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 [...]
Tag Archives: Copyright Infringement
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 [...]
Admissions of “Appropriation Artist” Not Fatal to Copyright Fair Use Defense
The first prong of the fair use defense in copyright infringement cases, the “purpose and character of the use,” is often described as an inquiry into whether the allegedly infringing work is “transformative.” In other words, does the allegedly infringing work add something new, thus altering the message of the original, or does it essentially just [...]
Viacom’s Copyright Suit against YouTube Again Faces DMCA Roadblocks in the District Court
Following the Second Circuit’s remand order last year on appeal of an initial grant of summary judgment for YouTube, the Southern District of New York has revisited the issues in Viacom’s copyright infringement suit and again found that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) shields YouTube from liability for infringing video clips posted by [...]
A Private Matter: Second Circuit Rules that Aereo’s TV Streaming Service is Not an Infringing Public Performance
In an industry where technology is constantly evolving and racing to keep up with consumer habits, a recent court ruling came down to one basic component: antennas. Last Monday the Second Circuit ruled in favor of Aereo, Inc., a television streaming service, in a lawsuit filed by a consortium of network broadcasters who argued that [...]
Copyright Owners Left Legally Jet Lagged? – The Supreme Court Embraces the International Exhaustion Doctrine
A multi-year legal drama over the proper scope of certain sections of the U.S. Copyright Act, as applied to goods made and first sold outside the United States, has finally come to an end. In a 6-3 decision issued yesterday, with dissents from Justices Ginsburg, Kennedy, and Scalia (strange bedfellows in many regards, judicially speaking), [...]