Trump Loses Copyright Suit Over ‘Electric Avenue’ 2020 Campaign Video In Summary Judgement; TechDirt via Above The Law, September 27, 2024

TechDirt via Above The Law; Trump Loses Copyright Suit Over ‘Electric Avenue’ 2020 Campaign Video In Summary Judgement

"During what was essentially a multi-year advertisement for just how absolutely petty, stupid, and disingenuous a political system could possibly be, the 2020 American presidential election also featured a video sent out by the Trump campaign on social media that resulted in a copyright infringement lawsuit. You can see below a news clip that features the video, which is an admittedly fairly funny poke at his then rival, Joe Biden, but which also uses a healthy chunk of the Eddy Grant song Electric Avenue within it.

The Trump campaign used the music without permission. That appears to have pissed off Eddy Grant, who filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Trump campaign as a result...

In this case, however, there is no defending this through venue licenses. The song wasn’t played in a venue at all. It was played in a campaign video tweeted out by the campaign. As a result, the Trump campaign’s defense was instead fair use. And, as I detailed in my original post above, the fair use defense in this case is fairly laughable.

The judge overseeing the case apparently agrees, having found for Eddy Grant on summary judgement."

Photographer Sues Church Over Copyright Infringement; Fstoppers, December 28, 2023

 Alex Cooke, Fstoppers; Photographer Sues Church Over Copyright Infringement

"A photographer is taking legal action against a small church in South Carolina for allegedly using his photograph without consent.

Erin Paul Donovan, a photographer from New Hampshire, has initiated a federal lawsuit against Wightman United Methodist Church in Prosperity, South Carolina. Donovan claims that his photograph, depicting New Hampshire’s White Mountains, was used on the church's website without his permission, specifically as a thumbnail for a sermon video dated June 2021...

The suit further alleges that the church not only used the image without authorization but also removed Donovan's copyright notice, name, and watermark from the photograph as it originally appeared on his website."

Photographer Sues Church Over Copyright Infringement; Fstoppers, December 28, 2023

Alex Cooke, Fstoppers; Photographer Sues Church Over Copyright Infringement

"A photographer is taking legal action against a small church in South Carolina for allegedly using his photograph without consent.

Erin Paul Donovan, a photographer from New Hampshire, has initiated a federal lawsuit against Wightman United Methodist Church in Prosperity, South Carolina. Donovan claims that his photograph, depicting New Hampshire’s White Mountains, was used on the church's website without his permission, specifically as a thumbnail for a sermon video dated June 2021...

The suit further alleges that the church not only used the image without authorization but also removed Donovan's copyright notice, name, and watermark from the photograph as it originally appeared on his website."

Complaint: New York Times v. Microsoft & OpenAI, December 2023

 Complaint:

THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY Plaintiff,

v.

MICROSOFT CORPORATION, OPENAI, INC., OPENAI LP, OPENAI GP, LLC, OPENAI, LLC, OPENAI OPCO LLC, OPENAI GLOBAL LLC, OAI CORPORATION, LLC, and OPENAI HOLDINGS, LLC,

Defendants

The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. Use of Copyrighted Work; The New York Times, December 27, 2023

 Michael M. Grynbaum and Ryan Mac, The New York Times; The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. Use of Copyrighted Work

"The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement on Wednesday, opening a new front in the increasingly intense legal battle over the unauthorized use of published work to train artificial intelligence technologies.

The Times is the first major American media organization to sue the companies, the creators of ChatGPT and other popular A.I. platforms, over copyright issues associated with its written works. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, contends that millions of articles published by The Times were used to train automated chatbots that now compete with the news outlet as a source of reliable information.

The suit does not include an exact monetary demand. But it says the defendants should be held responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” related to the “unlawful copying and use of The Times’s uniquely valuable works.” It also calls for the companies to destroy any chatbot models and training data that use copyrighted material from The Times."

Bob Woodward seeks to end Donald Trump's lawsuit over audiobook; Reuters, September 12, 2023

Jonathan Stempel, Reuters; Bob Woodward seeks to end Donald Trump's lawsuit over audiobook

"The American journalist Bob Woodward is seeking to end former President Donald Trump's nearly $50 million lawsuit for publishing tapes from interviews for Woodward's 2020 best-seller "Rage" as an audiobook.

Woodward, his publisher Simon & Schuster and the publisher's parent Paramount Global (PARA.O) filed a motion to dismiss Trump's lawsuit on Monday in Manhattan federal court, where the case had been transferred last month from Pensacola, Florida."

Trader Joe’s Sues Trader Joe’s United for Copyright Infringement; Vice, July 14, 2023

Jules Roscoe , Vice; Trader Joe’s Sues Trader Joe’s United for Copyright Infringement

"Trader Joe’s filed a lawsuit against its union on Thursday for copyright infringement, claiming that the union’s merchandise was too similar to the Trader Joe’s logo, and demanding that the union’s profits off that merchandise be given to Trader Joe’s."

Trump Lawyers Argue Copyright Suit Against Woodward, S&S Should Proceed; Publishers Weekly, July 3, 2023

Andrew Albanese, Forbes ; Trump Lawyers Argue Copyright Suit Against Woodward, S&S Should Proceed

"In a filing last week, lawyers for former president Donald Trump argued that Trump's $50 million copyright lawsuit against bestselling author Bob Woodward and publisher Simon & Schuster over the audiobook, The Trump Tapes: The Historical Record, should be allowed to proceed...

Trump's latest filing comes in response to a motion to dismiss by Woodward and S&S, which, among its arguments, insists that because the interviews were conducted while Trump was acting in his capacity as president of the United States, Trump holds no copyright interest in them. Trump's claim "offends the basic principle codified in the Copyright Act that government officials cannot own the words they speak while carrying out official duties," lawyers for Woodward and S&S argue, adding that "President Trump’s unprecedented effort to extract private benefit from his public duties should be dismissed in its entirety.""

Judge Backs A&E in ‘Live PD’ Copyright Lawsuit; The Hollywood Reporter, June 19, 2023

 RICK PORTER, The Hollywood Reporter; Judge Backs A&E in ‘Live PD’ Copyright Lawsuit

"Failla wrote in her ruling that while individual elements of a show like Live PD, including live footage from law enforcement and analysis from in-studio hosts, aren’t eligible for copyright protection, “the particular selection and arrangement of the elements as a whole — namely, the mix of live police footage and in-studio commentary; the black screen displaying a message regarding a suspect’s innocence in white text each time the show begins or returns from a break; the red and blue lights to mirror police cars; the use of hosts Dan Abrams and Sgt. [Sean] Larkin, sitting around virtually identical tables with virtually identical mugs; the sequencing of the ‘Missing’ and ‘Crime of the Week’ segments and the guest on the ‘Missing’ segment; the positioning of the hosts; the specific and consistent camera angles used; and the following of specific police departments across weeks — considered together, are sufficiently creative to state a cognizable copyright claim.”"

Elon Musk called copyright a ‘plague on humanity’ and now he’s being sued for $250 million by music publishers who claim Twitter stole their content; Forbes, June 15, 2023

 RACHEL SHIN, Forbes; Elon Musk called copyright a ‘plague on humanity’ and now he’s being sued for $250 million by music publishers who claim Twitter stole their content

"A group of music companies is suing Twitter for over $250 million, claiming the platform has ignored many copyright violation notices. The coalition is composed of 17 music publishers, including such big names as Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Corp., and Big Machine Music. One problem for Elon Musk in defending the lawsuit is that he’s said he considers copyright a “plague on humanity.”"

6 Takeaways From Ed Sheeran’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ Copyright Case; The New York Times, May 5, 2023

Ben Sisario, The New York Times ; 6 Takeaways From Ed Sheeran’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ Copyright Case

"1. Sheeran’s victory maintains music copyright’s status quo.

An opinion piece in The Washington Post called the lawsuit “a threat to Western civilization.” Sheeran’s lawyers were less hyperbolic but still argued that a loss would have a devastating impact on songwriters by privatizing parts of the public domain.

“Creativity would be stifled for fear of being sued,” Ilene S. Farkas said in her closing statement.

Sheeran’s win means that music’s wider legal landscape remains largely undisturbed. After the shock of the “Blurred Lines” verdict in 2015, in which Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were ordered to pay more than $5 million to Gaye’s family — a case that many experts felt was wrongly decided — Led Zeppelin prevailed in a suit involving “Stairway to Heaven,” sending the pendulum back to a more neutral position."

Ed Sheeran Trial: Did He Copy Marvin Gaye? Here’s What to Know.; The New York Times, April 24, 2023

Ben Sisario, The New York Times; Ed Sheeran Trial: Did He Copy Marvin Gaye? Here’s What to Know.

"A closely watched music copyright trial is set to begin Monday in federal court in Manhattan, where a jury will decide a lawsuit accusing Ed Sheeran of copying his Grammy-winning ballad “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get It On.”...

The music industry is keenly interested in the outcome. Over the last decade, the business has been rocked by a series of infringement suits that have involved questions of just how much or how little of the work of pop songwriters can be protected by copyright, and how vulnerable they are to legal challenges."

Oral Argument Set in Internet Archive Copyright Case; Publishers Weekly, February 21, 2023

Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly; Oral Argument Set in Internet Archive Copyright Case

"The contentious copyright case has engaged a wide range of stakeholders, with amicus briefs filed on both sides."

CNN Accused of Using Hundreds of Songs Without Permission in New Lawsuit, Rolling Stone, December 1, 2022

JON BLISTEIN, Rolling Stone; CNN Accused of Using Hundreds of Songs Without Permission in New Lawsuit

"CNN IS FACING a $17 million lawsuit accusing it of using hundreds of songs in international broadcast segments without acquiring a license or paying the proper fees.

The lawsuit was filed by Freeplay Music, a production music library company with a catalog of over 50,000 songs to be licensed and used in everything from television broadcasts to advertisements to YouTube videos. According to the suit, obtained by Rolling Stone, several CNN outposts around the world — including the Philippines, Indonesia, and Chile — treated Freeplay’s library like “their own personal cookie jar,” allegedly using over 115 copyrighted works in over 280 segments over the past few years."

Taylor Swift ‘Shake It Off’ Trial Alarms Legal Experts: “Makes Copyright Law Look Absurd” | Billboard News, December 2021

Billboard; Taylor Swift ‘Shake It Off’ Trial Alarms Legal Experts: “Makes Copyright Law Look Absurd” | 

"There’s a lawsuit alleging that Taylor Swift stole the lyrics to “Shake It Off.” The pop star could win the case, but some legal experts tell Billboard they’re alarmed that the case is headed to trial at all."

Internet Archives Fires Back in Lawsuit Over Covid-19 Emergency Library; Vice, July 29, 2020

Matthew Gault, Vice; Internet Archives Fires Back in Lawsuit Over Covid-19 Emergency Library

"In a brief filed in a New York district court on Tuesday night, the Internet Archive fired back in response to a lawsuit brought against it by five of the world’s largest publishers. The lawsuit seeks to shut down an online National Emergency Library started by the Internet Archive during the Covid-19 pandemic and levy millions of dollars in fines against the organization."

Led Zeppelin Scores Big Win in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Case; Variety, March 9, 2020

Gene Maddaus, Variety; Led Zeppelin Scores Big Win in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Case

"Led Zeppelin scored a major win on Monday in the copyright battle over “Stairway to Heaven,” as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict finding the song did not infringe on the 1968 song “Taurus.”

The ruling is also a significant win for the music industry, which has felt itself fighting a losing battle against frivolous copyright suits since the “Blurred Lines” trial in 2015. The court overturned the so-called “inverse ratio rule,” a precedent that has governed copyright cases in the 9th Circuit for the last 43 years."

Supreme Court will hear Google’s appeal in massive copyright suit brought by Oracle; CNBC, November 15, 2019

Tucker Higgins, CNBC; Supreme Court will hear Google’s appeal in massive copyright suit brought by Oracle

"The Supreme Court said on Friday that it will hear a dispute between tech giants Oracle and Google in a blockbuster case that could lead to billions of dollars in fines and shape copyright law in the internet era.

The case concerns 11,500 lines of code that Google was accused of copying from Oracle’s Java programming language. Google deployed the code in Android, now the most popular mobile operating system in the world. Oracle sued Google in 2010 alleging that the use of its code in Android violated copyright law...

Underlying the legal issues in the case is a technical dispute over the nature of the code that Google used. Google has said that the code was essentially functional — akin to copying the placement of keys on a QWERTY keyboard. Oracle maintains that the code, part of Java’s application programming interface, or API, is a creative product, “like the chapter headings and topic sentences of an elaborate literary work.”

Judge Lets NMPA Double Damages to $300M in Peloton Copyright Suit; Billboard, September 28, 2019

Tatiana Cirisano, Billboard; Judge Lets NMPA Double Damages to $300M in Peloton Copyright Suit

"A Manhattan federal judge has approved the National Music Publishers' Association's (NMPA) request to double damages to $300 million in a lawsuit against Peloton, for the exercise startup's alleged use of more than 2,000 songs in its workout videos without the proper licenses."

Viral Is Still Copyrighted, Even to Learn Where Trump Is; Lexology, January 18, 2019

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP - Joseph Myles and Margaret A. Esquenet, Lexology; Viral Is Still Copyrighted, Even to Learn Where Trump Is

"While attending his friend’s wedding at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey in June 2017, Jonathan Otto took a photograph of a certain wedding crasher: the president himself...

The case continues towards trial, but with a number of the most important issues now decided in Otto’s favor."