The U.S. District Court, for the Northern District of California, held that website HTML code is copyrightable subject matter and did not follow the U.S. Copyright Office’s opinion that HTML code and the Cascading Style Sheets ("CSS") is not subject to a copyright claim. … [Read more...]
Attorney’s Fees in Copyright Cases – Set by Defendant’s Objective Reasonableness
The Supreme Court in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., No. 15-375 (Supreme Court, June 2016) (Available Here), held that the “objective reasonableness” of an unsuccessful litigant’s position should be accorded “substantial weight” when awarding attorneys’ fees in … [Read more...]
Trademark Claims Preempted by Copyright Act
A federal district court dismissed plaintiff’s trademark infringement claims over an ad campaign using the phrase “Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner” because the Copyright Act preempted all aspects of the trademark claim. In Lions Gate Entertainment, Inc. v. TD Ameritrade Services … [Read more...]
Copyright Claim Expires 3 Years After Known Infringement
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (primarily hearing federal appeals from the New York region) held that if a plaintiff knows about a copyright infringement and waits three (3) years before filing suit, the infringement claim is barred by the statute of … [Read more...]
NFL Players Right-of-Publicity Claims in NFL Films Preempted by Copyright Act
In Dryer, Bethea and White v. The National Football League, 14-3428 (8th Cir. February 26, 2016) (Available here), the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the National Football League (“NFL”) on the appellant’s right-of-publicity and Lanham … [Read more...]
Fair Use Must be Considered Prior to Sending a DMCA Takedown Notice
In Lenz. v. Universal Music Corp., No.13-16106 (9th Cir. Sept. 2015) (Available Here), the Court held that prior to sending a takedown notification under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), copyright holders must consider whether the allegedly infringing material … [Read more...]
Recipe Book Compilation is Not Protected by Copyright
In the recent case of Tomaydo-Tomahhdo v Vozary (case No. 15-3179, Sixth Circuit Court Of Appeals, Oct. 2015)(Opinion Available Here), the Court reviewed a grant of summary judgment, dismissing the underlying case based upon whether or not a recipe book was entitled to copyright … [Read more...]
Yoga Sequence Not Copyright Protectable
In Bikram’s Yoga College of India, L.P. v. Evolation Yoga, LLC, NO. 13-55763 (9th Cir. 2015), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Bikram Yoga Sequence is not a proper subject of copyright protection. The Court premised its decision on the fact … [Read more...]
Justin Bieber and Usher Might Soon Need “Somebody to Love”
In the recent case of Copeland v Bieber (Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals) (Available Here), the Court was faced with an appeal by Devin Copeland, after the lower court ruled against him. Copeland alleged that three recorded songs by the defendants, each titled “Somebody to Love,” … [Read more...]
Contractual Copyright Attorneys Fees in the Ninth Circuit
In a case of first impression for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the court reviewed whether the Copyright Act of 1976 would preclude enforcement of a contractual attorneys fees provision in copyright-based litigation. The case of Victoria Ryan v Editions Limited West, Inc. … [Read more...]
