Suit claims artist’s distinctive style was copied in Apple marketing campaign

Artist Romero Britto claims in a lawsuit that Apple and the graphic designers copied his pop art style for its “Start Something New” ad campaign. The suit (PDF), filed April 6 in Miami federal court, says the art used in the campaign was so similar to his that he received…

Apr 16, 2015 6:45 AM CDT

Amazon sues over claimed fake reviews posted on its site

An Amazon lawsuit says three websites and a California man are free-riding on the Internet retail giant’s name–and hurting sellers and consumers–by posting fake product reviews on Amazon.com. The suit accuses the defendants of violating consumer and intellectual property laws by using domain names that are confusingly similar to Amazon’s…

Apr 9, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Stock characters and stories borrowed from popular sitcom don’t amount to copyright infringement

An off-Broadway play that seems to be inspired by the ABC sitcom Three’s Company does not infringe on the popular show’s copyright, a New York federal judge ruled earlier this week. The Southern District of New York action was brought by playwright David Adjmi, the New York Times reports. He…

Apr 2, 2015 10:17 AM CDT

State copyright law now gives musicians performance rights

The legal rights to broadcast—or otherwise publicly perform—audio recordings have long been a complex, irrational mess, according to copyright lawyers. The mess began with the Sound Recordings Act of 1971, which granted federal copyright protection to audio recordings made on and after Feb. 15, 1972. Composers, lyricists, performers and recording…

Apr 1, 2015 6:07 AM CDT

Law firm faces copyright claim after press obtains secret video made by a client’s co-worker

A woman who secretly made a video of alleged sex harassment at work may be able to pursue her copyright claim against a law firm accused of releasing the recording to the press U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled (PDF) on March 26 that the “Jane Roe” plaintiff could pursue…

Mar 30, 2015 8:21 AM CDT

Composer’s heirs sue CBS over use of iconic ‘Hawaii Five-0’ theme music in TV show remake

If CBS hadn’t rebooted a classic television show, then a renewal by CBS of the copyright registration for the original Hawaii Five-0’s iconic theme song decades ago likely would have gone unnoticed. However, following the airing of the new Hawaii Five-0 series, heirs of Morton Stevens filed a copyright infringement…

Mar 20, 2015 1:10 PM CDT

Lawyer settles infringement suit over stock photos on his website

A Washington, D.C., patent lawyer has agreed to pay $8,000 to settle a suit claiming he used stock photos on his website without permission. The copyright infringement suit by Masterfile Corp. claimed lawyer Jerry Joseph used two of the licensing company’s photos showing people dressed in suits, the Blog of…

Mar 18, 2015 8:53 AM CDT

Judge OKs guitar collector’s copyright suit over Toyota ad featuring B.B. King

Guitar collector Eric Dahl made a spectacular find when he purchased at a pawn shop in 2009 a prototype Gibson Lucille that he later discovered had been stolen from B.B. King. Rewarded in person by the blues legend with an autographed Gibson Lucille when he returned King’s own instrument, Dahl…

Mar 13, 2015 11:35 AM CDT

Some lawyers see blurred lines in ‘Blurred Lines’ copyright verdict

A $7.4 million verdict on behalf of singer Marvin Gaye’s family on Tuesday in the “Blurred Lines” copyright suit has clouded the line between paying homage and infringement, critics say. At issue in the suit was whether the “Blurred Lines” hit song by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke infringed Gaye’s…

Mar 11, 2015 10:31 AM CDT

White paper proposing controls for online piracy makes opponents of Internet regulation see red

The bills had been backed by influential members of Congress and supported by powerful lobbies. It seemed only a matter of time before they became law and provided potent new tools to stop online copyright infringement.

Mar 1, 2015 6:22 AM CST

Digital rights group asks US Copyright Office for car-owner exemptions

Mar 1, 2015 4:30 AM CST

Revenge-porn website operator wants his own photos taken down, blasts media ‘shame narratives’

The operator of a now-defunct revenge-porn website has filed a takedown request with Google that contends his own photo and unauthorized information are being used without his permission in stories about his settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The Washington Post sees karma in the takedown request by Craig Brittain,…

Feb 26, 2015 8:45 AM CST

Katy Perry’s lawyers assert Left Shark copyright, send cease-and-desist letter to 3D printer

Lawyers for Katy Perry sent a cease-and-desist letter to a 3D printing company selling Left Shark, the uncoordinated costumed character who danced next to the singer during the Super Bowl. Greenberg Traurig confirmed that its letter to the company, Shapeways, is authentic, CNN reports. The letter says Katy Perry owns…

Feb 9, 2015 5:45 AM CST

BigLaw firm fights ‘revenge porn’ with pro bono advocacy; suit alleges copyright infringement

About 50 lawyers at K&L Gates are volunteering their time to fight ‘revenge porn’ in an initiative called the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project. The pro bono initiative, launched in September, currently represents about 100 victims of revenge porn, in which sexually explicit photos are posted without consent. When the…

Feb 2, 2015 6:45 AM CST

Letters: Support for parents

Feb 1, 2015 4:00 AM CST