Mealey's Copyright
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August 14, 2024
5th Circuit Issues Updated Opinion In Copyright Row Over Canadian Legal Codes
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a new version of a July opinion in which it reversed a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment against a publisher accused by a Canadian developer of legal codes and standards of illegally republishing complete versions of the code because the code is effectively uncopyrightable “law” in Canada, removing a reference to the developer referring to itself as a government agency.
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August 13, 2024
After Dismissing UCL Claim, Judge Relieves Plaintiffs Of ChatGPT Discovery
SAN FRANCISCO — Attorney-created prompts and testing of ChatGPT constitute protected opinion work product, and copyright infringement plaintiffs did not waive work product protections by including some results in their complaint, and the protections are not overcome simply because production would shed light on the case, a federal judge in California said in granting relief from a magistrate judge’s ruling.
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August 12, 2024
New York Times Says Judge Nixed Ruling OpenAI Cites Ordering Discovery Of Prompts
NEW YORK — A judge recently overruled a magistrate judge’s order that was cited by OpenAI Inc. and related entities in their effort to obtain prompts and other material related to presuit testing of ChatGPT, the New York Times Co. (NYT) told a federal judge in New York on Aug. 9 in its copyright infringement action against the creators of the artificial intelligence.
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August 12, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Singer’s Copyright Claim Against Rolling Stones
NEW ORLEANS — In a per curiam opinion, a panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Louisiana federal judge was correct to dismiss a Spanish singer’s copyright infringement complaint against The Rolling Stones, its members and associated record labels because the singer failed to establish that the court had personal jurisdiction over the defendants.
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August 07, 2024
Judge Relates Pair Of AI Copyright Actions As Briefing On Dismissal Begins
SAN FRANCISCO — Arguments about differences in parties and the specificity of claims in two copyright suits might stand in the way of consolidation of the actions but do not prevent relating the cases, which involve artificial intelligence created by defendant Google LLC, a federal judge in California said in a docket entry.
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August 07, 2024
D.C. Circuit Affirms Finding That DMCA Does Not Run Afoul Of 1st Amendment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel rejected two technologists’ challenge to the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), holding that a federal district court rightly enforced the statute’s anti-circumvention provision with regard to technological protection measures (TPMs).
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August 06, 2024
Federal Judge Tosses Singer’s ‘Shotgun’ Copyright Suit Targeting Music Companies
MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida dismissed a copyright claim brought by a Venezuelan musician claiming that several music companies illegally uploaded his music to online music streaming platforms, adopting a federal magistrate judge’s report wherein the magistrate judge found that the musician’s complaint is an impermissible shotgun pleading and that the musician failed to substantiate some of his claims.
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August 05, 2024
11th Circuit: Court Must Reconsider If Tech Company’s Full Code Is Copyrightable
ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Florida federal magistrate judge failed to fully consider the copyrightability of the code of a company that makes a software comparing life insurance quotes in a case the company brought against competitors it said stole its trade secrets by taking portions of its database, ordering the judge to make a new finding of facts for the company’s copyright claim
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August 02, 2024
Judge Grants Summary Judgment To Airline On Copyright Claim Against Reseller
FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge in Texas held that American Airlines Inc. was entitled to summary judgment on copyright infringement claims it brought against a company that exploits an airline ticket loophole to save customers money on tickets, finding that the company failed to show that its use of the American Airlines flight symbol on its website was a fair use of the flight symbol.
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August 01, 2024
1st Circuit Orders New Copyright Infringement Damages Trial For Guitar Maker
BOSTON — A panel of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ordered a new jury trial on the issue of infringing profits on a copyright claim brought by a guitar manufacturer who said a guitar seller used a copyrighted photo of guitar headstocks on its website, holding that a New Hampshire federal judge did not accurately explain the manufacturer’s burden of proof in jury instructions.
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August 01, 2024
Code Publisher Seeks Rehearing After 5th Circuit Finds Codes Uncopyrightable
NEW ORLEANS — In a pair of petitions, a Canadian developer of legal standards and codes requested either panel rehearing or rehearing en banc after a split panel in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment against a publisher accused by the developer of illegally republishing complete versions of the code, arguing that the panel incorrectly held that the codes are effectively “law” in Canada.
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July 31, 2024
Authors’ UCL Claim Dismissed From ChatGPT Copyright Case
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on July 30 granted a motion by OpenAI Inc. and affiliates to dismiss authors’ claims that they violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by training artificial intelligence on copyrighted material after finding the claim preempted by federal copyright law.
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July 31, 2024
Federal Magistrate Judge: Photographer’s Copyright Claims Not Time-Barred
NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York recommended that a web company’s motion to dismiss copyright infringement claims brought against it by a photographer be denied, saying the company is wrong to argue that the claims are time-barred because accrual began when the alleged infringement was discovered in 2022, not when the alleged infringement occurred in 2015.
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July 30, 2024
Stability AI Wants Copyright Suit Sent To California
WILMINGTON, Del. — California federal court provides an all-around better location for an artificial intelligence copyright suit, Stability AI Ltd. and related entities told a federal judge in Delaware on July 29, saying that California provides better access to witnesses and evidence, a less congested court and an already pending suit involving similar allegations.
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July 29, 2024
Judge: Trade Secret Claims Against TikTok In Copyright Case Adequately Established
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on July 26 denied a request from TikTok Inc. and affiliated entities to compel a China-based company to state with particularity its trade secret source code it says TikTok infringes upon, saying the company included the trade secrets in its complaint with the requisite particularity; the judge’s order was issued days after a previous order in which the judge dismissed a false advertising claim against TikTok with prejudice.
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July 26, 2024
Default Judgment For Rapper On Copyright Claims On Hit Single Recommended
NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York on July 25 recommended the entry of default judgment against the rapper known as Tekashi 6ix9ine in a copyright dispute brought by a hip-hop producer who alleges that the rapper illegally used a recording copyrighted by the producer in a 2018 single that eventually went platinum, after the rapper failed to make any filings in the case for years.
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July 25, 2024
Judge Denies Fees In Copyright, Trade Secret Dispute Between Bronx Music Schools
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge denied a request by a music school and its founder for reimbursement of the attorney fees they incurred in successfully defending allegations of copyright infringement, unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation, overruling objections from the school and its founder that a federal magistrate judge erred in recommending that the motion be denied.
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July 23, 2024
Magistrate Grants Adult Video Company’s Bid To Serve ISP In Illegal Download Row
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge on July 22 granted in part a motion filed by an adult video company to serve the internet service provider (ISP) of an unknown defendant accused of copyright infringement related to alleged illegal downloading and distributing of the video company’s content, finding that because serving the ISP is necessary for the company to proceed in this case, the company may serve the ISP with specified protections regarding identifying information.
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July 23, 2024
9th Circuit: DMCA Does Not Preclude Forum Non Conveniens Dismissal
SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 22 upheld a Washington federal judge’s decision to dismiss copyright and trade secret claims between two South Korean video game companies, agreeing with the judge that the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) does not preclude forum non conveniens as a reason for dismissal.
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July 22, 2024
Complaint’s Brush Strokes Sufficiently Specific In AI Copyright Suit, Artists Say
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Allegations that Google LLC and its parent company used copyrighted material to train its artificial intelligence suffices and the plaintiffs need not identify every image at issue in the class action, visual artists tell a federal judge in California in a July 19 brief opposing dismissal.
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July 18, 2024
Split 5th Circuit Panel Says Publisher Can Copy Legal Codes Copyrighted In Canada
NEW ORLEANS — A split panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment against a publishing company accused by a Canadian developer of legal standards and codes of copying and republishing complete versions of the codes, saying that the codes are effectively “law” in Canada and that law is copyable.
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July 17, 2024
Media’s AI Copyright Suit Supplemental Briefing Focuses On Prompts, Injury
NEW YORK — The Intercept Media Inc. called artificial intelligence ChatGPT a “serial plagiarist” built on thousands of copyrighted works of journalism while urging a federal judge in New York in supplemental briefing to reject arguments about any lack of injury and timeliness and deny a pair of motions to dismiss its copyright case.
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July 17, 2024
Magistrate Judge: Singer Does Not Support Copyright Claims In ‘Shotgun’ Suit
MIAMI — A federal magistrate judge in Florida recommended the dismissal of a copyright claim brought by a Venezuelan musician claiming that several music companies illegally uploaded his music to online music streaming platforms, finding both that the musician’s complaint is an impermissible shotgun pleading and that the musician failed to substantiate some of his claims.
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July 16, 2024
Magistrate Suggests $14K To Photographer For Paper’s Infringement Of Epstein Photo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal magistrate judge in Florida recommended that a Spanish-language newspaper be ordered to pay $14,478 to a professional photographer for its use of a photo of billionaire financier and convicted felon Jeffrey Epstein after the newspaper failed to respond to the photographer’s claims in federal court.
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July 15, 2024
Judge: Songwriter Makes Showing Of Worldwide Ownership; Copyright Claims Survive
BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana on July 12 denied a music publication company’s motion to dismiss a copyright dispute over a 1960s hit song, finding that the song’s writer made an adequate showing that foreign use of the song is barred by the songwriters’ renewal of copyright interests.