‘Extreme’ proposal would make teachers’ lesson plans, students’ art projects school system property

A Maryland county’s board of education has proposed a policy that would to copyright work created by its staff and students for school–which would mean that even something like a first-grader’s drawing would belong to the school system. “The way this policy is written, it essentially says if a student…

Feb 4, 2013 8:30 PM CST

It’s Google, but is it art? Museums wonder whether they should open their galleries to digitizing

Feb 1, 2013 9:29 AM CST

Broadway’s ‘Spider-Man’ Trapped in Litigious Web

A lawsuit involving creative contributions in the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, is back on, despite the August announcement by producers and director Julie Taymor that they’d reached a preliminary agreement. The Southern District of New York action may go to trial in May, the Hollywood Reporter’s Hollywood…

Jan 11, 2013 5:30 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Avoiding ‘Digital Distractions’ While Still Having Quality Time Online

The Double-Edged Touchscreen Writing at her blog, At the Intersection, Edge International general counsel Pam Woldow addresses the “inefficiency disease”–familiar to anyone reading this–of “digital distraction.” While much is written about how technologies that speed up communication increase efficiency in a legal workplace, the constant distraction of email messages and…

Dec 14, 2012 2:30 PM CST

United Sues Over Customer Complaint Website Design; Operator Calls Blog an Obvious Parody

A major airline has sued a Canadian engineering professor in his home country, contending that the 15-year-old website on which he compiles customer and employee complaints violates its intellectual property rights and worker privacy. United Continental Holdings only sued after owner Jeremy Cooperstock reworked his untied.com blog in April to…

Nov 29, 2012 5:20 PM CST

Faulkner Estate Sues Sony Over Quote From ‘Midnight in Paris’

The estate of William Faulkner sued Sony Pictures Classics Thursday, alleging that the studio used the author’s work without permission in the 2011 Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris. The work in question is from Faulkner’s Requiem for a Nun, according to Variety. Midnight in Paris is about a writer,…

Oct 26, 2012 7:57 PM CDT

ABA Amicus Brief Sides with Textbook Publisher in Infringement Suit over eBay Resales

The American Bar Association is siding with a textbook publisher that sued for infringement when a California grad student purchased its books cheaply overseas and then resold them on eBay for a profit. In an amicus brief (PDF), the ABA urges the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a decision for…

Oct 12, 2012 4:31 PM CDT

Publishers Group Settles Copyright Suit Against Google; Authors’ Case Is Pending

Google has settled litigation with publishers over its digital copies of copyrighted books. The settlement with the Association of American Publishers does not resolve Google’s ongoing litigation with the Authors Guild over Google’s ambitious project to digitalize every book, report the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Oct 5, 2012 12:56 PM CDT

Amazon Takes Tell-All e-Book About Kate Gosselin Off the Market After Lawyers Claim Copyright Issues

A tell-all e-book about reality television star Kate Gosselin has been removed from sale by Amazon after only a couple of days on the market. The action followed a letter from entertainment law firm Lavely & Singer which asserted copyright infringement, reports the Daily Mail. Williams & Connolly also sent…

Oct 1, 2012 6:36 PM CDT

8th Circuit OKs $222K Award But Avoids Ruling on Key Issue in Historic RIAA File-Sharing Case

After three jury trials, it appears that the legal saga of the first individual to fight a Recording Industry Association of America demand for payment for illegal downloading of copyrighted music still hasn’t come to an end. In a procedurally complex decision Tuesday, a federal appeals court panel held that…

Sep 11, 2012 8:52 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: ‘Eastwooding’ in Litigation; In Defense of Strunk & White

Arguing with an Empty Chair in Court Since actor Clint Eastwood’s speech last week at the Republican National Convention in which he talked to an imaginary President Barack Obama in an empty chair on stage, many Internet memes have been born, and the expression “Eastwooding”—to denote the act of arguing…

Sep 7, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Pro Se Songwriting Plaintiff Missed Hearings, Irritated Judges and Won Her Case

Despite irritating some judges, New York songwriter Peggy Harley has won her pro se lawsuit claiming that she was the author of a Grammy-nominated song recorded by singer Ann Nesby. Harley’s 13-page complaint contained misspellings and grammatical errors, the New York Times reports. She missed court hearings or showed up…

Aug 20, 2012 4:47 PM CDT

Hustler Loses Appeal Over Publication of News Anchor’s Wet T-shirt Photo

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that pornography publisher Hustler Inc didn’t have the right to publish a wet T-shirt contest photo featuring an Ohio TV news anchor. In Thursday’s decision (PDF), the Cincinnati-based court rejected Hustler’s contention that its use of the image was protected by…

Aug 17, 2012 2:02 PM CDT

Pop Star Noelia’s Secret Wedding Photos Were Private, Federal Appeals Court Rules

In a case that the court said “reads like a telenovela, a Spanish soap opera,” a divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a Spanish-language celebrity gossip magazine violated the rights of a well-known couple when it published private wedding photographs apparently stolen by the couple’s driver.…

Aug 15, 2012 11:13 AM CDT

Judge Orders Litigants Google and Oracle to Disclose Paid Bloggers

Updated and corrected: A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered two tech companies that battled over Android smart phones to disclose payments made to bloggers, authors, commentators and journalists. U.S. District Judge William Alsup required Google and Oracle to disclose the payments to individuals who commented or reported on…

Aug 8, 2012 11:56 AM CDT