IP & Technology Law Trends
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Copyright Office Rule Changes—Maintaining DMCA Safe Harbor Immunity Requires New Registration
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides limited safe-harbor immunity from copyright infringement claims to certain types of websites and other online service providers. Earlier this year, we blogged regarding the need for such providers...
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Copyright and Software: Oracle v. Google
In the blockbuster case of Oracle v. Google, the Federal Circuit has once again questioned the role of juries in deciding technical issues, this time in the context of fair use of copyrighted software. Oracle sued Google in 2010 after acquiring Sun M...
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Sis Boom Bah? Cheerleading Uniforms and Copyright Protection—Star Athletica Case Decided!
Can a cheerleader uniform containing combinations of elements like chevrons, lines, stripes, and angles be protected by copyright? Well, the Supreme Court addressed this exact issue on March 22, 2017, in the case of Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity...
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Copyright Office Requiring New DMCA Agent Designation by Year’s End
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides limited immunity from copyright infringement claims to certain types of websites and other online service providers. To qualify for such safe-harbor immunity, such providers must designate an agent...
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Ninth Circuit to Copyright Owners: Consider Fair Use Before Submitting DMCA Notices
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lenz v. Universal Music answered a question that it seems nobody has asked until now: Is it necessary to consider fair use before submitting a takedown notice under the Digital Mill...
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Two New Right of Publicity Decisions Heighten First Amendment Tension
We go for months with nothing but the slightest right of publicity kerfuffle here and there; and then, in the space of less than two weeks, we get two major appellate decisions. Both the Eighth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal recently handed down...
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