Mealey's Copyright
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September 16, 2024
Judge: Trump Liable For Infringing Use Of ‘Electric Avenue’ In Campaign Video
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Sept. 13 granted singer Eddy Grant’s partial motion for partial summary judgment against former President Donald J. Trump and his re-election campaign, holding that the singer adequately showed that Trump’s use of Grant’s song “Electric Avenue” in a video on Twitter does not constitute fair use; the judge also denied a motion for partial summary judgment from the Trump team.
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September 12, 2024
Federal Judge Enjoins Trump Campaign From Further Uses Of Soul Song
ATLANTA — A federal judge in Georgia on Sept. 11 partially granted a motion from the estate of a songwriter and the company that manages his works to bar former President Donald J. Trump and associated entities from using a soul tune from the 1960s at future campaign appearances, but the judge held that the estate and the company are not harmed by videos of the song being used at past campaign stops.
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September 12, 2024
Judge Won’t Bar Nonprofit From Using Contested Trademark In Economic Report
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California denied a plaintiff nonprofit organization’s bid for a temporary restraining order against another nonprofit organization, saying “there are significant questions regarding ownership” of the trademark LATINO GDP, which the plaintiff organization claims to own.
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September 12, 2024
11th Circuit: Marvel Did Not Infringe On Artist’s Hero Design
ATLANTA — For the second time, a panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Georgia federal judge’s dismissal of a copyright infringement suit brought by a comic book artist against Marvel Entertainment and its parent the Walt Disney Co., holding that the artist failed to show how designs of two Marvel characters themed around birds infringe upon his owl-themed superhero.
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September 11, 2024
AI Copyright Plaintiffs Oppose Midjourney’s Request For Trade Dress Clarification
SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs in an artificial intelligence image copyright suit told a court its ruling on several motions to dismiss already rejected AI creator Midjourney Inc.’s arguments, leaving nothing to address in the company’s motion for the court to clarify what “concrete elements” are in the plaintiffs’ trade dress.
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September 11, 2024
11th Circuit: Real Estate Company Not ‘Prevailing Party’ In Copyright Case
ATLANTA — A Florida federal judge was correct to deny attorney fees to a real estate company accused by a photography company of infringing a photo’s copyright, a panel of judges in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held in an unpublished opinion, saying that the real estate firm is not the “prevailing party” as defined by the Copyright Act because the photography studio voluntarily dismissed its claims.
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September 09, 2024
2nd Circuit: Internet Archive’s Book Lending Infringed On Copyrights
NEW YORK — The Internet Archive (IA) did not have the right to engage in a process it called “controlled digital lending” in which it digitized books and loaned them to individuals online, a panel of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, affirming a New York federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of several publishers.
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August 30, 2024
7th Circuit: No Enforceable Contract To Support Company’s Securities Claims
CHICAGO — A panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that an Illinois federal judge was correct to dismiss claims of securities fraud and other claims brought by a company against a software startup, holding that the plaintiff company failed to show that an enforceable agreement regarding an exchange of ownership interest for an investment existed.
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August 29, 2024
9th Circuit Affirms Arbitrator Award In Copyright Fight Over Video Game Cheats
SAN FRANCISCO — A Washington federal judge did not err by approving an arbitrator’s award of nearly $4.4 million against the creator of a video game cheating software on copyright claims brought by the developer of a game, a panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, finding that the arbitrator committed no errors in litigating the case.
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August 29, 2024
AI Copyright Suit Should Stay In Delaware, Getty Images Argues
WILMINGTON, Del. — An artificial intelligence image copyright lawsuit lacks any connection to the defendants’ preferred forum of California, and in the event the suit is sent out west, plaintiff Getty Images [US] Inc. would oppose consolidation with pending litigation, rendering any potential efficiencies “illusory,” Getty says in a brief in opposition to a renewed motion to transfer filed in Delaware federal court.
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August 29, 2024
5th Circuit: Judge Erred On Trade Secret Claims, But Not Copyright Claims
NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Louisiana federal judge was correct to issue a final judgment in favor of a plaintiff technology security company on copyright infringement claims it brought against a former distribution partner, but the panel also found that the judge was incorrect to issue a judgment in favor of the plaintiff on trade secrets claims.
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August 27, 2024
Majority Affirms Judgment For Insured In Copyright Infringement Coverage Suit
CINCINNATI — A majority of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s $36,923,844.50 judgment in favor of an insured in a coverage dispute over underlying copyright infringement claims brought by record companies, rejecting the insurer’s argument that certain exclusions in the Internet and network security insurance policy barred coverage.
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August 26, 2024
Federal Judge: Rap Group Owed Royalties In Contract, Copyright Dispute Over Song
NEW YORK — A music publisher must pay royalties to a hip-hop group that created a 1986 hit single despite the label’s concern that the song infringed the theme song of the long-running television show “Dragnet,” a federal judge in New York ruled, granting a motion for summary judgment from the musical group and denying a motion for summary judgment from the label.
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August 26, 2024
Federal Judge: Artist’s Trademark, Copyright Claims Against Amazon Largely Survive
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal judge in California partly denied a motion from Amazon.com Inc. to dismiss a complaint brought against it by an artist, holding that the artist adequately established that the defendant infringed upon his trademarks by selling counterfeited works, but noted that the artist conceded that he failed to establish other elements of his claims.
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August 23, 2024
Magistrate Judge: Office Depot Owed Some Fees In Copyright, Contract Dispute
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal magistrate judge in Florida said that Office Depot Inc. should recover just under $1 million in attorney fees from a software development company that accused the retailer of copyright misappropriation through its use of a database created by the developer after a federal judge previously held that a licensing agreement between the two companies allowed Office Depot’s use of the database.
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August 22, 2024
Record Labels, ISP Both Complain Of 4th Circuit’s Copyright Holding To High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In dueling petitions for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, a group of record labels and music publishers say the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly vacated a $1 billion award for vicarious copyright infringement by an internet service provider (ISP), while the ISP argues the Fourth Circuit erred in finding it is liable for contributory infringement.
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August 21, 2024
Anthropic Faces 1st AI Copyright Suit From Authors
SAN FRANCISCO — Three authors filed a class action against Anthropic PBC in a California federal court claiming that the company’s business model consists of “largescale theft” of “hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books” so that it can train its artificial intelligence.
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August 20, 2024
7th Circuit: Extortionist Failed To Show Ownership Over Celebrity Photos
CHICAGO — A panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed an Illinois federal judge’s dismissal of a copyright claim brought by a former actor and convicted extortionist against multiple news outlets, agreeing that the man failed to show that he had copyright ownership of photographs of him appearing with multiple celebrities published by the outlets after his arrest.
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August 20, 2024
2nd Circuit: No Exception To Copyright Act Limitations Statute’s Discovery Rule
NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a New York federal judge’s finding that a photography studio’s copyright claims were time-barred, saying the judge incorrectly held that an exception to the “discovery rule” precludes “sophisticated plaintiffs” from bringing a copyright claim three years after the discovery of the alleged infringement.
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August 19, 2024
11th Circuit Rejects Artist’s Copyright Claims For Banana Piece
ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 16 affirmed a Florida federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an artist who saw online virality after duct taping a banana to a wall at a Miami art fair, agreeing with the judge that another artist failed to show how the work infringed on his own art piece also involving a banana duct taped to a wall from nearly two decades earlier.
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August 16, 2024
9th Circuit Reverses Finding Of No Jurisdiction In Sumo Wrestling Copyright Fight
SAN FRANCISCO — A partially split panel of judges in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals partially reversed a California federal judge’s decision to dismiss a copyright infringement dispute between two broadcasting companies over a sumo wrestling competition because the alleged infringement occurred entirely in Japan; the panel majority held that the plaintiff company could conceivably show the circumvention of copyright law occurred domestically.
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August 15, 2024
News Outlets Say Stable Diffusion AI Ruling Supports Copyright Case
NEW YORK — A ruling allowing induced copyright infringement claims and finding Stable Diffusion artificial intelligence itself an infringing work applies to contributory infringement claims alleging that ChatGPT memorized works and will output “near-verbatim” replicas, news outlets argue in an Aug. 14 notice of supplemental authority.
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August 15, 2024
Guitar Seller Says 1st Circuit Wrongly Ordered New Trial In Copyright Case
BOSTON — A guitar seller who was accused of copyright infringement by a guitar manufacturer that said it used a copyrighted photo of guitar headstocks on its website filed a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc after a First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ordered a new trial in a New Hampshire federal court, arguing that the panel widened a circuit split over what standard a court can use to determine the relationship between alleged infringement and subsequent revenue.
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August 15, 2024
Judge Says Some AI Copyright Claims Survive In Visual Arts Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — An amended complaint permissibly adds claims and defendants, and while some of those claims are unsuccessful, copyright claims against DeviantArt, Stability AI Ltd. and others survive, thanks in part to new allegations of improper copying of works to train artificial intelligence, a federal judge in California said in partially granting motions to dismiss.
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August 14, 2024
5th Circuit Issues Updated Opinion In Copyright Row Over Canadian Legal Codes
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a new version of a July opinion in which it reversed a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment against a publisher accused by a Canadian developer of legal codes and standards of illegally republishing complete versions of the code because the code is effectively uncopyrightable “law” in Canada, removing a reference to the developer referring to itself as a government agency.