In a case of first impression at the appellate level, the First Circuit recently issued a decision highlighting that U.S. copyright law authorizes implied, not merely express, sublicenses of copyrighted works. Photographic Illustrators Corporation v. Orgill, Inc., Case No. 19-452 (1st Cir. Mar. 13, 2020)….
In a case where the subject matter (copyrights relating to footage of a salvaged pirate ship) is arguably more intriguing than the question presented, the Supreme Court held that a section of the Copyright Act allowing copyright lawsuits against States is unconstitutional. Under the statute in…
We have previously written several posts about this copyright dispute over the signature opening guitar riff in the classic Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven.” You may recall, the estate of musician Randy Craig Wolfe, guitarist for the band Spirit, which reached some popularity in…
In our prior post, we introduced the controversy at the center of “the copyright lawsuit of the decade” between Google and Oracle. Since then, both parties and 61 amici have submitted their briefs to the Supreme Court. This post focuses on the first question before…
In the past few years, retrogaming – collecting and playing video games from past generation consoles – has become incredibly popular. However, retrogaming raises some interesting copyright issues for both IP owners and gamers. One such issue is the gaming world concept of “abandonware.” This…
In an apparent win for musicians seeking to sample other’s works, on February 3, 2020, the Second Circuit declined to revive a copyright lawsuit against hip-hop musician Drake for his sampling of a 1980s spoken-word jazz recording, allowing the district court’s ruling to stand. Back…
Gigi Hadid’s done it, P. Diddy’s done it and now Kim Kardashian. Like any good social media influencer, Kim Kardashian posts photos of herself on her Instagram account. Back in October of 2018, she posted a rare picture of her husband, Kayne West, smiling with…
2019 brought many changes for fitness companies compiling the perfect playlist for group workout classes, especially for at-home virtual classes. Peloton’s most popular product is an indoor bicycle with live streaming and on-demand classes. Music is a key aspect of Peloton’s business because, unsurprisingly, users…
In the music world, performance rights organizations (“PROs”) serve an intermediary function between songwriters and music publishers and third parties who perform the protected works publicly. Among the largest PROs in the United States are the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), Broadcast…
On November 15, 2019, the Supreme Court granted cert in Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc. For many observers, this was a long time coming; the parties have been litigating the underlying case since August 2010, and from its inception Google v. Oracle has been…
Jeffrey CadwellJeff advises clients on the availability, registrability, and stre...
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