Astrology Software Maker Files Infringement Suit over Time Zone Database Used in Computers

An astrology company has filed a copyright infringement suit against two computer experts who maintain time zone databases used to set local times on computers using UNIX operating systems. Software maker Astrolabe says in its complaint (PDF), filed on Sept. 30 in federal court in Massachusetts, that it owns the…

Oct 7, 2011 5:10 PM CDT

Chief Justice Roberts Wants to Know: ‘What About Jimi Hendrix?’

Move over, Bob Dylan. You’re not the only rock star cropping up in the legal arguments of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Roberts quoted Dylan in a 2008 opinion. On Wednesday, he used Jimi Hendrix in a hypothetical during oral arguments on the constitutionality of a recopyright law, report…

Oct 6, 2011 1:35 PM CDT

Free CLE Course on Elvis Presley Law Is ‘Bait and Switch’ to Get Lawyers to Listen to Pro Bono Pitch

A legal aid group in Tennessee is trying a clever and unusual tactic to drum up an audience of attorneys to listen to a pro bono pitch: Elvis Presley. Legal Aid of East Tennessee will be offering a free continuing legal education course on Tuesday on Elvis Law. The state…

Sep 29, 2011 3:35 PM CDT

Cheesehead Owner Threatens Suit re Grim Reaper’s Headgear on Billboard Warning of Dairy Food Danger

The owner of the rights to the infamous Foamation triangular cheesehead worn by fans of the Green Bay Packers is demanding that a group of physicians rethink a planned billboard in which the Grim Reaper, wearing an apparent cheesehead, warns of the danger of eating the dairy food. “Warning: Cheese…

Sep 26, 2011 11:54 PM CDT

Letters: Be Like Linc

Sep 1, 2011 8:59 AM CDT

Heirs of Miles Davis Sue Miles’ Cafe Owner, Who Is Also a Trumpet Player Known as Miles

A New York restaurateur who allegedly claims Miles Davis appeared to him in a dream, leading him to take the legendary jazz musician’s first name and open a cafe using that moniker, is now a defendant in a lawsuit. Brought by relatives who inherited from Davis’ estate, the Manhattan federal…

Aug 31, 2011 9:28 PM CDT

Village People Singer Seeks ‘YMCA’ Rights Under Obscure Copyright Termination Provision

Corrected: The Village People had one word of advice for a young man in need of some dough and somewhere to go: Y.M.C.A. Now the man who wrote the song is a little older and seeking to cash in through a little-known copyright provision that allows musicians and songwriters to…

Aug 17, 2011 1:23 PM CDT

ABA Brief Supports Recopyright Law Against First Amendment Challenge

The ABA has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that opposes the arguments of a Denver music conductor who wants his orchestras to perform foreign works that were once in the public domain. University of Denver music professor Lawrence Golan joined with other plaintiffs to challenge a…

Aug 15, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

Mattel Ordered to Pay $225M in Punitives, Attorney’s Fees and Costs in Bratz Doll Case

A federal judge in Santa Ana, Calif., today nearly trebled the $88 million that Mattel Inc. was earlier ordered to pay a competitor in a hard-fought case over the rights to the popular Bratz doll line. Mattel must pay MGA Entertainment Inc. $85 million in punitive damages and $2.5 million…

Aug 5, 2011 12:55 AM CDT

Federal Judge Says Zediva’s Rent-a-DVD-and-Player Online Business Infringes, OKs Injunction

A creative concept for providing instant access to movies as soon as they are available on DVD, by renting both a DVD and a player to a single customer via the Internet, arguably complied with copyright law. But a federal judge in central California agreed with movie studios that it…

Aug 3, 2011 6:02 PM CDT

With Law Firm’s Aid, Studio Strikes Back by IDing Alleged Culprit in Hacking of ‘Twilight’ Images

Heartbroken to see images on the Internet earlier this year from its latest, as-yet-unreleased film in the Twilight Saga vampire romance series, a movie studio went the extra mile. Summit Entertainment put the Kroll Inc. private investigator and law firm Keats McFarland & Wilson on the case to try to…

Aug 1, 2011 6:20 PM CDT

Marvel, Not Comic Artist’s Heirs, Owns Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four and More

Heirs of a comic-book artist who claimed a legal right to Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four and other superheroes today lost a round before a federal judge in New York. The Walt Disney Co., which paid $4 billion in 2009 to acquire Marvel Worldwide Inc., owns the rights…

Jul 28, 2011 10:29 PM CDT

Kim Kardashian Sues Old Navy, Says Store Used Lookalike Model in Ads

Reality television temptress Kim Kardashian filed a federal district court lawsuit against Old Navy and the clothing retailer’s parent company yesterday, contending that the store infringed on her right of publicity by using a lookalike model in its advertising. Filed yesterday in the Central District of California, the suit, which…

Jul 21, 2011 5:23 PM CDT

Ex Harvard Ethics Fellow Accused of Hacking Into MIT Network, Stealing 4M Docs with Intent to Share

An activist programmer and former fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics is facing federal criminal charges for allegedly hacking into the computer network at Massachusetts Institute of Technology between September of 2010 and January 2011 to access a subscription service that provides published academic articles. Aaron…

Jul 19, 2011 9:56 PM CDT

Some Designers Say Their Work Deserves Copyright Protection; Others Say It Would Harm the Industry

Jul 1, 2011 9:30 AM CDT