Nancy Sims, Lawyerbrarian at large
This is not a full roundup of copyright news, but for those keeping an eye on copyright issues in higher education broadly, you’ll want to know about the Federal Court of Canada decision in the Access Copyright v. York University case. Access Copyright is the Canadian equivalent to the Copyright Clearance Center in the U.S.; …
Continue reading “Copyright Report, #13 – Access Copyright v. York University”
“Who’s On First?” Routine goes to the Supreme Court The heirs to Abbott & Costello recently sued a Broadway play that involves quotation of the classic “Who’s On First?” comedy routine. Court decisions so far have disagreed as to whether the quotation in the play is a fair use or not, but a more fundamental …
Continue reading “Copyright Report #12; General shenanigans”
Only two real pieces of news, but they’re fairly major. On Monday, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands (PDF), determining that cheer uniforms are copyrightable – or at least, the designs incorporated within the uniform are, if they would qualify for protection if they were -not- part of the …
Continue reading “Copyright Report, #11 – Cheerleading and copyright office reform”
This news update is almost all about educational copying, though that’s entirely coincidental! The Copyright Office has revamped their website – https://www.copyright.gov/. They have also launched a new blog, Copyright: Creativity at Work. “Great Minds v. Fedex” – a US court case pinning down some details about Creative Commons licenses There has been a lot …
General copyright news/info The House Judiciary Committee has posted the comments it got in response to its policy proposal to “modernize the Copyright Office which was posted late last year. The letter I and quite a few of my higher-ed libraries copyright colleagues sent was not included in the public responses, but there are interesting …
A bit rushed, but lots of content here! The Librarian of Congress is seeking public input on “expertise needed by the Register of Copyrights”. Comment submission deadline is January 31, 2017 The House Judiciary Committee released a concrete policy proposal for copyright reform, which includes suggestions for revising the structure of the Copyright Office (giving …
Picking up where I left off several months ago, some recent news on the copyright and academic-IP fronts… General copyright news/info Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante has left the U.S. Copyright Office after being reassigned to other duties. The circumstances of these personnel changes have sparked quite a lot of speculation as to who is …
General copyright news/info Madonna Gets Victory Over ‘Vogue’ Sample at Appeals Court | Billboard Court affirms sampling may count as de minimis, which may lay grounds for larger fair use. Does not follow Bridgeport music CBS Beats Lawsuit Over Pre-1972 Songs With Bold Copyright Argument – Hollywood Reporter So, this is fairly spectacularly ridiculous legal …
Continue reading “Copyright Report, Vol. 6 – lots of music action”
Googacle (Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc.) This long-running case has previously touched on issues of copyrightability of APIs, on 5/25, a jury found that Google’s use of them was fair use. Google Wins Trial Against Oracle, Saves $9 Billion | Motherboard Sarah Jeong piece on the verdict Why the Very Silly Oracle v. Google …
Georgia State University (Cambridge University Press et al v. Patton/Becker) April 01, 2016 – not an April Fool’s prank: District Court issued remand opinion in Georgia State case; down to 4 infringing uses; GSU held to be prevailing party. GSU Prevails (Again) in Key Copyright Case Publisher’s Weekly reporting on the Georgia State appeals decision. …
