May 24th, 2022

Publicly Available Data and the Misappropriation Doctrine

Introduction  This blog post examines an ongoing legal dispute over access to publicly available internet data between HiQ Labs and LinkedIn Corp. First, it recounts the facts and procedural posture of the case. Second, it describes the case law and history of the misappropriation doctrine, a legal doctrine that could prove decisive in the dispute. […]

September 20th, 2021

Top Songwriters Cash Out: What’s Driving Skyrocketing Demand for Musical Works

Introduction Since 2015, Merck Mercuriadis has been telling investors that music assets were significantly undervalued and that music publishing was ripe for a remodel. The music publishing industry was born over a century ago and profits by acquiring rights in songs and collecting royalties. After nearly 200 pitch meetings, Mercuriadis founded Hipgnosis Songs Fund with […]

November 5th, 2020

Is Fair Use Analysis a Fair Play?

Judge John G. Koeltl of the District Court of the Southern District of New York (“S.D.N.Y”) handed a victory to the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts (the “Foundation”) when it granted the Foundation’s motion for summary judgment in a copyright infringement lawsuit. See Andy Warhol Found. for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, […]

November 4th, 2020

Supreme Court Clarifies Edicts Doctrine in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org

In Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., the Supreme Court voted by five-to-four to expand the government edicts doctrine for the first time since 1888. 140 S. Ct. 1498 (2020). The State of Georgia had claimed copyright in the annotations contained in its only official collection of law, the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA). Id. at […]

November 4th, 2020

Southern District of NY Dismisses Claims of Tattoo Licensees Regarding Copyrighted Tattoos on Athletes’ Bodies in Video Game

Do tattoos on NBA players’ bodies in a videogame infringe on a copyright owned by an exclusive licensee of the tattoos? Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York says no.  Plaintiff, Solid Oak Sketches (“Solid Oak”), is the exclusive licensee of five tattoos copyrighted by tattoo artists. Solid Oak Sketches, LLC […]

October 30th, 2020

Allen v. Cooper: State Sovereign Immunity in Copyright Infringement

In 1718, the infamous pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, lost his flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, after running it aground in what is now Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. In 1996, Intersal, Inc., a marine salvage company, discovered the remains of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. North Carolina, the wreck’s legal owners, contracted with Intersal […]

October 30th, 2020

Second Circuit Affirms Maximum Damages Award to Artists of Destroyed “5Pointz” Site

The Second Circuit’s February 2020 holding in Castillo v. G&M Realty L.P., 950 F.3d 155 (2d Cir. 2020) provides not only an excellent means for understanding the operation of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, 17 U.S.C. § 106A (2012) (“VARA”), but also offers an intriguing fact pattern replete with deceptive and vindictive behavior […]

January 29th, 2018

House Judiciary Committee Holds Music Copyright Hearing at Fordham Law

On January 26, the House Judiciary Committee held a field hearing at Fordham Law School entitled “Music Policy Issues: A Perspective from Those Who Make It.” The hearing examined the state of the music industry and the challenges the digital age poses. The hearing centered on legislative proposals to modernize music licensing, extend public performance […]

January 21st, 2018

IP Institute hosts Copyright & Technology NYC 2018

On January 16, 2018, Giant Steps Media and the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. brought the ninth annual Copyright and Technology NYC 2018 to Fordham Law School.  The Fordham IP Institute was pleased to host the annual one-day conference, which focused on the dramatic and fast-moving influences that technology has on copyright in the digital age. […]

November 8th, 2017

47th CSUSA Brace Lecture: Prof. Rebecca Tushnet

On November 6, the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. presented the 47th Annual Donald C. Brace Memorial Lecture at Fordham University.  The year’s lecture was given by  Prof. Rebecca Tushnet (Harvard Law School) and entitled “Picking up the Pieces after Star Athletica.” Prof. Tushnet’s work currently focuses on copyright, the First Amendment, trademark, and false […]

October 23rd, 2017

Institute Fellow Nicholas Bartelt Moderates AIPLA Session on US Copyright Office

On October 20, as part of the three-day American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) 2017 Annual Meeting, the AIPLA invited senior U.S. officials and congressional staff involved in copyright policy to discuss “The Copyright Office — Developing a Path Forward in the 21st Century.”  Acting Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple Claggett presented on the Copyright […]

February 24th, 2017

Prof. Hugh Hansen Joins Amicus Brief of IP Scholars in Oracle v. Google Fair Use Appeal (CAFC)

On February 17, 2017, Prof. Hugh C. Hansen joined an amicus curiae brief submitted by thirteen intellectual property scholars in support of the plaintiff-appellant, Oracle America, Inc., in Oracle Am. v. Google, Inc., 2017-1118 (Fed. Cir.). The appeal concerns the proper copyright fair use analysis as applied to computer software, specifically APIs. In supporting a reversal of […]

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