Ninth Circuit Says “Good Riddance” to Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Green Day

The Ninth Circuit recently nixed a street artist’s copyright infringement lawsuit against Green Day, finding that the band’s unauthorized incorporation of the artist’s work, Scream Icon, into its concert video backdrop was sufficiently transformative to be considered a fair use under copyright law.  Dereck Seltzer v. Green Day, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-02103.
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Seminar Series Event: The Alternative Paradigm for Independent Film

Thanks to all those who attended Monday’s Signature Seminar Series event “The Alternative Paradigm for Independent Film: Emerging Issues for Producers, Financiers and Distributors” hosted by CDAS Partners Frederick Bimber, Susan Bodine and Marc Simon. We’d also like to express our particular appreciation to our panelists Marc Schiller, Molly Thompson and Mark Urman.

Fourth Circuit Holds That Clicks May Transfer Copyright: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc., v. American Home Realty Network, Inc.

On July 19th, 2013, the Fourth Circuit held for the first time that copyright interests can be transferred electronically under Section 204 (a) of the Copyright Act. The Fourth Circuit’s decision adds to a growing body of law suggesting that an electronic “click” or “tap” can constitute a “signed writing” for purposes of transferring copyright

Midnight in Paris: Faulkner Quote Dispute Now In The Past

After reading the book and watching the film at issue, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi granted Sony Picture Classics Inc.’s (“Sony”) motion to dismiss Faulkner Literary Rights, LLC’s (“Faulkner”) copyright infringement action based on a paraphrase of a nine word quote from a William Faulkner’s work in the Woody Allen

Marshall Thompson v. Getty Images: Determining a “Commercial Purpose”

Getty Images successfully defeated a claim by Marshall Thompson, singer and sole living member of the “Chi-Lite”, alleging that the online posting of his photo for possible licensing, was a violation of his right of publicity under Illinois Right of Publicity Act (IRPA), despite a contrary ruling (in a factually similar case) in Illinois in

More Than a Registrar: “Parked Pages” Program Leads Court to Deny Domain Name Registrar GoDaddy.com Safe Harbor Protection from Claims under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA)

On June 21, 2013, a Central District of California court refused to extend ACPA safe harbor protection to popular domain name registrar GoDaddy.com, finding that it intended to profit from the registration and maintenance of various domain names that encompassed plaintiff Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ OSCAR, OSCARS, OSCAR NIGHT, ACADEMY AWARD and

Oprah’s Use of “Own Your Power” Trademark Rebuffed on Appeal

Overturning a lower court decision, the Second Circuit determined, in Kelly-Brown v. Winfrey, that Oprah must defend a trademark infringement lawsuit despite her argument that the trademark fair use doctrine shielded her production company’s use of the slogan “Own Your Power” in connection with its publications and other media offerings.

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