Have you wondered why Pandora won’t just play songs by a single artist of your choice? Or why there isn’t a list of upcoming songs in the playstation? I certainly have wondered these things. Tim Westergren, Pandora’s founder, recently answered these questions. Pandora is subject to a government statutory license that limits [...]
Continue Reading →In the news. . .
Viacom agrees to pay $1.75 million for class action copyright suit related to BET’s failure to obtain proper “sync” licenses for its programs.
Mobile Resource Card, a financial services company, is suing the Kardashian sisters for walking away from a deal for prepaid celebrity-endorsed [...]
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Estate of superstar Bette Davis sues Los Angeles clothing store for dress it claims violates the actress’s publicity rights.
Copyright issues still unresolved in the Barack Obama “HOPE” Image controversy.
RapidShare, named as a contributor to digital piracy by a MarkMonitor [...]
Continue Reading →The Ninth Circuit recently issued the last of three decisions concerning the “first sale doctrine” – a limitation on copyright established by the Supreme Court over one hundred years ago.
The first sale doctrine allows the purchaser of a lawfully-made copy of copyrighted material to transfer his/her copy without seeking permission from the [...]
Continue Reading →On November 16, 2010, the Fab Four’s legendary music became available on iTunes. CMUdaily recently reported that in order to secure The Beatles catalogue, iTunes may have struck an unusual deal. Typically, the [...]
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California passes new law making it illegal to impersonate celebrities, pushing limits of both trademark and publicity rights protection.
After judge orders permanent injunction, LimeWire drags Amazon.com and Apple into legal battle — demanding accounts of possible backdoor dealings with record labels.
Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction [...]
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LiveNation sues former CEO for $5 million over dispute involving contract and use of 360 Deals.
Famous Hollywood Boulevard Superheros back on the street after federal judge rules First Amendment protects their activity.
Senate approves legislation that allows domain-name seizure for websites pirating Continue Reading →
Coming out of Europe this week are two apparently opposite movements: one seeks stronger protections for Internet users’ personal information; the other, aims to relax intellectual property laws and allow the use of copyright materials without the owners’ approval.
At one end of the spectrum, the European Commission has called for strengthening [...]
Continue Reading →Read the following quotes and choose the letter that selects the group/person that you think made the comments:
“Privileges extended by copyright law . . . are restrictive and anachronistic in the face of current technologies, and create only the narrowest of circumstances in which making copies is permissible.”
“In the perception of the public, [...]
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The Copyright Office Tunes In
Upon Congress’s prompting, the U.S. Copyright Office has begun a study on the desirability of bringing sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, under federal jurisdiction. In a notice of inquiry, the Copyright Office has requested written comments from all interested parties.
Sound recordings were protected solely under state [...]
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