Obtaining Copyright Registrations for Blogs and Social Media Posts Just Got Easier

By

Online content creators including bloggers and social media influencers are now able to take advantage of a new group copyright registration option for short online works such as blog entries, social media posts, and other short online works. The Copyright Office recently adopted the rule implementing this new group registration to help ease the burden […]

IP Post-Brexit: What Does the “FEUture” hold?

By Julie L. Spieker

On December 12, the United Kingdom (UK) will hold a general election, in which Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to secure a clear majority so as not to lose the prospect of Brexit after failing to leave the European Union (EU) by the end of October as previously promised. Currently, Johnson enjoys a healthy lead […]

Halloween Edition: Copyright for Banana Costume is upheld on A-Peel

By

The Third Circuit recently held that a banana costume qualified for copyright protection as Rasta Imposta, a retail wholesaler of Halloween costumes, sued Kangaroo Manufacturing, a costume manufacturer, for copyright infringement, trade dress infringement, and unfair competition after Rasta discovered Kangaroo selling a banana costume that resembled one of Rasta’s costumes without a license. The […]

Can I Use This Song In My Podcast? It Depends.

By

According to Podcast Insights, there are currently over 660,000 podcasts in existence and over 28 million episodes available to listen to. This number is certainly growing as are the legal concerns and issues associated with hosting or producing a podcast. This article will provide some general guidelines and outline some of the rules around using […]

Rapper Sues the Makers of Fortnite Claiming Copyright Infringement of Dance Moves

By

Rapper 2 Milly has filed a copyright and right of publicity lawsuit against the makers of the Fortnite video game claiming that they are illegally using a dance move that he created in their wildly popular video game. The Brooklyn-based rapper, whose real name is Terrence Ferguson, alleges that Fortnite-maker Epic Games is misappropriating his dance […]

Music Modernization Act Signed Into Law

By

Earlier today, the Music Modernization Act (MMA) was signed into law. The MMA is a sweeping reform to music licensing and copyright related royalty payments and marks the first significant copyright legislation passed in decades. The House unanimously approved the bill in April followed by the Senate unanimously approving the legislation in September. The MMA […]

Copyright Office Proposes New Fee Schedule

By

The Copyright Office recently announced a new proposed fee schedule that would increase the majority of fees associated with filings at the Copyright Office. The proposal comes after an extensive assessment performed by consultants Booz Allen Hamilton. The proposed fee increase would help the Copyright Office offset regular costs, while also providing the Copyright Office […]

Federal Judge Rules Embedded Tweet Violated Copyright

By

In a surprising ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine B. Forrest, recently ruled that several news organizations and publishers violated a photographer’s copyright when they “embedded” a photo from Twitter on their websites without permission. Judge Forrest’s decision to grant the plaintiff’s motion for partial Summary Judgement is sure to be controversial and could prove […]

Music Publishing Company Sues Spotify for $1.6 Billion

By

Spotify has a growing copyright problem and as previously discussed on this blog (here and here) they are no stranger to copyright infringement lawsuits. Wixen Music Publishing Inc. recently filed a complaint seeking $1.6 billion in damages alleging copyright infringement. On December 29th, Wixen filed suit in California federal court claiming Spotify has repeatedly failed […]

Copyright Small Claims Bill Introduced

Copyright owners are one step closer to being able to pursue copyright infringement actions through a copyright small claims system. A new bipartisan House bill has introduced the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2017 (“CASE Act”). The CASE Act, H.R. 3945, was recently introduced by Congressional representatives to create a small claims court […]