Mealey's Copyright
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June 18, 2021
Rapper Asks 9th Circuit To Uphold Verdict In Katy Perry Copyright Dispute
PASADENA, Calif. — A trial court used the incorrect standard and did not properly consider all the evidence when it reversed a jury verdict that found that a song by pop singer Katy Perry made infringing use of an ostinato from a Christian rap song, the recording artist tells the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a May 19 reply brief.
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June 18, 2021
Asserted Truths Doctrine Debated In Supreme Court ‘Jersey Boys’ Copyright Suit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a June 10 reply brief supporting her petition for certiorari, the rights holder of an autobiography of a member of The Four Seasons tells the U.S. Supreme Court that fictional elements of the work are protectable and should have led to a finding that the musical “Jersey Boys” infringed the book, arguing that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals improperly adopted a new “asserted truths doctrine” that conflicts with existing copyright principles and case law.
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June 17, 2021
7th Circuit: Copyrighted Home Plans Entitled To Only Thin Protection
CHICAGO — A federal judge in Indiana correctly rejected allegations of copyright infringement leveled in connection with single-family home floor plans because they consist “largely of standard features found in homes across America,” the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled June 16.
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June 16, 2021
Dispute Over Fees In Copyright License Agreement Will Proceed
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California in a June 14 order found that Section 114 of the Copyright Act is “sufficiently stringent” to grant “non-featured performers” a “cognizable property interest in royalties held in escrow and payable by” the Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, denying a defense motion for summary judgment.
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June 16, 2021
Copyright Dispute Over Dance Featured In NBA 2K19 Transferred To Georgia
SAN FRANCISCO — A copyright lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment over “Soul Jah Boi” — a dance performed by players after scoring a point in the NBA 2K19 basketball simulation game — will proceed in Georgia federal court, a California federal judge ruled June 14.
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June 15, 2021
Panel: Board Game Was Work For Hire, Dooming Termination Rights Request
BOSTON — A federal judge in Rhode Island correctly determined that the prototype for the “Game of Life” board game qualified as a work for hire, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded June 14, in a blow to the heirs of a toy developer who sought termination rights.
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June 11, 2021
Panel Issues $72K Fee Award For Successful Appeal In Copyright Row
SAN FRANCISCO — Just over one year after it ruled in a case of first impression that district courts have discretion to award attorney fees in copyright abandonment declaratory judgment actions, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 8 awarded $72,865 in attorney fees in connection with the appellants’ successful appeal of a contrary holding by a California federal judge.
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June 10, 2021
Jay-Z, Timbaland To Face Copyright Claims In New York Court
NEW YORK — In a June 8 ruling, a federal judge in New York denied a request by musical artists Shawn Carter, personally known as Jay-Z, and Timothy Mosley, personally known as Timbaland, for dismiss allegations that they infringed a guitar riff from the 1960s song “Help Me Put Out The Flame (In My Heart).”
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June 09, 2021
In Texas, Copyright Plaintiff’s Jury Demand Won’t Be Stricken
MARSHALL, Texas — A request by professional wrestler Booker T. Huffman for a jury trial in connection with his effort to recover infringer’s profits remains intact, after a federal magistrate judge in Texas on June 8 rejected claims by four defendants that the remedy is purely equitable in nature.
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June 04, 2021
Amici Back ISP In 4th Circuit Appeals Of $1B Vicarious Copyright Judgment
RICHMOND, Va. — Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a group of intellectual property law professors are among the amici curiae who filed briefs on June 1 in the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in support of an internet service provider (ISP) that was hit with a $1 billion judgment for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement related to the piracy of copyrighted songs carried out by the ISP’s subscribers.
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June 04, 2021
Dr. Seuss Enterprises Waives Response To Certiorari Bid Over Copyright Fair Use
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dr. Seuss Enterprises LP filed a notice of waiver in the U.S. Supreme Court on May 25, declining to file an brief opposing a petition for certiorari filed by the creators of a work that was found to infringe the copyrights of the well-known children’s book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” (“Go”), and opting to not respond to the petitioners’ questions regarding fair use.
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June 01, 2021
High Court Takes On Dispute Over Standard For Copyright Referrals
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its June 1 orders list, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will review a May 2020 decision by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that Section 411(b)(2) of the Copyright Act compels referral to the Copyright Office whenever a copyright registration is alleged to be invalid.
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May 27, 2021
Relief Issued By North Carolina Federal Judge In Copyright, Trademark Row
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A defendant was barred from providing services to any customers outside of Europe, Africa or Russia with limited exceptions, when a North Carolina federal judge on May 26 found that a copyright and trademark owner will likely succeed on its allegations of infringement.
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May 24, 2021
2nd Circuit Affirms Win For Pepsi On Ad Firm’s Copyright Claim
NEW YORK — A boutique advertising firm that accused PepsiCo Inc. of copying an ad it pitched in connection with the 2016 Super Bowl failed to establish substantial similarity between the two works, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled May 21.
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May 21, 2021
Santa Fe County Board Wins Dismissal Of Copyright Claims
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A county board accused of copying a logo submitted by a design firm prevailed May 19 when a New Mexico federal magistrate judge declared the logo not entitled to copyright protection.
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May 19, 2021
2nd Circuit Upholds Fair Use Finding In Favor Of Netflix, Others
NEW YORK — In a summary disposition issued May 18, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed findings by a federal judge in New York that use of the children’s song “Fish Sticks n’ Tater Tots” in a single scene of a film made available for viewing on the streaming platforms of Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. was fair within the meaning of federal copyright law.
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May 18, 2021
Federal Circuit Recalls Fair Use Mandate In Oracle, Google Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a May 14 order, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals recalled its own September 2018 mandate “solely with respect to fair use,” following an April 5 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in a longstanding copyright dispute between Google LLC and Oracle America Inc.
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May 13, 2021
Louisiana Federal Judge Won’t Reconsider Prior Ruling In Copyright Row
NEW ORLEANS — A recent decision granting a motion in limine to exclude reference at trial to revenues or expenses generated overseas by several copyright infringement defendants, including Universal Studios LLC, won’t be revisited, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled May 7.
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May 12, 2021
Arizona Federal Magistrate Judge Tosses Copyright Dispute Over Manuscript
PHOENIX — Twelve stories in a manuscript about frontiersman Jim Hathaway are not substantially similar to “Crossers: A Novel,” a fictional book about life along the Mexican border, a federal magistrate judge in Arizona ruled May 10.
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May 07, 2021
Following Bench Trial In ‘Cathy’s Clown’ Copyright Row, Plaintiff Prevails
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a May 4 holding, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled that Isaac “Don” Everly “plainly and expressly” repudiated his brother Phil Everly’s status as a co-author of the song “Cathy’s Clown” more than three years before Phil Everly’s successors sought a declaration of co-authorship.