You may have heard that copyright exists in a work as soon as it is created. And you saw a lawyer twitch when you said that. It’s because we want to correct you, but also we don’t want to spoil the cocktail party and get kicked out before the bacon wrapped appetizers arrive. First, whatever … Read more
We have previously discussed that ownership of copyright defaults to the creator of work and that someone else can’t just use or duplicate the work without the owner’s permission. So, it wouldn’t be surprising to those who read our blog regularly to hear that some creators are upset that a party has taken their works … Read more
January 1, 2019, was a big day. I mean, for one thing, our firm turned 3 years old. No more terrible twos for us! Second, and perhaps with more widespread impact, it was the first time in 20 years that published copyrighted works entered into the public domain in the United States. We have previously … Read more
We started on this fair use train to answer a question someone asked me: When can you use music in videos and podcasts? I think you can make some guesses as to the answer. First, you can certainly use music if you get permission from the owner of the music. Second, there are companies that … Read more
Last week was a bit of a let down, wasn’t it? Here’s all of these interesting facts, and then thbbt! No resolution. This week is better. This one also involves the manipulation of a photograph but with a lot more humor. This time, Sconnie Nation, a t-shirt company, used a photo taken by Michael Kienitz … Read more
Fair use is a defense, but it isn’t always a slam dunk winning defense. Shepard Fairey is a graphic artist and known for street art. You may not recognize his name, but you likely recognize at least one piece of his work: The Obama HOPE poster. The photo is instantly recognizable and arguably iconic. It … Read more
As we discussed earlier, courts look at the purpose and character of the use for both the original owner and the derivative use. Courts look at how the party claiming fair use is using the copyrighted work. Is the derivative use meant to make money? If so, it is more likely to be found infringing, but if … Read more
Jeff likes to say, “There are only three “fairs” in the world: The county fair, the state fair, and the World’s Fair.” However clever that is, in copyright law, we also have fair use. I’ve been getting asked a lot of forms of, “If I do X, am I doing something wrong with someone else’s … Read more
We discussed infringement last week, but what we didn’t say was this is “direct infringement.” This is when the party who is held responsible is the one who actually engaged in infringing activities. OK, that makes sense, but you’re thinking, “If you are saying that, then there is something else? Someone can be held responsible … Read more
Infringement is a fancy word that pretty much means “used without permission.” We talked about what copyright owners had the right to do. That means others don’t have the right to do those with the copyrighted item without the owner’s permission. If they use it without permission – ding, ding, ding = Infringement! For example, … Read more