Approximately a year ago, Judge Orinda Evans of the Federal District Court for Northern Georgia held that the electronic reserves practices of the library at Georgia State University (“GSU”) were, for the most part, fair use and not copyright infringement. While some were surprised by the liberal breadth of the court’s interpretation and application of the fair use doctrine,… More
Monthly Archives: May 2013
Another Blow Is Struck Against Monetization of Copyright Enforcement Claims
In a decision issued earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit held that the right to bring copyright claims cannot be transferred without an accompanying transfer of copyright ownership itself.
The ruling came in consolidated cases which had been brought in the District of Nevada by Righthaven, LLC, an entity which had been founded for the purpose of receiving assignments of the ability to enforce copyrights. … More
Copyright Law Reform Engages Both Courts and Congress
Big changes may be afoot in copyright law these days, via both litigation and legislation. Courts are considering sweeping infringement claims with potentially far-reaching implications, and Congress is beginning the process of a massive overhaul of copyright statutes. We provide here a brief rundown of some recent developments.
Authors Guild v. Google
As we have reported previously, the Authors Guild and representative individual authors have been waging a long-running battle in the Southern District of New York against Google’s GoogleBooks project,… More
Lady Gaga: She’s No (Copyright) Monster
The federal district court in New Jersey has dismissed Stefani Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga, from a copyright lawsuit filed by composer and record producer Calvin Gaines. Mr. Gaines alleged in his complaint that his writing and producing partner, Rob Fusari, proved to be something of a Judas by betraying their longstanding collaborative relationship. According to Gaines, he and Fusari composed the music and produced the master recordings for several Lady Gaga tracks,… More
FiberCore Case Illustrates Ownership and Transferability of “Shop Rights” to Patented Inventions
An employer may have rights in a patent on its employee’s invention in three situations:
(1) if there is an express agreement to assign or license the patent to the employer,
(2) if the employee was “hired to invent” and the employer can show an implied contract to assign the patent rights in the invention, or
(3) if there was no express or implied agreement but the employee used the employer’s facilities to conceive of the invention. … More
Spider-Man Lives to Web-Sling (and Sing) Another Day Following Settlement of Copyright Suit
After infamously departing (i.e., being fired) from the nascent production of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, acclaimed stage and screen director Julie Taymor filed suit against the show’s producers. As discussed previously on this blog, Taymor brought claims for breach of contract as well as copyright infringement. The stakes were high. Had Taymor succeeded in her suit, she might have been in a position to bar further productions and adaptations of the show,… More