LawUpdates.com - Copyright Law Updates

Commentary: Dream Games: Illegal Use of Copyrighted Work Does Not Preclude Damages for Infringement

2009-06-30T17:33:01+00:00

Expert Legal Commentary || By Olivier A. Taillieu and Jeffrey J. Zuber || In a case of first impression, the 9th Circuit held that illegal use or operation of a copyrighted work by the copyright owner does not preclude an award of statutory or actual damages for infringement. In Dream Games of Arizona, Inc. v. PC Onsite, 561 F.3d 983 (9th Cir. 2009),…

Bill Giving Copyright Protection to Fashion Design Reintroduced in Congress

2009-06-2T17:24:00+00:00

New Proposed Legislation || Design Piracy Prohibition Act || U.S. Representatives Williaml Delahunt (D-MA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) have introduced the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, bipartisan legislation which provides copyright protections to fashion designs.

House Holds Hearings on Performance Rights Act of 2009; Senate Re-Files Its Counterpart Bill

2009-05-28T22:27:00+00:00

New Proposed Legislation || Performance Rights Act || The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has conducted hearings on the Performance Rights Act (H.R. 848), a bill to require over-the-air radio broadcasters to pay performance rights royalties to performers and recording owners.

Commentary: AP v. All Headline News: Applying the “Hot News” Doctrine to the Internet

2009-05-20T18:02:06+00:00

Expert Legal Commentary || By Ryan Smith and Thomas F. Zuber || The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York refused to dismiss most of the counts of the plaintiff’s complaint. In so holding, the court in Associated Press v. All Headline News Corp., ___ F. Supp. 2d ___, 2009 WL 382690, No. 08 Civ. 323 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 17,…

Copyright Office Adopts Amendments to Regulations Governing Recordation of Notices of Termination of Transfers

2009-04-14T22:02:00+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations and Rules || Recordation of Notices of Termination of Transfers and Licenses || The Copyright Office is adopting amendments to its regulations governing the recordation of notices of termination and certain related provisions that would: 1) communicate the Office’s practices as to its receipt of notices of termination that are untimely; 2) clarify that recordation of a notice of termination by the Office…

Hatch, Baucus Legislation Seeks to Protect U.S. Intellectual Property Rights Abroad

2009-01-26T18:54:01+00:00

New Proposed Legislation || International Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement Act of 2008 || Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and senior panel member Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have unveiled legislation that will reduce the theft of U.S. intellectual property around the world -- including the piracy of American films, the counterfeiting of American-designed products and other violations of U.S. intellectual property rights…

New Law Facilitates Settlement on Internet Plays of Copyrighted Sound Recordings

2009-01-26T17:56:00+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations and Rules || Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 || About a month before he left the White House, then U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 (“WSA”).

House Refers to Judiciary Committee Bill to Protect Copyrighted, Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journal Articles

2009-01-16T13:53:00+00:00

New Proposed Legislation || Fair Copyright in Research Works Act || House Representative John Conyers, Jr. (MI) has filed a bill entitled 'Fair Copyright in Research Works Act’ that seeks to protect the rights of authors and publishers of copyrighted, peer-reviewed scientific journal articles.

U.S. President Signs into Law the PRO-IP Act of 2008

2009-01-16T13:15:00+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations and Rules || Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 || On October 13, 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (Pub. L. 110-403) (the "PRO-IP Act").

Commentary: Jacobsen v. Katzer: An Open Source License Is a Copyright License

2008-12-16T17:44:00+00:00

Expert Legal Commentary || By Katherine G. Eickmeyer || In an opinion seen as a major development in open source jurisprudence, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in Jacobsen v. Katzer, 535 F.3d 1373 (Fed. Cir. 2008), open source licenses create conditions on the scope of the license, and failure to comply with those conditions may…

Commentary: Cartoon Network v. CSC Holdings: Remote DVR Does Not Violate Copyright Protections Afforded to Television Program Copyright Holders

2008-09-18T19:51:01+00:00

Expert Legal Commentary || By Olivier A. Taillieu || In Cartoon Network v. CSC Holdings, 536 F.3d 121 (2nd Cir. 2008), the Second Circuit reversed a District Court’s ruling and determined that a remote-storage DVR service does not infringe on the reproduction and public performance rights of copyright holders. This significant holding, which will likely be referenced in a…

Commentary: Richlin v. MGM: Coauthor of Movie Treatment Does Not Automatically Own Movie Copyrights

2008-09-11T20:04:00+00:00

Expert Legal Commentary || By Olivier A. Taillieu || In Richlin v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, 531 F.3d 962 (9th Cir. 2008), the heirs of one coauthor of the treatment that served as the basis of “The Pink Panther” series of movies asserted an interest in the motion picture copyright. The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment…

Commentary: Derek Andrew v. Poof Apparel: No statutory damages available when copyright infringement begins pre-registration

2008-08-7T17:06:00+00:00

Expert Legal Commentary || By Olivier A. Taillieu || Under the Copyright Act, a registered copyright owner has the option to elect to recover either statutory damages or actual damages for infringement. Because actual damages are often difficult to prove, the option to elect statutory damages is extremely valuable. Section 412 of the Copyright Act, however, limits the option…

U.S. House Subcommittee Passes Bill to Provide Royalty Payments to Artists from Radio Broadcasters

2008-06-30T17:04:00+00:00

New Proposed Legislation || Performance Rights Act of 2007 ||

Copyright Office Amends Rules to Clarify When Interest on Late and Underpaid Royalty Fees Accrue

2008-05-27T16:48:00+00:00

New Statutes, Regulations and Rules || Late–Filed and Underpaid Royalties ||

Bill Moves Forward to Limit Remedies in Copyright Cases Involving Orphan Works

2008-05-27T16:33:00+00:00

New Proposed Legislation || Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 ||

Commentary: Litecubes v. Northern Lights Products: Extending the Extraterritorial Reach of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

2008-05-13T16:45:00+00:00

Expert Legal Commentary || By Olivier A. Taillieu || The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision in Litecubes LLC v. Northern Light Products clarified some critical elements of IP litigation jurisprudence. Litecubes LLC v. Northern Light Products, ___ F3d ___, 2008 WL 1848659 (C.A. Fed. (Mo.)) The Litecubes Court took the opportunity to clarify a few issues…

Performance Rights Act

2008-03-31T21:18:00+00:00