Is it true that no one can own a dance step? That is what video game publisher Epic Games is arguing in a motion to dismiss that it filed on February 11 in a federal case that was brought by Terrence “2 Milly” Ferguson.
Tag: copyright
The U.S. Supreme Court is not only looking at an interesting trademark case, but also a copyright concern that has the potential to have a major impact on copyright infringement litigation.
Virtual private networks (“VPNs”) and other blocking proxies allow users to hide their IP address in order to make themselves appear to be in another country. People do this in order to access content not otherwise accessible in their country. For instance, Netflix provides different shows and movies depending on the country in which one […]
Music publishing companies are extremely valuable to the future of recording artists and groups in the music industry. Most artists are typically concerned about securing their first major recording deal with a top label; as a result, they fail to see the importance behind obtaining or forming a publishing company. There are many record labels […]
The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA), also known as DMCA 512 was passed in 1998 as part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). OCILLA is also known as the “Safe Harbor” provision in the DMCA, which shields internet service providers (ISPs) from being forced to pay any monetary damages as a result of […]
In order for a copyright holder to get personal information of someone whom is considered to be illegally infringing the copyright, the copyright holder likely must subpoena the infringer’s internet service provider (ISP). The person accused of infringing activity has the right to file a motion to quash the subpoena; however, the accused infringer will […]
The most active group of movie producers in the realm of litigating apparent copyright infringement in 2011 seems to be producers of pornographic material. I have no hard evidence that this is the case, but from the sheer amount of cases I hear about, including some demand letters that clients have brought to my attention, […]
Last week, I wrote about a lawsuit filed by the United States Copyright Group (USCG) on behalf of Nu Image regarding the supposed illegal downloading of Nu Image’s The Expendables movie. At the time, the lawsuit was the largest file-sharing copyright infringement lawsuit based on the number of defendants (23,322). That record did not last […]
Authors and scholars would love to be able to use unpublished works in their own works, but they must do so carefully so that they do not run afoul of copyright law and publisher restrictions. Historically, it has been tough to prove a fair use when dealing with unpublished works. There is no per se […]
$1.3 billion is now the largest amount ever awarded to a plaintiff in a software piracy case, and the 23rd largest jury verdict. The plaintiff was Oracle and the defendant was SAP, a leader in business management software. Oracle claimed that SAP stole thousands of copies of Oracle software for over three years and then […]