Posts in Copyright Litigation
U.S. and EU Copyright Law Developments Reviewed at INTA Annual Meeting
Last week, during the International Trademark Association's (INTA's) all-virtual 2020 Annual Meeting & Leadership Meeting, panelists Naomi Jane Gray, Axel Nordemann and Catherine Zaller Rowland discussed perspectives in Copyright …
Copyright for Choreography: When is Copying a Dance a Copyright Violation?
Recent news reports about choreographer JaQuel Knight’s efforts to copyright some of his iconic dance routines, such as Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” are a reminder that …
Skidmore Seeks a Second Chance at SCOTUS in Led Zeppelin Copyright Case
On October 30, Michael Skidmore, Trustee for the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust, filed a petition for rehearing of the denial of its August 6 petition for writ of certiorari …
Google v. Oracle: The High Court Holds the Future of IP in Its Hands
In what many regard as the intellectual property case of the century, the United States Supreme Court has—on October 7, 2020—presided over oral arguments in Google v. …
Justices Look for Reassurance That the Sky Won’t Fall When They Rule in Google v. Oracle
Google and Oracle each got to have their say in U.S. Supreme Court today, when eight justices heard oral argument in the closely-watched battle between the …
California Court’s Finding of Fair Use for Nicki Minaj Affirms Public Benefit of Artistic Experimentation
In a ruling earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips of the Central District of California granted partial summary judgment in favor of Onika …
Google’s Fair Use Shell Game
Google has admitted it copied over 11,000 lines of Oracle’s creative Java code to build its Android smartphone platform, that it makes commercial use of the code …
Ninth Circuit Holds that Jersey Boys Did Not Infringe ‘Protected Expressive Elements’ of Autobiographical Book
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a decision on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of …
Google: An Oracle of Wisdom in its Fascinating Submission to the European Commission
On June 2, the European Commission launched a far-reaching consultation as part of its examination of a forthcoming Digital Services Act (DSA), aimed at identifying areas where new …
‘Merger’ and Acquisition: Google’s Copyright Contortion to Excuse Copying
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument on October 7 from Oracle and Google in their long-running Java intellectual property case. The questions raised in Google …
Eighth Circuit Affirms Holding That Disclosure of Source Code Was Authorized Under the Parties’ Agreement
On August 14, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a district court decision in MPAY Inc. v. …
Will the Supreme Court Provide the Fair Use Clarity that IP Law Needs?
On July 30, IP Watchdog Editor-in-Chief Eileen McDermott reported that, as part of its series on a 1990s copyright modernization bill known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, …
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Copyright Infringement Claim Against Disney’s Inside Out Movie
On August 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Masterson v. Walt Disney Company, affirmed a district court’s dismissal of Carla Masterson’…
Google v. Oracle Perspective: Google’s Android ‘Cheat Code’ was to Copy Oracle’s Code
In two months, the Supreme Court will hear the oral argument in the long-running Google v. Oracle software copyright case. At issue is the availability of copyright …
Request for Amici: Tell SCOTUS to Incentivize Original Fictional Characters through Copyright
Some fictional characters are heroes; others are villains. Some mimic reality and others personify fantasy. And some appear in comic books and video games, while others in …
