Minding Your Business

Proskauer’s perspective on developments and trends in commercial litigation.

Category Archives: Copyright

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Amazon Acts Against DMCA Abuse

Competition between Amazon’s third-party merchants is notoriously fierce. The online retail giant often finds itself playing the role of referee, banning what it considers unfair business practices (such as offering free products in exchange for perfect reviews, or targeting competitors with so-called “review bombing”). Last month, in the latest round of this push and pull, … Continue Reading

Two Copyright Claim Wrongs Don’t Make a Copyright Claim Right: Analyzing Melendez v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc.

On October 4, 2022, a Second Circuit panel affirmed the lower court’s decision that defendant Sirius XM Radio Inc.’s ads showcasing The Howard Stern Show do not violate plaintiff John Edward Melendez’s publicity rights. The ruling affirmed the Southern District of New York’s grant of defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claims under California common and statutory … Continue Reading

Copyright Office Recommends No New Copyright Protections for News Publishers in the United States

Bucking a legal trend in Europe, the United States Copyright Office recently recommended against adopting additional copyright-like protections for news publishers that would require online news aggregators to pay publishers for news content shared on their platforms.  In a report published on June 30, 2022, the Office found such protections to be unnecessary in light … Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Re-Examine Fair Use: Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith

On March 28th, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, a case involving the core issues around copyright fair use. The case involves a series of Warhol drawings and silkscreen prints adapted from an original photograph of Prince taken by Lynn Goldsmith. Likely to interplay with the recent fair use decision in … Continue Reading

From Ireland to Iceland to Groban? Supreme Court Leaves in Place Circuit Split Regarding Approach for Assessing Substantial Similarity in Copyrighted Works

The United States Supreme Court recently denied certiorari in Johannsongs-Publishing, Ltd. v. Peermusic Ltd., et al, bringing an end to a copyright infringement suit relating to Josh Groban’s 2003 song You Raise Me Up. Notably, in declining to hear a challenge to the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that Groban’s song did not constitute infringement, the Court … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Excuses Inadvertent Legal Errors in Copyright Applications

The United States Supreme Court, in Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P., a recent 6-3 decision, found that innocent legal errors in copyright applications do not preclude copyright holders from taking advantage of the safe harbor provision of the Copyright Act, which protects registrants from having their copyrights invalidated due to inadvertent errors.  … Continue Reading

State Infringement of Copyright Cannot Proceed in Federal Court, Fifth Circuit Says

When there is a right, there is a remedy—or so the maxim goes.  But when a state infringes upon your copyright, such a remedy may be more difficult to obtain.  Just a year ago, the Supreme Court held in Allen v. Cooper that the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act did not abrogate a state’s sovereign immunity, and … Continue Reading

Federal Judge Finds Copyright Issues “Embedded” in Social Media Re-Posts

Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York recently denied a motion to dismiss in a copyright dispute involving the unlicensed “embedding” of a social media video. In doing so, the court explicitly and definitively rejected the Ninth Circuit’s “server rule,” under which the Ninth Circuit held that re-posting of online content does … Continue Reading

Second Circuit Revisits Transformative Use Test in “Fish Sticks n’ Tater Tots” Music Copyright Case

The Second Circuit recently upheld a ruling that streaming giants Apple, Amazon, and Netflix engaged in fair use, in a case concerning the use of plaintiff musicians’ song in a documentary film available for viewing on defendants’ streaming platforms. In doing so, the Court found the eight-second snippet of the song was performed in a … Continue Reading

The “Truth Hurts”: Judge Rules Lizzo is 100% That [Copyright Owner]

Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Central District of California recently awarded singer Lizzo a major victory in a copyright dispute concerning the artist’s hit song “Truth Hurts.” In her ruling, Judge Gee dismissed with prejudice a claim that Lizzo must share copyright ownership of “Truth Hurts” with the plaintiffs in the case, because the … Continue Reading

Double Masking is Good, but Still Make Sure You Can Be Heard in a Deposition

As the legal profession continues to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, even something as normal and regular as a deposition has often become an adventure. Even after accounting for the immediately obvious questions (is in-person too dangerous or not allowed? If conducting a remote deposition, what vendor should I use?) and all-to-common glitches like connectivity … Continue Reading

Insurers Did Not Act As Advertised in “Advertising Injury” Suit

Does coverage for liability arising out of “advertising injury” include copyright infringement suits where the insured was not alleged to have engaged in advertisement? In Superior Integrated Solutions, Inc. v. Mercer Insurance Company of New Jersey, Inc., the New Jersey Appeals Court said “yes,” affirming the trial court’s granting summary judgment for an insured.… Continue Reading

“Hold Up, Wait A Minute”: D.C. Circuit Rejects Copyright Board’s Categorical Exclusion of Internet Transmissions from Grandfathered Royalty Rates

On August 18, the D.C. Circuit directed the Copyright Royalty Board (“CRB”) to reconsider what royalties are owed to artists by Music Choice for its streaming services, vacating the final determination of the Copyright Royalty Board.  In the Court’s view, the CRB wrongfully excluded internet transmissions from the grandfathered royalty rate paid by some music … Continue Reading

First Circuit Treads “Unchartered Waters”: Holds Copyright Sublicenses Can Be Implied

On March 13, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in a case of first impression, held that a copyright licensee given the unrestricted right to grant sublicenses may do so without using express language. The case, Photographic Illustrators Corp. v. Orgill, Inc., stems from a license Photographic Illustrators Corp. (“PIC”), a … Continue Reading

Fifth Circuit Holds Failure to Mitigate is No Bar to Statutory Damages Under Copyright Act

Recently, copyright owners suing in the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit were given a new reason to seek statutory damages instead of actual damages under the Copyright Act. Failure to mitigate damages is not an absolute defense to a claim for statutory damages, the Court ruled on Wednesday, … Continue Reading
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