Gary Friedrich Enterprises v. Marvel: Ghost Rider Accelerates to Trial
In Gary Friedrich Enterprises v. Marvel, the Second Circuit reversed the Southern District of New York, holding that there exist genuine disputes of material fact regarding the intent of a comic book creator and publisher Marvel Comics to assign renewal rights in “Ghost Rider” via a 1978 written agreement, the timeliness of the creator’s ownership
CDAS Hosts “The Great Fair Use Debate”
CDAS hosted a lively panel on the legal and practical implications on the fair use exemption at our New York office this past Wednesday, June 19th. CDAS partners J. Stephen Sheppard, Nancy E. Wolff andMarc H. Simon were joined by Dennis Reiff, principal at entertainment insurance specialists Reiff & Associates, LLC. The panelists discussed the key issues to be aware
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Tennis Channel Finds DC Court Too Hard for Its Liking
Any tennis player will tell you it’s better to have a first than second serve. Similarly, when it comes to TV channels looking for carriage, it’s better to be on a distributor’s first tier than a secondary, specialty tier. However, a recent United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling in
Morris v. Guetta: Are Appropriation Artists Getting A Free Pass by the Second Circuit?
In February of this year, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that appropriation artist Thierry Guetta infringed photographer Dennis Morris’s copyright in a photograph of Sex Pistols singer Sid Vicious when he created seven works of art based on Morris’s black and white photograph. In its order granting Morris’s motion
Kenneth N. Swezey to Moderate Book Expo Panel on Digital Publishing & Transmedia Storytelling: Deals, Rights and Revenue
CDAS Partner Kenneth N. Swezey will moderate a panel on digital rights and new publishing business models at Book Expo America next Wednesday, May 29th. The panelists will be Corinne Helman of Harper Collins, Miriam Goderich of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management and Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment.
Capitol Records v. MP3tunes: Viacom v. YouTube Causes Court to Reconsider Ruling, Send Parties to Trial
In a decision that is largely favorable to copyright owners, Judge Pauley of the Southern District of New York granted in part a motion by plaintiffs EMI, Inc. and fourteen other record companies (together, “EMI”) requesting reconsideration of its 2011 decision in Capitol Records, Inc. v. MP3tunes, LLC, which dismissed most of EMI’s contributory copyright
Padmapper Case: Craigslist Permitted to Proceed Against Republishers of Its Content
In Craigslist Inc. v. 3Taps Inc. et al., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California refused to dismiss many of the claims brought by Craiglist against several republishers of its user content based in part on its broad terms of use, turning on whether user content was exclusive to the online classified
Eleanor M. Lackman Authors Amicus Brief on Behalf of Copyright Alliance in Aereokiller Case
CDAS Partner Eleanor M. Lackman authored an amicus brief on behalf of the Copyright Alliance in the Ninth Circuit case Fox Television Stations v. Aereokiller. In the brief, Ms. Lackman argues on behalf of The Copyright Alliance that The Copyright Alliance argues in the brief that district judge George Wu was correct in granting an injunction against Aereokiller, a service
YouTube Stays Safe under DMCA “Safe Harbor”
For the second time in three years, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York determined, in Viacom v. YouTube, that YouTube qualified for and was shielded from copyright infringement liability by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).
CDAS Client 10X Management Featured in Bloomberg Businessweek
CDAS Partner Joshua B. Sessler’s client 10X Management is featured in a great story in Bloomberg Businessweek. 10X represents top freelance software programmers, pairing them with Silicon Valley companies, negotiating their salaries, and helping to manage their finances.