copyright
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A Postscript on Damages
Photo by Kevin Burkett. Licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0 Frank Gaylord was the artist who created the figures that are part of the Korean War Veterans Memorial. A photograph of the figures in the snow was used on a postage stamp. In 2006 Frank Gaylord sued in the Court of Claims, lost, appealed, and then won… Continue reading
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Yankees Sued Over Ownership of Logo
There’s an interesting, albeit quixotic, complaint against the Yankees over the ownership of its “top hat” logo: Plaintiff Tanit Buday claims that her uncle, Kenneth Timur, designed the logo for the Yankees in 1936 but was not compensated for the design. In 1947 he modified the logo design in preparation for the 50-year anniversary of… Continue reading
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MGA Entertainment Wins Bratz! (For Now)
Image from Counterfeit Chic “Staggering blow.”“Major reversal.”“Plastic cat fight of epic proportions.” “Astonishing loss.” It just doesn’t get more dramatic than this. In the everlasting dispute over ownership of the Bratz doll franchise, Mattel’s original $100 million verdict in the first trial is gone. Now Mattel gets a paltry $10,000 on an intentional interference claim… Continue reading
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Missing the Question
Sometimes decisions seem expedient instead of right, albeit perhaps no harm, no foul. VocalSpace, LLC v. Lorenso is one of those decisions. Defendant Daniel Lorenso is a software developer and former employee of plaintiff VocalSpace, a company that designs web-based internet marketing and streaming media systems. VocalSpace claimed that Lorenso “stole” VocalSpace’s source code and… Continue reading
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Bringing a Copyright Suit Is Not as Easy as It Looks
Here’s an exercise in frustration that killed a copyright infringement lawsuit twice: 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 – Plaintiff Kunkel creates copyrightable works. November 2001 – Kunkel files bankruptcy. Does not list copyrights as part of estate.February, 2003 – Kunkel files copyright applications for works created pre-bankruptcy in his own name.March, 2006 – Bankruptcy… Continue reading
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Revoking an Implied Nonexclusive Copyright License
Jason Waggoner developed a software program in the 1990s. Later, he and two other shareholders created a company called Nearstar, Inc., which distributed “Dataserver” software which was based almost entirely on Waggoner’s software. Nearstar distributed the software for nine years, including versions 3.2, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 6.2. Waggoner admitted that he granted Nearstar permission… Continue reading
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Who Knows Who Owns Betty Boop
You’d think the recent 9th Circuit decision about Betty Boop would be right up my alley. But really, I’m mostly just mystified by it. It doesn’t add anything to current copyright jurisprudence and takes a decidedly orthogonal direction on current trademark law. The facts that the Court of Appeals cares to discuss are fairly simple.… Continue reading
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Do-Over on the Writing Requirement
Such a short decision, and so many things to think about. We last visited Vergara Hermosilla v. The Coca-Cola Company after a motion for preliminary injunction had been granted in Vergara’s favor. Vergara did a Spanish translation of lyrics for a video for Coca-Cola, but there was a misunderstanding and/or screw up which meant that… Continue reading
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A Garden is Not Copyrightable
The Clannco Art+Law blog gives us a thorough summary of a Visual Artists Rights Act case out of the 7th Circuit. The court, clearly troubled by the fact that most everyone would consider the work in question a “garden,” held that the work was neither “authored” nor “fixed” in the senses required for copyright.… Continue reading
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