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Mealey's Copyright

August 24, 2022
11th Circuit Affirms: Removal Of CMI By Intermediary Not Actionable

ATLANTA — A federal judge in Florida correctly found that a defendant lacked the requisite knowledge that its removal of copyright management information (CMI) from photographs would “induce, enable, facilitate or conceal infringement” by others, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded Aug. 12.
August 23, 2022
5th Circuit Affirms Exclusion Of Evidence In Copyright Case

NEW ORLEANS — A dismissal of copyright claims by a federal judge in Texas following a jury verdict of no infringement was affirmed Aug. 11 by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in a blow to professional wrestler Booker T. Huffman.
August 18, 2022
United States Seeks Inclusion In High Court Fair Use Case Over Andy Warhol Works

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The same day that the U.S. solicitor general (SG) filed an amicus curiae brief supporting a photographer who claims that Andy Warhol infringed the copyright in a photo she took of the musician Prince, the government also filed a motion asking the U.S. Supreme Court to permit it to participate in the upcoming Oct. 12 oral arguments over when the use of a copyrighted work is sufficiently transformative to constitute fair use.
August 16, 2022
Photographer Amici To 9th Circuit: Compiled Photos Have Independent Value

SAN FRANCISCO — One week after a real estate photographer asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm a trial court’s per-photo statutory judgment against Zillow Group Inc. in a copyright infringement dispute, a coalition of photographer associations filed an amicus curiae brief on Aug. 8 supporting the appellee’s position that photos within a compilation have an independent value.
August 12, 2022
Vimeo’s ‘Curation’ Of Infringing Videos Precludes Safe Harbor, Labels Argue

NEW YORK — Past intentional actions by Vimeo Inc. in which it actively selected videos for its online platform’s library that infringed their copyrights prevent the company from claiming safe harbor under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a group of record labels argue in their Aug. 2 reply brief, asking the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to vacate a lower court judgment in Vimeo’s favor and remand for a jury trial.
August 12, 2022
Lyrics Website Seeks Certiorari On Copyright Act Statutory Preemption

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The operator of the Genius song lyrics website filed a petition for certiorari Aug. 5, asking the U.S. Supreme Court “to restore clarity . . . on the scope of statutory preemption under the Copyright Act,” asserting that the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in finding that its state law contract-related claims over Google LLC’s purported copying of lyrics from its site are preempted by federal law.
August 11, 2022
Photographer To High Court: Copyright Fair Use Is More Than Transformativeness

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A photographer tells the U.S. Supreme Court in an Aug. 8 respondent brief that the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly found that works created by Andy Warhol using a photo she took of the musician Prince were not sufficiently transformative to allow the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. (AWF) to claim fair use as a defense to copyright infringement, telling the high court that under the petitioner’s theory of transformativeness, “fair use becomes a license to steal.”
August 08, 2022
California Federal Judge Won’t Dismiss, Transfer Copyright Litigation

SAN FRANCISCO — In an Aug. 5 holding, a federal judge in California said an amended copyright infringement complaint overcomes the jurisdictional deficiencies which led her to dismiss the lawsuit just six months earlier.
August 05, 2022
Florida Federal Judge Suggests $1M Fee Award In Copyright Case

MIAMI — On the heels of a January decision by the 11th Circuit U.S Court of Appeals affirming a grant of summary judgment in favor of a copyright infringement defendant, a Florida federal magistrate judge on Aug. 4 recommended the defendant be awarded more than $1 million in attorney fees and costs.
August 05, 2022
Copyright, Trade Secret Claims Over Ultrasound Systems Will Proceed

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on Aug. 4 denied a motion to dismiss allegations of copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation leveled by Philips North America LLC over proprietary software that protects access to features of Philips’ medical imaging devices.
August 04, 2022
Panel Says Fair Use Defense Unavailable In Copyright Case

SAN FRANCISCO — Allegations of copyright infringement leveled over the unauthorized use of 12 photographs in an online article were reinstated Aug. 3 by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which said a California federal judge wrongly found the affirmative defense of fair use applicable in the case.
August 04, 2022
Washington Federal Judge Orders Copyright, Patent Plaintiff To Brief Standing

SEATTLE — Instead of ruling on a pending motion for default judgment and permanent injunction, a federal judge in Washington on Aug. 2 directed a plaintiff to file a supplemental brief regarding its standing to pursue patent and copyright infringement allegations against a competitor.
August 03, 2022
Netflix Files Suit In D.C. Federal Court Over ‘Unofficial’ Musical

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A “massive, for-profit stage show” titled “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album Live in Concert” recently performed before a sold out-audience at the Kennedy Center was the scene of “blatant” copyright and trademark infringement, Netflix Inc. maintains in a July 29 complaint.
August 02, 2022
Copyright, Trademark Row Over Einstein-Related Works Dismissed

CHICAGO — Allegations by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that an e-tailer sold mousepads depicting Albert Einstein in violation of federal copyright and trademark law were dismissed Aug. 1 by a federal judge in Illinois.
August 02, 2022
California Federal Judge Won’t Dismiss Copyright Claims Against YouTube

LOS ANGELES — A dispute over YouTube’s copyright management policies, including allegations that the video-sharing platform doesn’t go far enough to protect “ordinary” owners from infringement, will proceed, a federal judge in California ruled Aug. 1.
July 29, 2022
Takings, Sovereign Immunity Raised In Cert Petition In Copyright Infringement Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a May 4 petition for certiorari, a writer who is embroiled in a copyright dispute with Texas A&M University (TAMU) asks the U.S. Supreme Court to consider when a copyright holder may overcome sovereign immunity by asserting infringement under the takings clause or the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution.
July 27, 2022
Jurisdiction In ‘Baby Shark’ Copyright, Trademark Row Lacking

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on July 21 said that because service by email on residents of China is impermissible under the Hague Convention, the owner of various copyrights and trademarks associated with the song “Baby Shark” is not entitled to a default judgment in an infringement action.
July 25, 2022
Vimeo To 2nd Circuit: Lack Of Substantial Influence Permits DMCA Safe Harbor

NEW YORK — Maintaining that it had no substantial influence over users that uploaded infringing videos to its video-sharing platform, Vimeo Inc. in a July 12 appellee brief asks the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm its entitlement to safe harbor from a group of record labels’ copyright infringement claims against it under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA.)
July 22, 2022
9th Circuit Reinstates Copyright Claims Against Vietnamese Company

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge’s dismissal of allegations of copyright infringement leveled over a mobile music application was reversed July 21 by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which said the copyright owner established a prima facie case of jurisdiction over a foreign defendant.
July 15, 2022
17 Amicus Briefs Filed In High Court Fair Use Row Over Warhol’s Prince Series

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 17 amicus curiae briefs were filed from June 15 to 17 in a U.S. Supreme Court case focusing on the transformative factor in determining fair use in copyright disputes, with some briefs supporting petitioner the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. (AWF) and others supporting neither party.
July 14, 2022
Panel Reinstates Bid To Collect On French Copyright Judgment

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge erred in rejecting efforts by the owner of a catalog of photographs of Pablo Picasso works to enforce a French monetary judgment obtained in a copyright infringement case, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 13.
July 13, 2022
Trial Court Erred In Copyright Standing, Trade Dress Analyses, Panel Says

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 12 said a Louisiana federal judge must revisit a copyright and trade dress infringement dispute over tableware designs.
July 13, 2022
California Federal Judge: Negligence Claim Over Mural Is Preempted

SAN FRANCISCO — Allegations of negligence by several artists whose mural outside a San Francisco bar was painted over by the building’s owners are preempted by federal copyright law, a federal judge in California ruled July 11.
July 12, 2022
Oft-Sanctioned Copyright Counsel Ordered To Pay Attorney Fees

RALEIGH, N.C. — In a July 11 order, a federal judge in North Carolina awarded a prevailing copyright infringement defendant $84,809 in attorney fees, to be paid by opposing counsel who failed to inform his client of three settlement offers.
July 12, 2022
YouTube Ordered To Comply With Discovery Requests In Copyright Infringement Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The same day he presided over a July 7 discovery hearing, a California federal judge resolved several discovery disputes in a minute order, larging granting motions to compel by a musician and others who sued YouTube LLC for copyright infringement and ordering the online video platform operator to submit documents related to its “Autoplay” feature, fair use policy and copyright management policies.