Mealey's Copyright : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Copyright

January 06, 2023
Photo Distributor Waives Response To Cert Petition Over Copyright Info Removal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After prevailing in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals over claims that it violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by stripping photographers’ copyright management information (CMI) from pictures that it licensed to third parties, a photo distributor filed a notice with the U.S. Supreme Court that it was waiving its right to respond to a petition for certiorari from a photography company asking the high court to clarify the necessary elements to bring a CMI violation under the statute.
January 04, 2023
In Texas Architectural Copyright Row, Fair Use, Originality Claims Survive

SAN ANTONIO — Although rejecting a copyright infringement defendant’s assertion that it possessed an implied license to use an architectural firm’s renderings and floorplans, a federal judge in Texas on Jan. 2 denied the firm’s motion for summary judgment on the questions of fair use, copyright originality and more.
January 03, 2023
Copyright Claims By Reggae Artist Dismissed By New York Federal Judge

NEW YORK — Efforts by a record label to obtain dismissal of allegations that it infringed the copyrighted recordings of Shauna McKenzie-Morris, who performs as Etana, succeeded Dec. 30 when a federal judge in New York said the plaintiff fails to distinguish between registered and unregistered works in her complaint.
January 03, 2023
Copyright, Trademark Claims Over Fudge Recipe Tossed In Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH — A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania ruled that although copyright and trademark infringement allegations by a fudge maker against his former wife fail, genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment on the question of whether reasonable measures were taken to protect a disputed fudge recipe.
January 03, 2023
Mural Creator Prevails, In Part, In New York Copyright Litigation

NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York awarded an artist summary judgment that Diesel Power Gear LLC — a company associated with the “Diesel Brothers” Discovery Channel television show — infringed a copyrighted mural but denied summary judgment in all other respects, including allegations that the show’s stars are directly, vicariously and contributorily liable.
December 16, 2022
Texas Federal Judge Transfers Intellectual Property Row Sua Sponte

AUSTIN, Texas — Allegations of patent, copyright and trademark infringement leveled against more than 600 defendants over the sale of alleged counterfeit animal brushes belong in California, a Texas federal judge ruled sua sponte on Dec. 15.
December 15, 2022
Inclusion By Actress Of Clips In Acting Reel Was A Fair Use, Panel Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said an actress properly prevailed on allegations of copyright infringement by the director of a film in which the actress starred.
December 13, 2022
‘Shake It Off’ California Federal Copyright Case Ends In Settlement

LOS ANGELES — Just weeks away from a planned jury trial, the authors of the musical work “Playas Gon’ Play” reached a settlement with Taylor Swift, author of the hit song “Shake It Off,” according to a stipulation by the parties and order by a California federal judge on Dec. 12.
December 12, 2022
Motion To Dismiss Copyright Claims Granted; Visual Artist Given Leave To Amend

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California has dismissed allegations that a rapper performing as Lil’ Nas X infringed the copyright of a visual artist when he published a series of photographs that allegedly “mimicked” the plaintiff’s work.
December 12, 2022
Supreme Court Asks United States To Brief Question Of Copyright Preemption

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its Dec. 12 orders list, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the solicitor general to weigh in on a contractual dispute between a song lyrics website and Google LLC, which the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said is preempted by copyright.
December 09, 2022
California Copyright Case Dismissed Pursuant To Extraterritoriality Bar

LOS ANGELES — A plaintiff’s second attempt to obtain relief for alleged copyright infringement that occurred entirely in Japan failed when a California federal judge again granted dismissal without leave to amend.
December 08, 2022
Panel Upholds Dismissal Of Trademark Action, But Reinstates Copyright Claim

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California wrongly granted Yahoo! Inc. dismissal of allegations of copyright infringement leveled over the display of photographs even after Yahoo’s agreement with the creator of the photos was terminated, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled.
December 07, 2022
Lanham Act Claim Fails, But Copyright Claim Survives Dismissal Bid

CHICAGO — A group of defendants who are among the few to not settle copyright infringement and false designation of origin claims by the maker of the “Fidget Cube” saw their efforts to obtain dismissal rejected in part by an Illinois federal judge.
December 07, 2022
D.C. Circuit Rejects Free Speech Challenge To DMCA By Coders

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A denial of a request for injunctive relief by two authors of computer code that circumvents various technological protection measures (TPMs) intended to prevent copyright infringement was upheld Dec. 6 by the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
December 06, 2022
Oregon Federal Magistrate Judge Tosses Copyright, Lanham Act Claims Over Books

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal magistrate judge in Oregon on Dec. 5 granted dismissal of copyright infringement and unfair competition claims leveled over the book “Why God Doesn’t Exist,” finding among other things that the Lanham Act “does not provide a cause of action for unattributed copying.”
December 05, 2022
Missouri Federal Magistrate Judge: Fair Use Defense Is Premature

ST. LOUIS — A federal magistrate judge in Missouri refused to address the merits of a fair use affirmative defense to allegations of copyright infringement, deeming the matter “inappropriate for determination at the motion to dismiss stage.”
December 01, 2022
Photographer Asks 9th Circuit To Restore Per-Photo Award Over Zillow’s Online Use

SAN FRANCISCO — Maintaining its stance that copyrighted real estate photos that Zillow Group Inc. posted on its website without permission do not qualify as a compilation, a photography company in its cross-reply brief asks the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm a jury’s statutory damages award of $1,500 per individual infringed work.
November 30, 2022
Dismissal Of Copyright, Trademark Claims Over Board Game Denied

CHICAGO — Allegations that two defendants created a fully interactive website to sell counterfeit versions of the “Match Madness” pattern matching board game will proceed, a federal judge in Illinois ruled.
November 28, 2022
Lyrics Site To High Court: Claims Against Google Based On Contract, Not Copyrights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals incorrectly deemed its claims against Google LLC preempted by the Copyright Act, a song lyrics website operator says in a reply supporting its petition for certiorari, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that its complaint focused on the internet giant’s breach of a contractual agreement not to copy content from its website rather than on any infringement of the copyrighted items.
November 22, 2022
Sony, Universal Bid To Dismiss Copyright Claims Fails In California

LOS ANGELES — A motion to dismiss by Sony Music Entertainment, Songs of Universal Inc. and the singer-songwriter Chris Brown of allegations that they infringed a copyrighted work by the musician also known as “Sqooby” was denied Nov. 21 by a federal judge in California.
November 18, 2022
Injunction Upheld On Appeal In Lighting Design Intellectual Property Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A New York federal judge’s decision granting a patent, trademark and copyright infringement plaintiff preliminary injunctive relief in a dispute over lighting design was affirmed by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
November 18, 2022
Google Tells Supreme Court Lyrics Site’s Quasi-Copyright Claims Are Preempted

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly upheld the dismissal of contractual and unfair competition claims over the purported copying of content from a song lyrics website as preempted by the Copyright Act, Google LLC says in an opposition brief, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny the website operator’s petition for a writ of certiorari.
November 17, 2022
Bid For Interlocutory Appeal Of Copyright Ruling Denied In North Carolina

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina said her recent summary judgment that a copyright infringement plaintiff is barred from seeking statutory damages or attorney fees is not worthy of interlocutory appeal to the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
November 15, 2022
Copyright, Antitrust Case Against IBM Transferred To New York Federal Court

ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands —A federal judge in the Virgin Islands on Nov. 14 said allegations that International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) committed copyright infringement and antitrust violations in connection with the UNIX operating system should proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
November 11, 2022
Plaintiff Has Standing For Patent, Not Copyright, Claims In Texas

HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas on Nov. 10 ruled that two plaintiffs are entitled to a preliminary injunction on their patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation claims but that their copyright infringement claims fail for lack of standing.