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. […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
