11 Nov, 2024 Can You Avoid Copyright Claims By Modifying Props Used in Your Ads? By Brian Murphy In Crystal Castles, the arcade game released by Atari in 1983, the player controls Bentley Bear, a bruin tasked with collecting gems...
16 Aug, 2024 Predictably, an Oral License to Use Beat Track in Song Results in Copyright Infringement Case By Brian Murphy Plaintiff Brian White is a professional musician who writes and records beat tracks that he sometimes licenses to other artists. (We Got...
18 Jul, 2024 NY Federal Court Says “Neigh” to Plaintiff’s Copyright Claim Against Megan Thee Stallion By Marc Rachman Danielle Zolot The well-known rapper, musician and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion recently saddled up and successfully defeated a copyright infringement...
27 Nov, 2023 The Copyright Crackdown Continues: Sony Music Sues Cosmetics Brand Over Social Media Videos By Sara Edelman Gia Wakil Halloween is supposed to be spooky, but this year, Ofra Cosmetics got quite the fright. On October 31, Sony Music Entertainment sued Ofra...
13 Nov, 2023 The Generative AI Journey Continues By Brian Murphy When it comes to tech powered by generative AI, we are on the verge of a Cambrian Explosion, a period during which we can expect an...
27 Oct, 2023 Court Revises Opinion in Kat Von D Tattoo Case in Wake of Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith By Brian Murphy Tattoos and fair use. Again. (See this post from last month.) The plaintiff Jeffrey Sedlik is a photographer who took (and owns the...
20 Oct, 2023 Advertiser That Tells Its Agency to "Recreate" a Competitor's Video (But Make it Better) Liable for Copyright Infringement By Brian Murphy Door-to-door storage services deliver packing crates to your house and pick them up once they are filled up. It is, apparently, a...
10 Oct, 2023 Photographer Cannot Recover Profits Based on the Use of Infringing Image in Advertising By Brian Murphy An advertiser includes an infringing image in an advertising campaign. (It has been known to happen.) The copyright owner sues, seeking...
24 Aug, 2023 Car Dealer Shared Viral Video of Truck in Tornado ... and Then Got Sued for Infringement By Brian Murphy This case is about what can happen when an advertiser (here, a Chevy dealer) modifies and then shares on Facebook a viral video (showing...
22 Aug, 2023 Is a Cartoon Baby Entitled to Thick or Thin Copyright Protection? By Brian Murphy The plaintiffs (Moonbug) own the popular kids YouTube channel CoComelon. Moonbug’s videos have garnered more than 165 billion (with a...
23 Feb, 2023 Can You Copyright Ad Slogans and Short Phrases? By Brian Murphy In 2008, defendants Make Ideas, LLC and its founder Keith Mullin created the “Breathe Right Ball," a ball designed with holes to allow...
03 Jan, 2023 Exercise Choreography and Alleged Betrayal: Tracy Anderson vs. Megan Roup By Brian Murphy Tracy Anderson, the self-described “fitness pioneer,” developed the Tracy Anderson Method (“TA Method”), a series of exercise routines...
12 Dec, 2022 Buzzfeed's Publication of Influencer's Motorcycle Accident Pics is a Fair Use By Brian Murphy Tiffany Mitchell (@tifforeli), an influencer who currently has just under 200,000 followers on Instagram, likes to ride a beemer....
17 Nov, 2022 Copyright, Clearances and Concert Recordings: ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Sagan By Brian Murphy Bill Graham was one of the great concert promoters of the twentieth century. During a career that spanned from the late 1960s until his...
18 May, 2022 Hopelessly Devoted to Fair Use: District Court Holds that Vape is Parody of Grease By Brian Murphy Sketchworks Comedy is the producer of Vape, a play advertised as a "millennial parody" of Grease. (You can watch Vape's trailer here.)...
06 Feb, 2022 The Eleventh Circuit's Melodramatic (?) Copyright License Interpretation (About a Telenovela!) By Brian Murphy El Señor de los Cielosthe plot summary, to be my kind of fare. The series tells the story of Aurelio Casillas, a drug lord who has la...