Intellectual Property

Warhol Foundation Doesn’t Benefit From ‘Plagiarist Privilege’

Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. V. Goldsmith concerns whether the Andy Warhol Foundation (AWF) infringed the copyright held by Lynn Goldsmith in her photograph of the artist Prince, when it licensed Warhol’s version (“Orange Prince”) of Goldsmith’s photograph to the media company Condé Nast for a magazine cover. At issue was whether the fair use defense applies to appropriation. Rather than broadly refashion the law, the Court issued a narrowing interpretation of the first fair use factor, in the form of a new judicial test.

by NWSidebar

Tracy Chapman v. Nicki Minaj: Commercial Purposes Can be Fair Use, but Minaj May be ‘Sorry’

Tracy Chapman recently sued Nicki Minaj for copyright infringement, after Minaj sampled part of a Chapman song. Minaj won a partial summary judgement motion on fair use grounds. A win for Nicki Minaj? Not so fast…

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5 Things IP Practitioners Should Do to Avoid U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Discipline

Whether you have been practicing law for many years or are just starting in the field of IP law, here are five things you can do to reduce the risk that you’ll be on the receiving end of a complaint.

by NWSidebar

From Printed Page to Silver Screen: A Legal Primer on Taking Comics to Hollywood in 2019

It’s no secret that comic books supply much of the underlying source material for today’s most popular movies and television programs. In 2018, superhero movies dominated the box office with Black Panther alone bringing in $200 million in its opening weekend and wrapping up the year with a gross of $1.35 billion worldwide. While movies […]

by NWSidebar

Comics, Creators, Copyrights and Collaboration

Representing comic book creators can be exciting: you get to use your JD to protect costumed heroes and villains! Given Hollywood’s love of the comic book property, attorneys who practice IP law and work in the entertainment industries should have a working knowledge of the legal issues comic book creators face each time they begin […]

by NWSidebar

Sorry, Adele – Trump Doesn’t Need Your Permission to Play Your Songs

In almost every election cycle, musical artists are surprised to find their songs being played without their permission at campaign events hosted by politicians that they don’t support, and seek recourse to copyright law in order to prevent further performances. And, in almost every election cycle, they are, as a legal matter, usually dead wrong.

by NWSidebar

Did Otto Frank Co-author The Diary of Anne Frank?

There’s a legal battle brewing in Europe right now over the copyright of a teenager’s diary.

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The Lawyer as Business Partner

Attorney Henry Dixon explains how serving as both effective partner and proactive advisor heightens a lawyer’s value to business clients.

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GoldieBlox, License to Will

This post was written by Jesse Woo and originally published on the Washington Lawyers for the Arts Blog. Read the full post. In addition to the basic overview and fair use analysis, public perception of Girls and this case raises another issue that I want to address. There has been much talk of the Beastie Boys’ decision not to allow commercial advertising […]

by NWSidebar

GoldieBlox, Rhymin and Stealin Intellectual Property

This post was written by Jesse Woo and originally published on the Washington Lawyers for the Arts Blog. Read the full post. To recap where we left off, in a very short period of time we went from feminist Legos (K’Nex?) to full blown intellectual property litigation. It seems that GoldieBlox’s offer to drop its […]

by NWSidebar

GoldieBlox, Fighting for Your Right to Par~take (in unlicensed parodying)

Examine interesting copyright issues with this post from Washington Lawyers for the Arts. This post was written by Jesse Woo and originally published on the Washington Lawyers for the Arts Blog. Read the full post. Feminism vs. creative control, parodists vs. rights holders, the ongoing GoldieBlox litigation has been cast in a variety of lights, […]

by NWSidebar

What Your Clients Need to Know About Cyber Responsibility

Americans are increasingly concerned about the privacy of their personal data. For example, an ESET and Harris Interactive survey reveals an uptick in “cyber responsibility,” that can be defined as the ability of individuals to exercise certain levels of protection over their personal data. The survey reveals 4 out of 5 individuals surveyed have adjusted […]

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3 Cases to Read While Talking Like a Pirate, Mateys

Avast! Celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day with historical and modern day cases of pirates. Ahoy! Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. While you should probably abstain from observing this holiday in court or in emails to opposing counsel, you can still celebrate with these three cases about pirates. Captain William Kidd […]