Posted: January, 2010 in Copyright & Trademarks
Conan O’Brien ends his reign as host of “The Tonight Show” this evening, but are his legal battles over as well?
Over the past few weeks, nearly everyone in the US has formed an opinion on NBC’s late-night programming shake-up. There has been a great deal of speculation regarding O’Brien’s legal options, entitlements and future plans.
Posted: April, 2001 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
The Copyright Office has recently issued a guide to registration of copyright in websites and other on-line works. This column will summarize the policies and procedures set forth in that document, Circular 66, available from the Copyright Office website at http://www.loc.gov/copyright.
Even when stored exclusively as computer code, websites are not usually considered [...]
Posted: December, 2000 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
Despite the 1998 passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which greatly limits the scope of contributory liability in cyberspace, the recent decision by the District of Utah in Intellectual Reserve Inc. v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry 1clearly illustrates that the courts are ultimately responsible for defining contributory infringement. The case also demonstrates [...]
Read More of Contributory Infringement on the Web Just Got Easier Here
Posted: December, 2000 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
Messenger v. Gruner + Jahr Printing & Publishing , a February 17 decision by the New York Court of Appeals, has added a new wrinkle to New York’s statutory “right of publicity,” making life much easier for publishers and much tougher for plaintiffs under §§ 50-51 of the state’s Civil Rights law. [...]
Read More of New Wrinkle in New York’s Right Of Publicity Here
Posted: December, 2000 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
While the headlines have been filled with Napster news and predictions of dire consequences for the entertainment industry, a little-heralded case in the Central District of California has resulted in a decision which could prove equally fateful for professional photographers. Brod v. General Publishing Group, Inc., No. CV 98-9520 (DUP), decided February [...]
Read More of Joint Authorship for Photographs – A Step Backward Here
Posted: December, 2000 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
Mark your calendar: January 1, 2003. On that fateful day, untold billions of works now subject to copyright protection will go into the public domain simultaneously, and unless you act now, some of your clients’ works may inadvertently be among them. Under § 303 of the 1976 Copyright Act, works created before [...]
Read More of Publish or Perish: Clock Is Ticking For Unpublished Works Here
Posted: December, 2000 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
By the time you read this column, the U.S. Supreme Court will probably have decided two non-copyright cases which could have significant ramifications for copyright owners. These cases, Nos. 98-531 and 98-149, (collectively “College Savings Bank v. Florida“) raise the seldom-explored issue of sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment, i.e., whether and [...]
Read More of Sovereign Immunity – It’s Everybody’s Problem Here
Posted: December, 2000 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
Two recent copyright cases raise a fascinating and seldom-explored remedy issue: to what extent can a court’s injunctive power reach beyond the four corners of the defendant’s infringing work? Injunctions commonly extend to the destruction or impoundment of the means of making infringing articles (e.g., printing plates, molds, silkscreens), but can a [...]
Posted: December, 2000 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
Two relatively low-profile Web disputes in the Central District of California have recently generated published opinions, quietly creating precedents which may impact the development of IP law on the Web for years to come. In case you missed them:
Framing = Preparing Derivative Work
One of the most fully-litigated Web cases to date, Futuredontics, [...]
Read More of Linking and Framing: The Courts Have Spoken (Sort of) Here
Posted: December, 2000 in Copyright & Trademarks
by Robert W. Clarida
A few months ago, Bruce Springsteen made headlines by performing a new song he had written concerning the tragic shooting of unarmed immigrant Amadou Diallo by New York City police officers. Journalists around the country ran serious commentary about the song in print, broadcast and on-line media. Some of the print coverage [...]
