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Articles Posted in Copyright

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NFT Platforms and the (Sort of) Return of the Record Store

Over the past few months, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have exploded in popularity in the worlds of visual arts, sports memorabilia, bobbleheads, and now, music. We have recently seen multiple high-profile NFT releases from artists such as the Weeknd, the White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, and Steve…

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Google v. Oracle, Fair Use and the Decreasing Value of Code Over Time

Earlier this month, in what many consider the copyright case of the decade, the Supreme Court released its much-anticipated decision in Google v. Oracle. In it, the Court ruled that Google’s copying of 11,500 lines of declaring code from Java SE for use in Google’s Android platform, was fair use.…

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A Short History of the Fair Use Defense in the Software Industry

Last month, the Supreme Court released its much-anticipated decision in Google v. Oracle. The Court ruled that Google’s copying of 11,500 lines of declaring code from Java SE, for use in Google’s Android platform, was fair use. While we examine the Supreme Court’s decision in another post, let’s first take…

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Privacy, Publicity and Copyright: The Risks of Using Candid Photography in Your Business

Your company wants to use a picture taken outside of your office at an event you are hosting or sponsoring. Perhaps the image shows someone wearing your clothing or other product or using something showing your brand. Possibly you participated in a parade and want some images showing your company’s…

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Skin in the Game: A Second Take on Copyright and Tattoos in Video Games

You’re in the midst of doomscrolling, when you decide to take a mental health break and post a photo to your socials from a happier (pre-pandemic) time. As you search through your photos, you find a great one of yourself that a friend-of-a-friend took. You’re about to post the photo…

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Social Media Posting, Copyright Infringement and the Rights Balancing Act

In a recent social gathering, your friends took a number of photos and circulated it to the group. You see that one shot by a friend is a particularly great photo of you. You repost to your social media account to share with the world. It would generally be safe…

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Recent Appellate Decisions Clarify the “NonCommercial” Requirement of the Creative Commons ShareAlike License

Anyone who has spent time scouring the internet for free-to-use content has likely come across pictures, written materials and music permissively licensed under one or more of the Creative Commons licenses. These licenses tend to offer the public a broad range of options when using copyrighted material that is released…

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Song Sound-Alike Suits: Recent Music Copyright Cases Strike a Different Note

Copyright infringement lawsuits based on sound-alike songs are nothing new. Shortly after releasing the Billboard No. 1 single “My Sweet Lord” in 1970, George Harrison was sued for copyright infringement by the publisher of “He’s so Fine,” the 1963 hit released by the Chiffons. In the early ’90s, Vanilla Ice…

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The Rise of the Copyright Bots

The copyright bots have been unleashed, they have a mind of their own, and there is little that can be done to stop them. Copyright bots, otherwise known as content recognition software, are automated programs that can analyze audio and video clips uploaded to a platform, then compare those Clips…

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What Will Be the Endgame for Copyright in AI-Generated Works?

(Note, this post has spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.) Perhaps one of the most mesmerizing scenes in Avengers: Endgame is where all the MCU superheroes (including those on Titan) come through Dr. Strange’s portals to enter the battle against Thanos. In Avengers: Infinity War, Dr. Strange didn’t use these portals to…