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Category Archives: Copyright

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The Second Circuit’s Aereo Math: One Copy + One Subscriber ≠ Public Performance

By Jessica J. Lehrman on Posted in Copyright, Litigation

Last week­—the week of May 12, 2013­—proved to be an eventful week for Aereo. On May 14, 2013, the controversial broadcast television streaming service filed a motion for summary judgment in the Southern District of New York on copyright claims brought by broadcast television networks (including ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) that Aereo’s service directly… Continue Reading

Southern District of New York Examines Whether News Clipping Service Qualifies as Fair Use Under Copyright Act

By Daniel A. Zlatnik on Posted in Copyright, Litigation

It is well settled that Internet search engines’ reproduction of limited portions of copyrighted materials in order to direct Internet users to locations of original content constitutes “fair use” under the Copyright Act. (See, for example, Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. and Kelly v. Arriba Soft.) But where is the line between, on the one… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Holds That “First Sale” Doctrine Applies to Copies of a Copyrighted Work Lawfully Made Abroad

By Marc Hearron and Craig Whitney on Posted in Copyright, Litigation

The Supreme Court of the United States issued its much-anticipated decision in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., holding that the “first sale” doctrine protects a buyer or other lawful owner of a copy of a copyrighted work that was lawfully made abroad, following a lawful first sale. The 6-3 decision resolves a contested… Continue Reading

Thinking About Using Pictures Pulled From Twitter? Think Again, New York Court Warns

By J. Alexander Lawrence and Jamie Kitano on Posted in Copyright, DMCA, IP, Litigation, Terms of Use

If you want to use those pictures you found on Twitter, beware. A federal judge in New York recently held that taking photos from Twitter to use for a commercial purpose infringes the photographer’s copyrights. On January 14, 2013, Judge Alison Nathan ruled that Agence France Presse (AFP), which provides subscribers with access to photos… Continue Reading

Be Wary of Sharing: Anonymous P2P User’s Motion to Quash Subpoena Denied

By J. Alexander Lawrence and Matthew Galeotti on Posted in Copyright, IP, Litigation, Privacy, Trademark

BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing system that enables the quick downloading of large files, has sparked another novel controversy stemming from copyright-infringement claims brought against its users. Users take advantage of the BitTorrent sharing system to anonymously access popular media such as books and movies. That anonymity is unlikely to last long for users who… Continue Reading

Born to Mock: Trademark Holder’s Fight to Remove Mark on Kitsch Merchandise May Have Broad Legal Implications

By Jacob Michael Kaufman on Posted in Copyright, DMCA, IP, Litigation, Trademark

Popular online marketplace CafePress.com suffered a legal setback recently when a U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York denied CafePress’s motion for summary judgment against claims of trademark infringement. CafePress operates an online “print on demand” service that allows users to upload designs which CafePress then prints on a variety of items…. Continue Reading

Judge Posner Kicks that Flava in Ya Ear: New Guidance on Contributory Infringement from the Seventh Circuit

By Timothy Denny Greene and Debbie Rosenbaum on Posted in Copyright, DMCA, Litigation

Over the past year, a number of courts across the country have decided cases involving contributory infringement and the application of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s § 512(c) safe harbor in the social media context. Unfortunately for those who favor a uniform approach to the law, the precedent being developed is in many ways inconsistent. On… Continue Reading

The Potential Perils of Posting Pictures (on Social Media)

By Timothy Denny Greene and Debbie Rosenbaum on Posted in Copyright, DMCA, IP, Litigation

In today’s information economy, content owners are faced with a challenging decision regarding digital content. On the one hand, the viral nature of social media can mean unprecedented exposure as digital content is shared. On the other, that opportunity can come with significant legal risk if companies take an insufficiently careful approach to intellectual property… Continue Reading

What, What (In the Court): South Park Studios Shielded by Fair Use for Viral Video Parody

By Debbie Rosenbaum and Timothy Denny Greene on Posted in Copyright, Discovery, Litigation

The Seventh Circuit held recently in Brownmark Films, LLC v. Comedy Partners that, under certain circumstances, a trial court may dismiss a copyright infringement case based on a fair use defense prior to discovery. Over the years, the satiric Comedy Central cartoon program South Park and its creators have developed a reputation for biting social… Continue Reading

Pinterest: Key Legal Considerations in Using the Internet’s Hottest Social Media Platform

By John Delaney on Posted in Copyright, Event

Pinterest is 2012′s “most talked-about” social media platform and one of the fastest-growing standalone websites in history.  By tapping into the enthusiasm for gathering and presenting images that have been pulled from across the web, Pinterest has created a powerful content sharing platform - and has provoked strong objections from copyright owners.  Companies that are considering… Continue Reading

A Copyright Troll’s Last Stand?

By Seth Graham on Posted in Copyright

Suits by so-called “copyright trolls” are of keen interest to operators of social media sites, given that user-generated content, or, as some call it, “user-uploaded content,” is a cornerstone of the social media experience. In the April 2011 issue of Socially Aware, we reported on a recent string of lawsuits filed by Righthaven, a company… Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Follows eBay v. MercExchange and Second Circuit on Preliminary Injunctions for Alleged Copyright Infringement

By Jacob Michael Kaufman on Posted in Copyright

In its recent opinion in Perfect 10, Inc. v. Google, Inc., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court ruling that a copyright infringement plaintiff’s showing of likely success on the merits is not in itself sufficient to warrant injunctive relief, particularly absent the plaintiff’s separate demonstration that it will suffer irreparable harm…. Continue Reading

Skirmish in Europe: Google Battles the Belgian Press

By Karin Retzer on Posted in Copyright

In the June 2011 issue of Socially Aware, we reported on a Brussels Court of Appeal ruling in favor of Copiepresse, the Belgian association for the protection of French-language press copyright, in a case against Google.  To recap, on May 5, 2011, the Brussels Court of Appeal upheld an earlier ruling that Google had infringed copyright when… Continue Reading

Using Copyright Assignments to Control Customer Reviews

By Anthony M. Ramirez on Posted in Copyright, DMCA

Consumers often turn to the Internet for reviews before purchasing products or services, and companies are increasingly interested in ensuring that such reviews reflect positively and accurately on their businesses.  When patients post negative or allegedly inaccurate reviews about their doctors on the Internet, however, doctors are often prevented from responding due to ethical obligations… Continue Reading