Which Way is Aereo Pointing? The Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Public Performance Copyright Case
- In a case that could have a broad impact on how companies deliver content to consumers, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on April 22 in American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc. (No. 13-461). At issue is whether Aereo’s service engages in public performances under... ›
The Umpire Strikes Back: European Court Rules That ISPs Can Be Forced to Block Pirate Websites
By: Alistair Maughan
On March 27, 2014, the highest court in the European Union—the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU)— decided that copyright owners have the right to seek injunctions against Internet service providers (ISPs) requiring the ISPs to block access to pirate websites illegally... ›Copyright: Europe Explores its Boundaries: Part 1: Link Hubs
INTRODUCTION This year, as the world celebrates the 25 th anniversary of the World Wide Web, the Web’s founder, Tim Berners-Lee, has called for a fundamental reappraisal of copyright law. By coincidence, this year we also anticipate a rash of UK and European legislative... ›Google Ordered to Remove All Copies of Anti-Islamic Film From YouTube After Actress With Bit Part Threatened by Outraged Muslims; Decision Puzzles Copyright Attorneys
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
An aspiring actress moves to California and finds her life threatened. While standard fare for pulp fiction, the case of Garcia v. Google involves a twist on this well-worn plot line that not even the most imaginative Hollywood scriptwriter could invent. Cindy Lee Garcia... ›Keeping Privates Private: The Legal Landscape of Revenge Porn
By: Jessica Kaufman and Aaron P. Rubin
Mark Zuckerberg famously stated that the purpose of Facebook is “to make the world more open and connected,” and indeed Facebook, other social media outlets and the Internet in general have brought worldwide openness and connection-through-sharing to levels unparalleled at any point in history.... ›The Second Circuit’s Aereo Math: One Copy + One Subscriber ≠ Public Performance
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... ›Federal Court Says No to “Used” Digital Music Marketplace
Digital music has come a long way since the era of widespread unauthorized sharing, with digital music sales estimated to be approaching $6 billion worldwide. As this market grows, a natural question is whether there can be a legitimate digital analog to the traditional... ›Southern District of New York Examines Whether News Clipping Service Qualifies as Fair Use Under Copyright Act
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... ›Supreme Court Holds That “First Sale” Doctrine Applies to Copies of a Copyrighted Work Lawfully Made Abroad
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... ›Thinking About Using Pictures Pulled From Twitter? Think Again, New York Court Warns
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
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... ›