Do you ever think that all pop songs sound the same? If you have, you might not be the only one who’s had that thought. Several musicians lately have sued better known musicians, claiming their success comes, at least in part, from stealing parts from older, lesser-known songs. Lately, the…
This month the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (“CASE Act”) was introduced in the Senate (S. 1273) by a number of Senators including Dick Durbin of Illinois and in the House (H.R. 2426) by Representatives Hakeem Jeffries and Doug Collins. The CASE Act seeks to provide individual…
A fan emailed MomoMilk LLC last fall, excited because she had heard they were opening a store in her home town of Chicago. But she was soon disappointed when she realized it was not the nationally recognized bakery that was coming to Chicago, but another company altogether taking advantage of…
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court hear arguments in a case that will decide the fate of a federal prohibition against granting trademark protection to immoral or scandalous material. The case Iancu v. Brunetti involves a lawsuit initiated by Los Angeles street artist Erik Brunetti who sought to challenge the…
Last month, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion resolving a long-standing circuit split concerning when a copyrighted work is considered “registered” for the purposes of initiating a copyright infringement lawsuit. The Supreme Court held that a lawsuit for copyright infringement can only be filed after the U.S.…
Two lawsuits brought by “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” actor Alfonso Ribeiro against Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite Battle Royale, and Take-Two Interactive Software, which makes NBA 2K, appear likely to end soon after Ribeiro suffered a setback when the U.S. Copyright Office denied copyright protection to the “Carlton”…
A manufacturer of systems that blend butane into gasoline prior to retail sale sued a competitor, accusing it of infringing on its patents. The competitor argued that the patents were invalid because the original inventors had sold their patented system to a third company more than a year before they…
If you’re going to claim that the use of certain content counts as fair use, you should probably know what “fair use” means. The fair use doctrine allows people limited use of copyrighted content without the need to get permission from the copyright holder first, but the law is specific…
Not all companies are sure how to apply their business practices to the Digital Age. Since most people running some of the larger, more established companies came of age in a pre-internet era, many of them are understandably stumped by what laws and rules apply to which online situations (although…
One of the biggest advantages to settling a lawsuit outside of court is that it removes the uncertainty of going to trial. The plaintiffs are sure to get some financial benefit, rather than risking it all at trial, and the defendants often pay a lower amount than they would have…