In Rodriguez v Instagram, CGC-13-532875 (San Francisco Sup. Ct. Feb 28, 2014), the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, rejected a proposed class action  lawsuit brought against Instagram LLC in connection with modifications to its original Terms of Use, instituted after the free photo-sharing platform was purchased by Facebook, Inc.  The lawsuit challenged Instagram’s

On March 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Alaska Stock, LLC v. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub. Co., 110 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1062 (9th Cir. 2014), determined that registration of a database of stock photographs as a collective work registered the component photographs within.

In Neri v. Monroe, 11-CV-429-SLC, 2014 WL 793336 (W.D. Wis. Feb. 26, 2014), the Western District of Washington smashed the hopes of a glass artist by sharply dismissing a pro se copyright action she brought against a design firm, among others, who displayed photos of an entrance hall of a private residence which incorporated her

A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit clarifies when the countdown starts for authors hoping to bring a declaratory judgment claim for joint authorship under the Copyright Act.  In Brownstein v. Lindsay, the Third Circuit held that an authorship claim arises and accrues when a plaintiff’s status as an

A change to New York labor law regulations (Part 186) may have onerous implications for photographers and the stock photography industry who shoot child models  As of November 22, 2013, “print and runway” models are now included among the artistic or creative services that require a permit when using child performers. Previously, the regulations only

The Seventh Circuit, in Jordan v. Jewel Food Stores, Inc., 12-1992, 2014 WL 627603 (7th Cir. Feb. 19, 2014), reversed a federal district court ruling and held that an advertisement run by Jewel-Osco supermarkets (“Jewel”) congratulating Michael Jordan on his 2009 induction into the Hall of Fame constituted image advertising—a form of “commercial speech.”  This

In a recent decision by the Second Circuit, Swatch Grp. Mgmt. Servs. Ltd. v. Bloomberg L.P., 12-2412-CV, 2014 WL 274407 (2d Cir. Jan. 27, 2014), Bloomberg L.P. (“Bloomberg”) was found to have a valid fair use defense to copyright infringement, despite obtaining an unauthorized (and unpublished) copy of a sound recording and making it available

It is not all that often that a federal court of appeals sets forth a bright-line rule, much less by a unanimous panel, and even less likely in the hazy area of cyberlaw.  But in Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) v. Godaddy.com, Inc., No. 12-15584 (9th Cir. 2013) three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of a film financier based upon statute of frauds and bona fide purchase defenses in McDonald v. Brown. The Southern District’s decision provides reassurance to parties who obtain rights to creative projects without knowledge of prior legal claims, and

A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia serves as a cautionary tale for trademark applicants seeking to challenge adverse decisions rendered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “TTAB”).  On January 3, 2014, the Court in Shammas v. Focarino ruled that applicants