Copyright Law

Afternoon Briefs: Judge bans trick-or-treat warning signs; Johnny Depp settles fee dispute

Federal judge sides with sex offenders in battle over trick-or-treat warning signs A federal judge in Macon, Georgia, has granted a request by three sex offenders to stop a county sheriff from placing signs in the front of their homes warning trick-or-treaters to stay away. U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell…

Oct 31, 2019 4:22 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Andrew Yang didn’t last long in BigLaw; suit against Taylor Swift revived

Andrew Yang lasted only five months in BigLaw Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang left Davis Polk & Wardwell in 2000 after spending only five months as an associate. He had scored 178 out of 180 on the LSAT and attended Columbia Law School before joining the law firm, but he…

Oct 29, 2019 5:23 PM CDT

Small claims program for copyright violations? ABA-supported legislation passes US House

The House of Representatives approved earlier this week a measure that would establish a copyright small claims program in the U.S. Copyright Office to address some of the violations of copyright and intellectual property.

Oct 24, 2019 12:25 PM CDT

Jury finds lawyer doesn’t own skyline photo after he sued for infringement in multiple cases

An Indiana lawyer who has filed multiple infringement suits over use of a skyline photo wasn’t able to prove that he actually owned the picture, federal jurors in Indianapolis ruled last Tuesday.

Sep 30, 2019 12:23 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Jones Day explains redaction flub; lawyer copyrights daughter’s crayon artwork

Jones Day apologizes for redaction error that exposed grand jury info Jones Day has taken responsibility for a redaction error and apologized to a federal judge who ordered the firm to show cause why it shouldn’t be sanctioned. Law360 had discovered that the redactions could be read by cutting and…

Sep 16, 2019 4:12 PM CDT

‘Taco Tuesday’ too common for LeBron James to trademark, US patent office says

On Wednesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied Los Angeles Lakers basketball player LeBron James’ attempt to trademark the phrase “Taco Tuesday.”

Sep 13, 2019 10:11 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge says state violated ADA; Notorious B.I.G.’s sampling is fair use, court says

Mississippi violated ADA in its treatment of people with mental illness, judge says U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves ruled this week that Mississippi’s failure to provide community-based mental health care violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reeves will appoint a special master to oversee changes. He ruled in a suit…

Sep 5, 2019 4:49 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Ex-White House counsel acquitted; lawyer pleads guilty in alleged attack on colleague

Former White House counsel is acquitted on false-statement charge Federal jurors on Wednesday acquitted former White House counsel Greg Craig on a charge of making false statements to the government about his lobbying work for Ukraine while working at Skadden Arps. Craig was accused of making false statements to the…

Sep 4, 2019 4:55 PM CDT

A small claims program for copyright violations? It’s an idea the ABA supports

The ABA supports legislation that would create a new copyright small claims program within the U.S. Copyright Office to adjudicate copyright small claims more efficiently and economically than federal courts, according to a resolution passed overwhelmingly by the House of Delegates on Monday at the annual meeting in San Francisco.

Aug 12, 2019 10:33 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Rappers awarded $2.8M over Katy Perry song; lawyer killed outside courthouse by pickup truck

• Federal jurors in Los Angeles have awarded $2.78 million to Christian rap artists in a copyright suit against Katy Perry and others. The suit claimed that a repetitive musical rhythm in Perry’s song “Dark Horse” infringed the copyright for the Christian song “Joyful Noise.” Perry herself is responsible for…

Aug 2, 2019 4:07 PM CDT

3rd Circuit rules maker of banana costume is entitled to ‘fruits of its intellectual labor’

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the maker of a full-body banana costume was entitled to an injunction against a rival company that made a look-alike garment.

Aug 2, 2019 9:54 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Bail reform ‘as big as Brown v. Board of Education;’ how some rich kids get college aid

• Commissioners in Harris County, Texas, have agreed to reform a cash bail system that had kept many indigent misdemeanor defendants in jail pending trial. A federal appeals court had ruled last year that the bail system was unconstitutional because it mostly relied on set amounts. As a result of…

Jul 31, 2019 4:33 PM CDT

Knife-wielding man is shot outside LA courthouse amid infringement case against Katy Perry

A courthouse security officer shot and wounded a man wielding a knife outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles on Tuesday as testimony continued in a trial that contends that Katy Perry’s 2013 song “Dark Horse” improperly borrowed from a 2008 Christian hip-hop song. The man was shot in the…

Jul 24, 2019 11:22 AM CDT

Judge sanctions controversial copyright lawyer, notes ‘growing body of law’ on when to punish him

A federal judge in New York has ordered a litigious copyright lawyer to pay attorney fees of $8,745 as a sanction for failing to comply with orders for a court appearance and mediation. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York began his July 10 sanctions…

Jul 11, 2019 12:37 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: 4th Circuit tosses emoluments suit; health insurance mandate on shaky ground

• A federal appeals court has tossed a case contending that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution’s ban on presidents accepting emoluments from foreign states. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia, unanimously ruled that the state of Maryland and Washington, D.C., had no standing to…

Jul 10, 2019 4:46 PM CDT