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Do website terms trump co…

Do website terms trump copyright law?

The US Supreme Court may need to decide whether the US Copyright Act preempts breach of contract claims arising from website terms of services. In a pending petition for a writ of certiorari, the question presented is Does the Copyright Act’s preem… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
NFT

Copyright and Patent Offices Call for Comments on NFTs

The US Copyright Office and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have announced that they will collaborate on a joint study of intellectual property (IP) issues related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This study was requested by Senators Patrick… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
Bored Apes, NFTs, and Cop…

Bored Apes, NFTs, and Copyright

As we’ve explained before, a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) isn’t a form of intellectual property. It’s not like a copyright, patent, or trademark. It’s closest to a form of receipt for a “unique” digital file. However, NFTs, since they involve… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
Birds on a purple background

Supreme Court Holds that Ignorance Can Excuse Inaccuracy in Copyright Registration

The US Supreme Court has held that lack of either legal or factual knowledge can excuse inaccuracy in copyright registration. In Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P., Unicolors owned copyrights in fabric designs. It sued H&M for… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
Supreme Court Takes on Wa…

Supreme Court Takes on Warhol Copyright Case

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal in one of the most important copyright cases in recent years. On March 25, the Court agreed to consider whether Andy Warhol’s “Prince Series” of prints, based on a 1981 photograph of the late mu… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
Dua LIpa singing on stage

Dua Lipa Sued for Alleged Copyright Infringement

Musical artist Dua Lipa has been sued twice in one week for alleged copyright infringement related to her 2020 single Levitating. The song was a hit, reaching number two on Billboards’ Hot 100. It was also reportedly the longest-running top-10 song… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
2021 Year in Review: Copyright Law

2021 Year in Review: Copyright Law

Here’s a look back at some of the significant copyright law developments in 2021. Google vs. Oracle The most important copyright decision of the year, which some have called the “copyright case of the decade,” was the US Supreme Court’s decis… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
Cloudflare Not Liable for…

Cloudflare Not Liable for Infringement by Sites That Use Its Services

A federal judge in California has ruled that Cloudflare, a cybersecurity company, isn’t liable for copyright infringement by websites that use its services. In 2018, Mon Cheri Bridals and Maggie Sottero Designs, two wedding dress manufacturers and… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
Disney and Creators Fight…

Disney and Creators Fight over Comic Book Copyrights

Disney is engaged in litigation with the owners and estates of creators of iconic comic book characters. The dispute involves a little-known part of US copyright law called “copyright termination.” As the US Copyright Office explains, The Copyrig… Read More
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Categories: Copyright
US Supreme Court Holds th…

US Supreme Court Holds that Copying Application Programming Interface (API) is Fair Use

The US Supreme Court has held that Google’s copying of an application programming interface (“API”) was fair use under copyright law. The case involved Java SE, a computer program in the Java programming language. Oracle owns the copyright for… Read More
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Categories: Copyright