers filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit organization for alleged copyright infringement. Internet Archive, it seemed, scanned copies of books donated to them, put them up on their website, and lent them to users for up to 14 days. They want to function as a library, but real libraries pay publishers licensing fees and they don’t.”

How a Texas Baby-Clothing Company Took Target Down (a Peg) — Emily McCullar spins a gripping yarn about one independent clothing designer’s legal fight against the retail giant for copying one of her designs without permission.

Copyright and human rights in Europe: key decisions in 2022 — A discussion of four decisions from Finland, Italy, France, and Poland where courts mediated between copyright and human rights, including privacy, right to information, and free speech.

Meet Steezy, the Dance App Giving Choreographers Credit — and a Paycheck — “In addition to offering an additional revenue stream for dancers, Zhou and Lim feel a broader responsibility to highlight the way choreographers — who often aren’t properly credited for their work — contribute to the success of music at a time when some dancers are pushing for better compensation and even copyrighting their dances (U.S. copyright law allows choreography to be protected, so long as works are fixed in a tangible medium of expression from which the work can be performed).”

Copyright Office Pilot Public Records System Mistakenly Reflects Cancellation of Registration for AI Graphic Novel — Franklin Graves has the latest on a recent attempt to register the copyright in a work that at least in part is claimed to have been generated by an AI tool. Initial reports indicated that the registration was cancelled by the US Copyright Office, but those reports were the result of an error, and Graves reports the Office is still reviewing the registration application.

Friday’s Endnotes – 01/20/23

By , January 20, 2023.

AI Art Generators Spark Multiple Copyright Lawsuits — What’s bigger news than a copyright lawsuit against an AI art generator? Two copyright lawsuits against AI art generators. The Hollywood Reporter’s Winston Cho reports on a class action lawsuit filed in US federal court by a group of artists against Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt as well as a lawsuit filed by Getty Images in the UK against Stability AI.

The Most Significant Copyright Issues Likely to Arise in 2023 — The Copyright Alliance’s Keith Kupferschmid gazes into his crystal ball to see what copyright developments we might anticipate over the next year.

Indian Court Cracks Down On Stream-Ripping By ‘Rogue Websites’ — “The civil ruling, published in the High Court of Delhi on Jan. 12, was the first such action in India to tackle the practice of stream-ripping, one of the country’s most rampant forms of piracy.”

Giving artists longer control over their work benefits us all — Writers Union of Canada CEO John Degen writes, “Let’s stop equating payment for culture with harm or loss. That’s cheap rhetoric, and an insult to cultural labour.”

Photographer Whose Metadata Was Deleted by Client Loses Lawsuit — Petitioner was seeking to reverse an Eleventh Circuit ruling that held 17 USC § 1202(b) requires evidence linking the defendant’s removal of copyright management information (CMI) with specific instances of infringement.

Friday’s Endnotes – 01/13/23

By , January 13, 2023.

New Copyright Venue Fields Hundreds of Claims, Evoking Optimism — The Copyright Claims Board, a new tribunal created to hear small copyright claims in the U.S., is a little over 6 months old as we start the new year. And so far it seems to be working… good? Riddhi Setty of Bloomberg Law speaks to U.S. Copyright Office leadership and several copyright experts and looks at statistics compiled by the Copyright Alliance to review the early performance of the novel tribunal.

Zara Sues “Responsible” Brand Thilikó for “Passing Off” Zara Wares, Photos as its Own — Typically, fast fashion brands are the ones accused of misappropriating fashion designs, so there’s a touch of irony to see fast fashion brand Zara as the plaintiff in a recently filed lawsuit alleging copyright infringement and other claims against a high-end retailer that it claims engaged in a “serial” scheme of acquiring Zara garments, replacing the tags with its own tags, and passing the goods off as its own, including with “exorbitant mark-ups.” Zara also alleges the retailer copied Zara’s photos for garments and used them on its own site.

Photo Agency Sues Twitter for $228.9 Million Over Copyright Infringement — From Pesala Bandara at PetaPixel: “Photo agency Backgrid and ten anonymous defendants have sued Twitter for allegedly failing to take down more than 1,500 photographs of celebrities owned by them and illegally posted to the platform by users. According to the lawsuit filed on December 30, 2022, Backgrid alleges it sent over 6,700 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notices to Twitter requesting the removal of its copyrighted photos, but Twitter failed to respond or take down a single image.”

Copyright Legislation in 2022: A Year in Review — A look back at the U.S. copyright bills that made progress in 2022 but did not pass, as well as the two relatively minor measures that did pass.

The Myth of the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act” Has Reached its “Sell By” Date — Stephen Carlisle writes, “It’s about time for the myth of the ‘Mickey Mouse Protection Act’ to take its final bow. Of course it was never true, but that did not stop people from ginning up publicity (about themselves or their organizations) by declaring that the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, passed in 1998, was all about protecting the property of Disney and particularly Mickey Mouse.”

Friday’s Endnotes – 01/06/23

By , January 06, 2023.

The Year in Copyright: 2022 Gives Creators Hope for the Future — Kicking things off in 2023, we start with this wrap-up of 2022 U.S. copyright developments from Devlin Hartline. Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, copyright and artificial intelligence, and misguided attempts by states to encroach into Congress’s exclusive domain of copyright law.

Copyright Cases in 2022: A Year in Review — We also have Kevin Madigan taking a look at some of the U.S. case law highlights from 2022. Personal jurisdiction for foreign pirate sites, embedding and the server test, and the constitutionality of Section 1201 are just some of the interesting issues that U.S. courts confronted over the past year.

Parody under copyright and trade mark law: key guidance from Zorro .. and the Italian Supreme Court — Eleonora Rosati writes, “Last week, the Italian Supreme Court issued an important – if not truly seminal – judgment on the interplay between IP and freedom of expression. In delivering its new judgment in the long-running (15+ years and counting!) legal battle over the character of Zorro, the Supreme Court has provided important guidance on the requirements and limits of parody under both copyright and trade mark law.”

Judge rules in favor of Ford on AirPro contract, copyright, trademark violations — “As for siding with Ford on copyright infringement, Steeh wrote ‘each time AirPro installed Ford’s copyrighted software, it made a new copy.’ meaning ‘every installation of the Ford Diagnostic Software contrary to the terms of the EULA is an impermissible reproduction prohibited under the Copyright Act. . . . AirPro’s release-and-reuse tactic is a transfer of the software that violates Ford’s copyright by exceeding the scope of the EULA. 17 U.S.C. § 106(3). AirPro’s actions in purchasing short-term licenses in the names of their customers, loading the software on the scan tool, using the software to perform diagnostic services, and then blocking its customers from accessing the software is also a violation of § 106(3).'”

Midjourney founder basically admits to copyright breaching and artists are angry — “In an interview with Forbes back in September, David Holz, the founder of Midjourney – a powerful generator that uses the platform Discord and its chat servers to deliver images – admitted that open and published data sets are used to train the platforms AI generators and contains work from artists at all levels without their approval or consent, and with no way of opting-out of having it used. “

Friday’s Endnotes – 12/16/22

By , December 16, 2022.

Shelby Estate Wins ‘Eleanor’ Ford Mustang Copyright Lawsuit — The Shelby Trust has a clear path to building custom Mustang autos that resemble the one appearing in the 2000 Nic Cage film Gone in 60 Seconds after prevailing in court over the estate of the filmmaker. “According to a press release from the Shelby Trust, Halicki’s case was based around the concept that ‘Eleanor’ was a character in its own right, one with defined traits reflected across multiple movies that would make any build inspired by the car a commercial copy of the character.”

High Court Asks Solicitor General for Views on Genius-Google Copyright Preemption Case — Eileen McDermott of IPWatchDog reports, “The U.S. Supreme Court today invited the Solicitor General’s views in a copyright case that asks the High Court to grant a petition on the question of whether the Copyright Act’s preemption clause allows a business ‘to invoke traditional state-law contract remedies to enforce a promise not to copy and use its content?'” The case involves Google’s copying of lyrics from famous lyrics site Genius, which does not own the copyright in any of the lyrics but which prohibits reproduction, distribution, and commercial use of the lyrics accessible on its site through its terms of service.

HSI Baltimore seizes 55 websites that violated copyrights by illegally live streaming World Cup matches — A press release from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week states, “HSI Baltimore reviewed numerous examples of infringing content accessible from each of the subject domain names. Each domain was associated with a website offering free access to copyrighted digital media content – specifically, live streamed sessions of World Cup soccer games. . . . Based on the pervasive use of advertising on each site, the investigation alleges that the purpose for distributing the infringing content is the private financial gain to these websites’ operators. By seizing the subject domain names, the government prevents third parties from acquiring the name and using it to commit additional crimes, or from continuing to access the websites in their present forms.”

Google’s Permanent Deindexing of Pirate Sites Spreads Across Europe — Andy Maxwell reports at TorrentFreak, “Google’s decision to completely deindex pirate sites from search results is spreading across Europe. Earlier this year the MPA admitted that around 10,000 domains had already been removed but today’s figure is likely to be much higher. Takedown notices on the Lumen Database and a report published in Lithuania cast additional light on a stealthy but massive piracy deindexing program.”

Inside the Copyright Office’s honors program for young lawyers — A recent episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temlin podcast featured an interview with Keyana Pusey, currently a Barbara Ringer fellow at the US Copyright Office, who discussed her experience working for the Office as part of the two year honors program. Listen to the episode or read a transcript at the link above. And as a reminder, the Copyright Office is currently accepting applications for the September 2023 Fellowship until December 31; interested attorneys in the initial stages of their career can find more information and application instructions here.

Friday’s Endnotes – 12/09/22

By , December 09, 2022.

With End-User License Agreements, Which Will Prevail: Copyright Rights or Contract Rights? — The Supreme Court is considering a cert petition in Genius v. Google in its conference today on the issue discussed in this article. We’ll find out Monday if they have decided to take the case.

Photographer Loses Plagiarism Case Against Artist Who ‘Ripped Off’ Her Work — “United States-based photographer Jinga Zhang brought the case to judges at a court in Luxembourg who found that Zhang’s original photo did not meet the criteria to fall under Luxembourgish or European copyright law. Fine art painter Jeff Dieschburg, who is from Luxembourg, was accused of copying one of Zhang’s photos, a situation which came to light after Dieschburg won the 11th Biennale of Contemporary Art award received 1,500 euros ($1,576). Zhang shot the original photo for Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam in 2017. The side-by-side comparison of the two images is striking, and Dieschburg admits that as a figurative painter, he needs reference materials.”

Benefits of the Copyright Office’s New Online Recordation System — “Earlier this year, the U.S. Copyright Office and the Library of Congress successfully launched the Copyright Office’s new online Recordation System, an important piece of the Office’s Enterprise Copyright System (ECS) modernization effort. Its launch marks the first part of the ECS that is now widely available to the public and the first time in the Office’s history that users are able to electronically record documents about transfers of copyright ownership.”

PRH Announces a Last Extension to Its Pandemic-Era Open-License Program — As Publishing Perspectives reports, Penguin Random House is making one additional extension to its open-license program for online story-time and classroom read-aloud videos and live events. The company also announced that it will replace the program when it ends with a new effort “to better serve students, educators, and librarians, keeping many of the elements and ease of requesting permission to record and share read-aloud and story time events.”

Advanced Pirate IPTV Blocks Proposed By Football Club-Owning Politician — “From an administration perspective, Italy’s site-blocking mechanisms are well developed. Domains are blocked every week and each process is officially recorded along with explanatory notes.”

Friday’s Endnotes – 12/02/22

By , December 02, 2022.

Find Architecture in Copyright — The US Copyright Office is currently running an exhibit titled “Find Yourself in Copyright.” In this blog post, learn more about the types of architectural works copyright protects by taking a closer look at architect I. M. Pei and his sketch for the National Gallery of Art’s East Building.

Canada’s Federal Court Grants NHL Pirate Streaming Blockade for 22/23 Season — “Bell, Rogers, and other copyright holders have obtained a new piracy-blocking order at Canada’s Federal Court. The ‘dynamic’ injunction requires Internet providers to block access to unauthorized IPTV streams during the current NHL season. It’s the second order of its kind and, if effective, it won’t be the last either.”

Africa Is Waiting for What You Promised, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey — In this NYT Opinion piece, Dr. Ifeoma Ajunwa writes, “The Silicon Valley mantra of ‘move fast and break things’ forcefully asserts that technological innovation does not have to play by the rules. It is a rhetoric of regulatory dodge, aimed at excusing tech companies from following laws meant to protect consumers. The export of Silicon Valley disrupter ideas may bode ill for developing nations where the rule of law is not yet strong enough to provide consumer protections.”

Michael Bynum Names New Defendants in Proposed Amended Complaint to 12th Man Copyright Lawsuit — “Bynum first filed suit in 2017 against Texas A&M and school officials, including Brad Marquardt, currently the Associate Director of Media Relations for Texas A&M’s Athletics Department. In September 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Bynum’s claims under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Allen v. Cooper, which found that the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act was an unconstitutional abrogation of state sovereignty for the purposes of holding state entities liable for copyright infringement…”

Friday’s Endnotes – 11/18/22

By , November 18, 2022.

Authors Guild Applauds Arrest, Indictment of Major E-Book Pirates — “According to court filings, the U.S. Department of Justice is charging Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud, and money laundering for operating the popular Z-Library pirate site. The pair was arrested on November 3 in Cordoba, Argentina at the request of U.S. authorities, just days after site’s highly trafficked domains were seized by the DOJ and blocked.”

US—Copyright Round-Up — Copyright expert Paul Goldstein highlights several recent US appellate decisions touching upon personal jurisdiction for online infringement, fair use, and copyright and AI.

Ninth Circuit Affirms Validity of Unicolors’ Copyright Registration on Remand, But H&M Scores Big on Remittitur Calculations — “On November 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P. following remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, which earlier this year clarified the knowledge standard required for invalidating copyright registrations based on inaccuracies in the registration application.”

‘Wild West’ of Generative AI Raises Novel Copyright Questions — “The rapid rise of artificial intelligence applications has left the burgeoning industry reckoning with how the powerful new technology interacts with copyright laws that govern everything from source code to art prints. The legal landscape is far from clear, with both the creators of AI tools and the artists who use them confronting copyright questions that haven’t yet been answered.”

Friday’s Endnotes – 11/11/22

By , November 11, 2022.

A North Carolina Filmmaker Continues to Challenge State Sovereign Immunity — Litigation in Allen v. Cooper did not end with the Supreme Court decision in March 2020 holding that Congress did not validly abrogate state sovereign immunity for copyright infringement claims. Learn more about the background of the case here and where things stand now.

Z-Library Aftermath Reveals The Feds Seized Dozens of Domain Names — Torrentfreak reports on the US action against the pirate book site here. According to the site, “All signs suggest that the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI are behind the action, a theory supported by an updated seizure banner. While Z-Library remains operational through the Tor network, new details show that more than a hundred domains were affected by the action, including the ‘GLOBAL Electronic library.'”

The lawsuit that could rewrite the rules of AI copyright — The Verge interviews the programmer and lawyers behind a class-action suit brought against Microsoft and GitHub alleging the company’s AI-powered programming assistant violates copyright law. Fascinating discussion.

‘Top Gun’ Copyright Lawsuit Survives Paramount’s Motion to Dismiss — Variety reports, “U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson held that there are enough similarities between the film and the 1983 magazine article upon which the original ‘Top Gun’ was based to allow the author’s heirs to pursue the lawsuit.”

« Older articles
Newer articles »