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Mealey's Copyright

July 12, 2022
After Alphabet, YouTube Intervene, Copyright Row In California Tossed

OAKLAND, Calif. — Allegations of copyright infringement leveled against individuals who posted copies of an accidental livestream were dismissed July 11 by a federal judge in California, who said the livestream lacks creativity and is not the product of human authorship.
July 07, 2022
Copyright Claims By Pro Se Plaintiff Survive Motion To Dismiss

MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida on July 6 said that allegations of copyright infringement leveled over “banana-centric art” will proceed, rejecting a defendant’s assertion of no substantial similarity between the works.
July 06, 2022
Stay Denied In Dispute Over ‘Server Test,’ Use Of Goat Photograph

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A defendant website operator won summary judgment July 5 when a Nevada federal judge agreed that under the “server test,” a plaintiff’s claims of copyright infringement leveled in connection with a photograph of an escaped goat fail.
July 06, 2022
3rd Circuit Vacates Relief, Orders Dismissal Of Copyright Claims

PHILADELPHIA — A copyright on a communication protocol used to control fireworks displays is invalid, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled June 29, vacating a Pennsylvania federal judge’s preliminary injunction in an infringement action.
June 29, 2022
Noninfringement, Expert Disqualification Argued In 6th Circuit Source Code Suit

CINCINNATI — In briefs filed June 8 and 9, the appellees in a copyright infringement suit over computer source code ask the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm a trial court’s noninfringement judgment and its disqualification of the appellant’s expert, arguing that the lower court properly employed the doctrines of merger and scènes à faire and correctly found that the appellant failed to comply with the court’s expert report deadlines.
June 29, 2022
Writer Asks High Court To Clarify Copyright Substantial Similarity Standard

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Contending that the Paramount Pictures Corp. film “What Men Want” (WMW) infringed the copyright in his screenplay “What the F Is He Thinking?” (WTF), a screenwriter on May 31 filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to provide guidance on how courts should consider the arrangement of protected and unprotected elements when considering whether two works are substantially similar.
June 29, 2022
Judge Quashes Subpoena Requiring Twitter To Identify Anonymous Tweeter

OAKLAND, Calif. — A company seeking to compel Twitter Inc. to provide identifying information about an anonymous social network user failed to demonstrate that the user’s posting of six copyrighted photos as part of an apparent societal commentary did not constitute fair use, a California federal judge ruled June 21, concluding that the movant did not establish a prima facie case of copyright infringement sufficient to outweigh the Twitter user’s right to speak anonymously under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
June 27, 2022
Unfair Competition, DMCA Claims Tossed By Florida Federal Judge

TAMPA, Fla. — Allegations of federal unfair competition, common-law trademark infringement and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act were dismissed without prejudice on June 23 by a Florida federal judge, who found that a plaintiff is unable to show that the state’s long-arm statute applies to a resident of Mexico.
June 27, 2022
High Court Shoots Down Cert Petition In Copyright Dispute Over Floor Plans

WASHINGTON, D.C. —The U.S. Supreme Court in its June 27 order list said it will not review the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ interpretation of the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA) in a loss for a group of real estate brokerage firms and agents.
June 22, 2022
7th Circuit Agrees: No Meaningful Difference In 2 Copyright Cases

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 21 found no error in an Illinois federal judge’s determination that a plaintiff’s second copyright infringement lawsuit against Home Box Office Inc. is identical to a previously dismissed state law copyright case against the network and is thus barred by the doctrine of claim preclusion.
June 16, 2022
Warhol Foundation Asks High Court To Clarify Transformative Standard For Fair Use

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that Andy Warhol’s “Prince Series” of pictures of the deceased musician infringed the original copyrighted photo on which the series was based reflects a “similarity” fair use standard, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. (AWF) tells the U.S. Supreme Court in its June 10 opening merits brief, asking the high court to affirm the long-held transformative standard for determining fair use.
June 16, 2022
Maryland Federal Judge Says E-Book Law Preempted By Copyright

BALTIMORE — A Maryland statute that would require publishers to offer libraries a license to e-books and audiobooks on “reasonable terms” that are also made available to the public is invalid, a federal judge in Maryland ruled June 13.
June 15, 2022
New York Federal Judge: Pic From Film Set Is A Derivative Work

NEW YORK — The managing member of the company that produced “Mafietta” was barred from seeking copyright protection for a photograph she took on the set of the film, when a federal judge in New York on June 13 instead ruled that the image belongs to the author of the novella upon which the film is based.
June 13, 2022
Zillow Tells 9th Circuit Infringing Photos Were A Single Compilation

SAN FRANCISCO — A trial court’s finding of willful copyright infringement and its issuance of a $1,927,200 damages award cannot stand, Zillow Group Inc. tells the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in its May 31 opening appellant brief, in light of the requirement of Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC that a work be registered prior to initiating infringement litigation.
June 14, 2022
In Utah Federal Copyright Case, Claim-Splitting Doctrine Doesn’t Apply

SALT LAKE CITY — A motion to dismiss copyright infringement allegations on grounds of claim-splitting failed June 9, when a federal judge in Utah instead ruled the case should proceed.
June 13, 2022
North Carolina Federal Judge Issues $335,000 Sanction In Trademark, Copyright Case

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — In an order issued June 9, a federal judge in North Carolina said a copyright and trademark infringement defendant’s repeated defiance of an injunction justifies an award of $335,000 in sanctions.
June 13, 2022
2nd Circuit: Copyright Dispute Over Bikini Design Time-Barred

NEW YORK — In a May 31 summary order, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found no error in a New York federal judge’s determination that a copyright infringement plaintiff was on notice of a dispute over ownership in 2015 more than three years before filing an amended complaint.
June 10, 2022
California Federal Judge Reconsiders Causal Nexus Summary Judgment Ruling

LOS ANGELES — A denial of a motion for summary judgment that asserted that an infringement plaintiff could not demonstrate a causal nexus between the alleged copyright infringement and the profits for two films was in error, a federal judge in California ruled June 8.
June 09, 2022
Panel Upholds Summary Judgment In ‘Shawty So Cold’ Copyright Case

SAN FRANCISCO — In a June 7 ruling, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said a California federal judge did not err in granting Sony Music Entertainment and two defendants summary judgment on allegations that they infringed the sound recording and musical composition copyright to the beat track “Shawty So Cold.”
June 09, 2022
Parties Spar Over Copyright Protection For Floor Plans In High Court Briefs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ interpretation of the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA) is “indefensible,” a group of real estate brokerage firms and agents tell the U.S. Supreme Court in a June 8 reply brief supporting their petition for certiorari in which they ask the high court to provide guidance on whether floor plans constitute protectable items under the statute.
June 08, 2022
Federal Magistrate Judge In Tennessee: Copyright Plaintiff Entitled To Fees

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Although recommending a reduction in the amount requested, a federal magistrate judge in Tennessee on June 6 said a prevailing copyright infringement plaintiff is entitled to reimbursement of her attorney fees in a dispute over dog breed illustrations.
May 24, 2022
Expert Who Conducted Survey On Reasons For Game Purchase Can Testify, Judge Says

CLEVELAND — An Ohio federal judge on May 20 denied a man’s motion to exclude a video game company’s expert witness who conducted a survey on why consumers purchased a video game that the man alleges contains his copyrighted materials, finding that his objections are best resolved through cross-examination.
May 20, 2022
Panel Affirms Relief, Says THC-Containing Products Aren’t Illegal

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 19 upheld a preliminary injunction barring the sale of allegedly counterfeit e-cigarette and vaping products, rejecting a copyright infringement and unfair competition defendant’s claim that certain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products cannot be trademarked or copyrighted because THC is unlawful under federal law.
May 18, 2022
Contract Case Not Preempted By Copyright, California Federal Judge Says

LOS ANGELES — In a May 13 in-chambers order a federal judge in California ruled that a breach of contract case against Vizio Inc. belongs in California state court, where it was originally filed, rejecting Vizio’s assertion that the dispute is preempted by federal copyright law.
May 17, 2022
In New York Copyright Dispute Over Dress Lace, Claims Dismissed In Part

NEW YORK — Retailers accused by a lace company of incorporating a copyrighted lace design into their product line were denied dismissal on May 14 of allegations of copyright infringement as it relates to one dress but granted dismissal with regard to another.