copyright
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The Value of Recording
A company assigned the same copyright in a film to two different companies. Who owns it? The film is Italian classic La Dolce Vita: The parties agree that a a company called Cinemat S.A. was the owner of the copyright, by assignment from original producer Riama Films S.p.A. The problem arises with the next link,… Continue reading
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You Have to Own the Copyright
Short and sweet: after seven years of litigation, partial summary judgment, and an award against the defendant for $100,000, the court vacated it all because, a year after the award, the defendant’s new lawyer noticed the plaintiff didn’t actually own the copyrights, its subsidiaries did. In light of the recently unearthed determination that Plaintiff lacks… Continue reading
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A Work Made for Hire Agreement is Not an Assignment
By now you’ve probably heard that Gary Friedrich’s claim of ownership of the copyright in the “Ghost Rider” Marvel Comics character has been given a second life. While the district court held that his copyright was assigned to Marvel Comics, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed. It’s a decision that keeps on… Continue reading
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You Need a No-Contest Clause in Your Copyright Licenses
I recently wrote about a number of cases brought by photography agencies against Pearson Education, alleging that it exceeded the scope of copyright licenses. This led me to ponder the application of the licensee estoppel defense in copyright. Licensee estoppel prohibits a licensee from challenging the validity of the rights licensed. Patents have a clear… Continue reading
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Another Copyright Troll Learns a Lesson on Standing
I don’t normally write about what some might characterize as “copyright trolls,” others cover it well enough. You know the story, though, a company is set up solely to do copyright enforcement and starts suing masses of people. The problem is that copyright law does not permit the assignment of a cause of action; the… Continue reading
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What You Can’t Put on a Copyright Registration — UPDATED
Ruh-roh, I think a court went off the rails. I don’t have a good feeling about this. The case is, in part, about infringement of copyright. As you know, one cannot bring suit for infringement of a U.S. copyright unless the copyright is registered. 17 U.S.C. § 411. But it gets a little confusing with… Continue reading
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How to Do an E-Signature Right
For a two-week period of time, from July 16, 2012 through August 8, 2012, Craigslist presented users with the following statement when submitting a post: Clicking “Continue” confirms that craigslist is the exclusive licensee of this content, with the exclusive right to enforce copyrights against anyone copying, republishing, distributing or preparing derivative works without its… Continue reading
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Copyright and Divorce
I recently wrote about a little-used (or so I thought) section of the Copyright Act, Section 201(e). It is a quirky little section that prohibits involuntary government transfer of copyright in certain cases: Involuntary Transfer.— When an individual author’s ownership of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, has not… Continue reading
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The Benefit of the Bargain
We routinely include arbitration provisions in agreements and I often wonder whether an arbitration is really any easier or cheaper than litigation. But what I didn’t realize before was how much latitude arbitrators have in what they can award, including, in this case, reforming the contract to grant a license far beyond what either party… Continue reading
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Threatening Those Who Create the Rights
Go read this story: “Firefly Hat Triggers Corporate Crackdown.” It’s a situation that is just so misguided. I’ll note that I’m taking the facts in the article as true; perhaps, as is often the case, there is more to the story. But the article tells the story of a hat, this hat: Continue reading
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