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Copyright

What To Do If You Receive A Higbee & Associates Copyright Demand Letter

Have you received a demand letter from the Law Firm of Higbee & Associates? If so, then you are not alone. We have been forwarded numerous emails and other written correspondence from the Law Firm of Higbee & Associates, demanding a large sum of money in exchange for a release of claims related to allegations of […]

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Copyright

Groundless Copyright Claims Will Result In Attorney’s Fees, But There Are Limitations

We have recently gone over the test for attorney’s fees in copyright infringement cases. As a refresher, under 17 U.S. Code § 505 the prevailing party in a copyright infringement case may be entitled to an award of its reasonable attorney’s fees, and the court will look at relevant factors such as: (1) whether the claim was frivolous; (2) the party’s motivation; […]

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Copyright

Godfather Of Skateboard Art Sues Tony Hawk And Jack Black For Copyright Infringement

Jack Black and Tony Hawk are among the defendants in a new copyright infringement, unjust enrichment, and unfair competition lawsuit initiated by a California man named Wesley Humpston. The Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is based on Humpston, who has apparently earned the reputation as “The Godfather […]

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Copyright

The Test For Attorney’s Fees In Copyright Infringement Cases

Under 17 U.S. Code § 505 the prevailing party in a copyright infringement case may be entitled to an award of its reasonable attorney’s fees. It is not an absolute right but, instead, the court must make a case-by-case assessment and look at various relevant factors such as: (1) whether the claim was frivolous; (2) the party’s motivation; (3) […]

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Copyright

Court Grants Plaintiff Summary Judgment In Social Media Copyright Infringement Case

A new ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York addresses a hot topic of copyright infringement surrounding the posting of copyrighted material on social media. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ruled in favor of plaintiff photographer Mark Iantosca on his motion for summary judgment against Elie Tahari, Ltd. […]

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Copyright

Court Says Plaintiff Needs More Than IP Address To Prevail In Copyright Infringement Case

Earning a judgment against an individual allegedly infringing on one’s copyright is not as simple as obtaining information attaching an IP address to the supposed infringer and connecting the dots for the judge. The court denied a plaintiff’s motion for default judgment in a case pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District […]

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Copyright

Greg Young And Zazzle’s Reckless Four-Year Copyright Battle Gets Costly

Greg Young Publishing and Zazzle resumed the parties’ battle over willful copyright infringement this past Thursday, July 9 in California federal court. This copyright battle goes back to June 23, 2016, when Greg Young, a publisher of visual arts brought legal action against Zazzle, a website allowing its users to upload images of artwork to […]

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Copyright

Bright House Earns Big Copyright Win Internet Service Providers

Defendant Bright House Networks LLC has been granted its motion to dismiss music rights holder UMG Recordings, Inc., et al., (Plaintiffs) vicarious infringement claims because Plaintiffs failed to sufficiently allege a direct financial benefit. Bright House Networks LLC is one of the “largest internet service providers (“ISPs”) in the country.” UMG Recordings, Inc. et al […]

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Copyright Trademarks

Hello I Am Elliot: The Startup’s IP Nightmare

On July 2, in New York’s Southern District, global e-commerce startup (“Hello I Am Elliot”) brought an action into Court for trademark and copyright infringement against Derek J. Sine and Vander Group, another e-commerce company. Sine was Vice President of Vander Group, and together the parties were business affiliates of Hello I Am Elliot, licensed […]

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Copyright

States Given Carte Blanche On Copyright Infringement, For Now

Are states completely immune from federal copyright infringement actions brought by individuals? That question was just answered by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Allen, et al. v. Cooper, Governor of North Carolina, et al. Frederick Allen recorded videos and captured photographs of a shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina. He registered those works […]