• Posts Tagged ‘copyright registration’

    A Copyright Chicken and Egg Problem

    by  • March 6, 2023 • copyright • 0 Comments

    As told in the complaint, plaintiff Gail Taylor nee Bridges started her concert photography career in high school, with some of her photographs published in a 1975 high school yearbook. By 1980, she had at least 1000 photos of the most famous artists and bands of the era. She stored the photos at her...

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    Second and Ninth Circuits Split and Also Agree

    by  • May 18, 2020 • copyright • 1 Comment

    I have long disagreed with the Ninth Circuit on a standard that I think is unduly crabbed. I’m talking specifically about the cause of action, and therefore remedies available, when the obligations in an agreement that include a copyright license are not met. The courts are in agreement that the obligations can be put...

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    Condition or Covenant? The Answer

    by  • April 12, 2018 • copyright • 3 Comments

    I posed the question whether an overrun in a book printing was a breach of the copyright license granted for the use of photos in the book or just a breach of a covenant of the agreement. The court described the issue this way: According to Scholastic, “Corbis did not treat ongoing, high-volume...

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    A Good Opinion for Copyright Applicants

    by  • January 2, 2018 • copyright • 0 Comments

    “Rappers are skilled in poetry and rhythm—not necessarily in proper copyright registration procedures.” With that comment, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reverses a decision from the District Court for the Southern District of Florida that invalidated three copyright registrations for the same work and consequently dismissing the lawsuit. You can read...

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    Three Registrations, One Work: The Answer

    by  • April 29, 2016 • copyright • 2 Comments

    I previously posted about a copyright infringement suit with three registrations for the same work, brought by William L. Roberts aka Rick Ross, and Andrew Harr and Jermaine Jackson aka The Runners, alleging infringement of a musical work titled “Hustlin’.” I asked what happens on a motion for summary judgment on the questions “was...

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    Three Registrations, One Work: A Quiz

    by  • April 27, 2016 • copyright • 0 Comments

    (Explicit lyrics) We have a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by William L. Roberts, aka Rick Ross, and Andrew Harr and Jermaine Jackson, aka The Runners, alleging infringement of a musical work titled “Hustlin’.” In 2001, Roberts signed a recording agreement with Slip ‘N Slide Records (SNS), a name used interchangeably in agreements with First-N-Gold...

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    9th Circuit Agrees with Copyright Office

    by  • March 27, 2014 • copyright • 1 Comment

    There is a rash of lawsuits brought by photographic agencies against textbook publishers, claiming that the publishers underreported the number of copies of books that were published. The publishers are fighting back and there are two main grounds for attack—that the requirements for registration were not met and that the individual photographers’ assignments to...

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