copyright
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Copyright and Egyptian Law
Jay-Z’s win in a copyright infringement suit has been widely reported. Jay-Z obtained a license to use an Egyptian work written by Baligh Namdi called “Khosara, Khosara” in “Big Pimpin”: Namdi’s heir, Fahmy, sued Jay-Z claiming that “Big Pimpin” was an unlawful derivative work, infringing both the moral and economic rights in Khosara, Khosara. Moral… Continue reading
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Beware UGC
In a contest that requires a creative contribution, the contest sponsor will generally require that the participant assign the copyright in the contributed work. LittleMismatched did no differently, but it ran into some trouble because its target demographic is young girls. Mix children and contract and it gets a little trickier. The plaintiff, I.C., was… Continue reading
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Standing for Copyright Termination (Declaratory Judgment, That Is)
The Copyright Act allows for the termination of any copyright grants given. There are different statutory provisions for it* depending on the date of the original grant (before or after January 1, 1978), whether the author is still alive, and with somewhat different conditions for termination, but they can all be terminated. When the author… Continue reading
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The Copyright License As a Property Right
There are a slew of lawsuits against textbook publishers alleging use of stock photography beyond the scope of the original license (recursive link). Whether one characterizes it as massive intentional infringement, or a simple failure of the publishers to track their use and true-up on their licenses, it looks like it is a pervasive practice… Continue reading
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The Year Is the Key
I previously asked readers to “Name the Owner” of a copyrighted work. And the answer is: Urbont does not own the copyright* and the case is dismissed. The key is that the work was created in 1966, so whether the Iron Man Theme was a work for hire is decided under the Copyright Act of… Continue reading
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Name the Owner
Below are the facts, and here’s the question—who owns the copyright? Answer in a later post. In 1966, songwriter and plaintiff Jack Urbont was aspiring. A friend introduced him to Stan Lee of Marvel Comics fame who was developing a television show called “Marvel Super Heroes.” Urbont wasn’t familiar with the Marvel superheroes, so Marvel… Continue reading
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Assent Versus Signature
I asked whether the below “Submit” page, used when one posts a review on Rip-Off Report (owned by defendant Xcentric), transferred an exclusive license in the submitter’s copyright: If you were to use the scrollbar on the right, you would find this grant: “By posting information or content to any public area of www.RipoffReport.com, you… Continue reading
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Was It Licensed?
Below is a portion of the “Submit” page when one posts a review on Rip-Off Report, owned by defendant Xcentric. (Click on the image for the full page.) If you were to use the scrollbar on the right, you would find this grant: “By posting information or content to any public area of www.RipoffReport.com, you… Continue reading
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No, It Doesn’t
I previously asked whether the below check transferred copyright ownership: It doesn’t, at least not on a motion for summary judgment. If you can’t read it, on the memo line the check says “For rights to song ‘Dos Horas De Vida.” The check was written by defendant Hacienda Records to Jose Guzman, the songwriter of… Continue reading
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