Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Learning the Art of Civil Discourse; Ole Miss University of Mississippi News, October 22, 2021

 ,  Ole Miss University of Mississippi News; Learning the Art of Civil Discourse

Students apply ethical theory for decision-making and policy


"The Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Mississippi is offering two events in the next few weeks exploring the ethical issues of timely topics.

Just Conversations is a fun event run by students from the Ethical Policy Debates class to explore ethical issues and think about potential solutions through low-key conversation on two hot-button issues. The event is an in-person reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday (Oct. 25) in the Bryant Hall Gallery. Register by 5 p.m. Friday (Oct. 22) at https://forms.gle/xCS1QNTpZvnvtxQv9.

The second event, The Great Debate of 2021, poses the question “Should patents be waived on COVID-19 vaccines to increase global vaccination rates?” The virtual event on Nov. 11 features presentation of a debate followed by a Q&A between the teams, expert panelists and the audience. All are welcome to attend virtually, especially members of the campus community.

“The Dialogue and Deliberation Initiative events, both Just Conversations and The Great Debate of 2021, bring people together to discuss ethical problems that involve multiple perspectives, competing interests and complex empirical issues in a civil format for productive outcomes,” said Deborah Mower, a UM associate professor of philosophy and the Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hume Bryant Associate Professor of Ethics.

“We will be focusing on three topics from the slate of fall 2021 Regional Ethics Bowl cases.”

Ole Miss students are conducting research to prepare for discussions about rock climbing on federally protected indigenous cultural sites, the Disney company image and COVID-19 vaccine patents.

“There is no better educational model than the Ethics Bowl for teaching students how to apply ethical theory for decision-making and policy while at the same time fostering skills crucial for civil dialogue,” Mower said."

Monday, October 25, 2021

Copyright Law and Machine Learning for AI: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?; Co-Sponsored by the United States Copyright Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Tuesday, October 26, 2021 10 AM - 3 PM EDT

Copyright Law and Machine Learning for AI: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

Co-Sponsored by the United States Copyright Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office


"The U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are hosting an October 26, 2021, conference that will explore machine learning in practice, how existing copyright laws apply to the training of artificial intelligence, and what the future may hold in this fast-moving policy space. The event will comprise three one-hour sessions, with a lunch break, and is expected to run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. eastern time. 

Due to the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, the on-site portion of the program initially scheduled to take place at the Library of Congress's Montpelier Room has been canceled. All sessions will still take place online as planned. Participants must register to attend this free, public event.


Download the agenda here."

Difference between copyright and trademark; WYTV, October 15, 2021

 Difference between copyright and trademark

"LucasFilm trademarked the sound of human breathing through a scuba tank regulator better known as Darth Vader’s breathing, also the sound of the lightsaber, it’s actually microphone feedback.

In the TV show “Law and Order,” it’s the beginning three notes you hear the theme music. Composer Mike Post wrote that along with the show’s theme song. It’s not a sound effect, it’s actually a piece of music that gets a royalty for Post and Universal holds the trademark.

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. protects what Burroughs wrote and it holds the trademark for his hero’s yell that Johnny Weissmuller made it famous.

Pillsbury owns the rights to the Pillsbury Doughboy giggle."

Thursday, October 14, 2021

‘Star Trek,’ Dr. Seuss Mashup Dispute Ends After 5-Year Legal Journey; The Hollywood Reporter, October 5, 2021

Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter ; ‘Star Trek,’ Dr. Seuss Mashup Dispute Ends After 5-Year Legal Journey

"On Tuesday, that final frontier known as intellectual property was charted when, after five long years in court, a legally adventurous dispute over a Star Trek-Dr. Seuss mashup concluded in a settlement. As a result of a deal, the crowdfunded “Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!” will be going away."

Hey, those are our Kisses! Hershey Co. files trademark lawsuit against cookie maker; Penn Live, September 29, 2021

  , Penn Live; Hey, those are our Kisses! Hershey Co. files trademark lawsuit against cookie maker

"The Hershey Company is known for ferociously defending its trademarks, especially its iconic Kisses logo.

It just launched another trademark infringement lawsuit in U.S. Middle District Court targeting a California firm it accuses of misappropriating the visage of its familiar and somewhat conical Kisses.

The defendant in the case is The Cookie Department Inc. Hershey claims that bakery is using Kisses-like images to promote products that Hershey contends are just not as sweet as its own."

Monday, October 11, 2021

Marvel Reveals Who Really Owns Iron Man and Mr Fantastic’s First Inventions; Comic Book Resources, October 10, 2021

Amer Sawan, Comic Book Resources; Marvel Reveals Who Really Owns Iron Man and Mr Fantastic’s First Inventions

"WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Deadpool Infinity Comic #1, now available on Marvel Unlimited.

Deadpool's attempt to sneak into a auction for most of the Marvel Universe's villains was prompted by an information leak from the true owners of Iron Man and Mister Fantastic's patents. In the event of their deaths that is. Which has already happened. Quite a few times in fact, so the actual legal rights are a bit up in the air. 

But the question of who owns the intellectual property isn't as important as the question of who Tony Stark and Reed Richards settled upon as the best candidate to look after their life's work. The two geniuses thought it over long and hard and selected Damage Control to be their beneficiary, as revealed in Deadpool Infinity Comic #1, by Gerry Duggan, Lucas Werneck, Geoffo, Rachelle Rosenberg and Joe Sabino."


Friday, October 8, 2021

Peter Parker Losing his Trademark in Amazing Spider-Man #75 (Spoilers); Bleeding Cool, October 6, 2021

, Bleeding Cool ; Peter Parker Losing his Trademark in Amazing Spider-Man #75 (Spoilers)

"And the Beyond Corporation has the trademark to Spider-Man. Could Peter Parker be in breach of himself right now?"


Marie Wilcox, Who Saved Her Native Language From Extinction, Dies at 87; The New York Times, October 6, 2021

Katharine Q. Seelye , The New York Times; Marie Wilcox, Who Saved Her Native Language From Extinction, Dies at 87

"For many years, Marie Wilcox was the guardian of the Wukchumni language, one of several Indigenous languages that were once common in Central California but have either disappeared or nearly disappeared. She was the only person for a time who could speak it fluently...

After 20 years of labor, of hunting and pecking on her keyboard, Ms. Wilcox, who died at 87 on Sept. 25, produced a dictionary, the first known complete compendium of Wukchumni...

The dictionary was copyrighted in 2019 but has yet to be published; Ms. Wilcox also recorded the words so that others would know the correct pronunciation."

Thursday, October 7, 2021

AI-ethics pioneer Margaret Mitchell on her five-year plan at open-source AI startup Hugging Face; Emerging Tech Brew, October 4, 2021

 Hayden Field, Emerging Tech Brew ; AI-ethics pioneer Margaret Mitchell on her five-year plan at open-source AI startup Hugging Face

"Hugging Face wants to bring these powerful tools to more people. Its mission: Help companies build, train, and deploy AI models—specifically natural language processing (NLP) systems—via its open-source tools, like Transformers and Datasets. It also offers pretrained models available for download and customization.

So what does it mean to play a part in “democratizing” these powerful NLP tools? We chatted with Mitchell about the split from Google, her plans for her new role, and her near-future predictions for responsible AI."

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Ode to Cicadas; Library of Congress, May 24, 2021

,  Library of Congress; Ode to Cicadas

"They’re flying, buzzing, and crawling everywhere! Washington, DC, neighborhoods around the U.S. Copyright Office are teeming with Brood X cicadas, taking their next steps on a seventeen-year journey. Along the way, they’re also inspiring musicians, photographers, artists, and authors to create copyrighted works."

Thursday, May 20, 2021

A Little-Known Statute Compels Medical Research Transparency. Compliance Is Pretty Shabby.; On The Media, April 21, 2021

 On The Media; A Little-Known Statute Compels Medical Research Transparency. Compliance Is Pretty Shabby.

"Evidence-based medicine requires just that: evidence. Access to the collective pool of knowledge produced by clinical trials is what allows researchers to safely and effectively design future studies. It's what allows doctors to make the most informed decisions for their patients.

Since 2007, researchers have been required by law to publish the findings of any clinical trial with human subjects within a year of the trial's conclusion. Over a decade later, even the country's most well-renown research institutions sport poor reporting records. This week, Bob spoke with Charles Piller, an investigative journalist at Science Magazine who's been documenting this dismal state of affairs since 2015. He recently published an op-ed in the New York Times urging President Biden to make good on his 2016 "promise" to start withholding funds to force compliance."

Sunday, May 16, 2021

Scientific Publishing Is a Joke; The Atlantic, May 6, 2021

 BENJAMIN MAZER, The Atlantic; Scientific Publishing Is a Joke

"“The meme hits the right nerve,” says Vinay Prasad, an associate epidemiology professor and a prominent critic of medical research. “Many papers serve no purpose, advance no agenda, may not be correct, make no sense, and are poorly read. But they are required for promotion.” The scholarly literature in many fields is riddled with extraneous work; indeed, I’ve always been intrigued by the idea that this sorry outcome was more or less inevitable, given the incentives at play. Take a bunch of clever, ambitious people and tell them to get as many papers published as possible while still technically passing muster through peer review … and what do you think is going to happen? Of course the system gets gamed: The results from one experiment get sliced up into a dozen papers, statistics are massaged to produce more interesting results, and conclusions become exaggerated. The most prolific authors have found a way to publish more than one scientific paper a week. Those who can’t keep up might hire a paper mill to do (or fake) the work on their behalf...

A staggering 200,000 COVID-19 papers have already been published, of which just a tiny proportion will ever be read or put into practice. To be fair, it’s hard to know in advance which data will prove most useful during an unprecedented health crisis. But pandemic publishing has only served to exacerbate some well-established bad habits, Michael Johansen, a family-medicine physician and researcher who has criticized many studies as being of minimal value, told me. “COVID publications appear to be representative of the literature at large: a few really important papers and a whole bunch of stuff that isn’t or shouldn’t be read,” he said."

Friday, April 16, 2021

Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.; The Washington Post, March 10, 2021

 Geoffrey A. Fowler, The Washington Post ; Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.

 
"Many Americans now recognize that a few tech companies increasingly dominate our lives. But it’s sometimes hard to put your finger on exactly why that’s a problem. The case of the vanishing e-books shows how tech monopolies hurt us not just as consumers, but as citizens...
 
Librarians have been no match for the beast. When authors sign up with a publisher, it decides how to distribute their work... 
 
In testimony to Congress, the American Library Association called digital sales bans like Amazon’s “the worst obstacle for libraries” moving into the 21st century. Lawmakers in New York and Rhode Island have proposed bills that would require Amazon (and everybody else) to sell e-books to libraries with reasonable terms. This week, the Maryland House of Delegates unanimously approved its own library e-book bill, which now heads back to the state Senate... 
 
Libraries losing e-books matters because they serve us as citizens. It’s easy to take for granted, but libraries are among America’s great equalizers."

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Houdini and the Magic of Copyright; Library of Congress, March 24, 2021

 , Library of Congress; Houdini and the Magic of Copyright

"Magicians do not always reveal their tricks, even when they register their copyright claims. The legendary Hungarian immigrant Harry Houdini registered three of his famous illusions as “playlets,” or short plays, with the U.S. Copyright Office between 1911 and 1914. The playlets were registered as dramatic compositions, which have been eligible for copyright protection since 1856. Houdini’s deposited playlet scripts are now held within the Reader’s Collection, Library of Congress Copyright Office Drama Deposits."

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

The Marrakesh Treaty in Action: Exciting Progress in Access to Published Works for the Blind and Print-Disabled Communities; U.S. Copyright Office, February 22, 2021

 , U.S. Copyright Office; The Marrakesh Treaty in Action: Exciting Progress in Access to Published Works for the Blind and Print-Disabled Communities

"The following is a guest blog post by Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S. Copyright Office

Domestic stakeholders, congressional staff, and the U.S. government all worked collaboratively to implement the treaty obligations into our law. In the 2018 Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (MTIA), Congress made a few amendments to the scope of the existing exception in section 121 of the Copyright Act, and added a new section 121A. The latter allows nonprofit or governmental entities that serve blind or print-disabled persons—known as “authorized entities”—to import and export accessible format copies for the benefit of those patrons. For more details, the Copyright Office has information on both the treaty and the MTIA posted on our website.

The Marrakesh Treaty has already been a tremendous achievement for the blind and visually impaired communities in the United States. Since it entered into force in May 2019, much has been done, including here at the Library of Congress, to start reaping its benefits. The Library’s National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), founded in 1931, has long administered a free national library program that provides braille and recorded materials to people who cannot see regular print or handle print materials. U.S. membership in Marrakesh has allowed NLS, as an authorized entity, to make thousands of accessible format works available throughout the world, as well as to import over 1,700 foreign titles in at least 10 languages for its patrons. NLS has developed a number of practices and policies to support its work as an authorized entity under the MTIA.

One of NLS’s partners in leveraging the Marrakesh Treaty to maximize the availability of accessible format works worldwide is the Accessible Books Consortium’s (ABC’s) Global Book Service (GBS), a project under the aegis of WIPO."

Monday, February 8, 2021

Want to Reverse Inequality? Change Intellectual Property Rules.; The Nation, February 8, 2021

 Dean Baker, February 8, 2021; Want to Reverse Inequality? Change Intellectual Property Rules.

Changes in IP have done far more than tax cuts to increase inequality—and US protection of IP could lead to a cold war with China.

"While the Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump tax cuts all gave more money to the rich, policy changes in other areas, especially intellectual property have done far more to redistribute income upward. In the past four decades, a wide array of changes—under both Democratic and Republican presidents—made patent and copyright protection both longer and stronger."

Friday, October 16, 2020

The ultimate crash course on protecting Intellectual Property; Lexology, October 13, 2020

Dennemeyer – The IP Group - Irene Corn, Lexology; The ultimate crash course on protecting Intellectual Property

"Why is it essential to protect your IP?

Your IP — including blueprints, artistic representations, and other information regarding your products, services, publications and branding — is your organization's lifeblood. Without it, those assets would simply not exist because you would have no incentive to create them in the first place.

If IP in business were free for the taking, overall competition among different companies in the same field would be severely limited. It would ultimately be dependent on mundane factors, like marketing and distribution budgets. Moreover, businesses and individual authors alike would get stuck and feel no pressure to create something new; similarly, in the patent field, thousands of the most notable technological advancements of the last century might not have come to pass. The stakes may not be as high for trademarks, but they are still immensely important because of how they express your brand's identity."

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

A Supreme Court Without RBG May Impact Hollywood's Grip on Intellectual Property; Billboard, September 21, 2020

Eriq Gardner, Billboard; A Supreme Court Without RBG May Impact Hollywood's Grip on Intellectual Property

 

[Kip Currier: This is a note I posted for my Intellectual Property and Open Movements course I'm teaching this term...

Timely and fascinating article regarding the recent passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her "copyright hawk" impact on many landmark Intellectual Property cases, like some we have already examined this term, e.g. Golan v. Holder (public domain) and Eldred v. Ashcroft (20 year extension of U.S. copyright protection period to Life of the Author plus 70 years.) In noting Ginsburg's judicial philosophy that tended to favor copyright maximalism, while a staunch civil rights defender and advocate for the equal rights of marginalized persons to the end, this article reminds us that people are often much more complex and less easily-defined than the boundaried labels that are often ascribed to them. And Justices are no different in that regard.]

 

 "Ginsburg gravitated to intellectual property disputes almost from the moment the Brooklyn, NY-born attorney was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. More often than not, when a big ruling on the subject was on the table, it was she who carried the big pen. Notably, in 2003, Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion in Eldred v. Ashcroft that blessed an extension of the copyright term over a free speech challenge. Almost a decade later, she reached a similar conclusion in Golan v. Holder, which dealt with works taken from the public domain to comply with an international treaty. Ginsburg also shaped who could sue for copyright infringement — and when — with her majority opinions in Petrella v. MGM (2013) and Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com (2019). She also wrote a concurring opinion in MGM Studios v. Grokster, the case which apportioned secondary copyright liability in the file-sharing age.

Ginsburg was certainly hawkish when it came to copyright. And her view can be most sharply contrasted with those of Justice Stephen Breyer, demonstrating that there's more to judicial philosophy than a conservative-liberal divide...

Now comes Google v. Oracle, which has been hailed for good reason as the "copyright case of the century." It concerns Oracle's efforts to punish Google for allegedly infringing computer code to build the Android operating system. At issue in the case is the scope of copyright. Does the structure, sequence, and organization of application programming interfaces get protected? And separately, does Google have fair use to whatever is copyrighted? The movie industry is backing Oracle in the case —and the high court's conclusions will surely have an outsized influence both on the development of technology as well as how future copyright cases get adjudicated. Ginsburg's passing is probably bad news for Oracle's chances here. Of all the justices, she was least likely to read limits to copyright protection."

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Judge Rules in Favor of Nicki Minaj in Tracy Chapman Copyright Dispute; Variety, September 16, 2020

Gene Maddaus , Variety; Judge Rules in Favor of Nicki Minaj in Tracy Chapman Copyright Dispute

"A judge handed a significant win to Nicki Minaj on Wednesday, finding that she did not commit copyright infringement when she created a song based on Tracy Chapman’s “Baby Can I Hold You.”

The ruling protects the industry practice of developing a new song based on existing material, and then seeking a license from the original artist prior to release. U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled that Minaj’s experimentation with Chapman’s song constitutes “fair use” and is not copyright infringement."

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Google v. Oracle: Fair Use and the Seventh Amendment; JD Supra, September 15, 2020

 Dorsey & Whitney LLP, JD Supra; Google v. Oracle: Fair Use and the Seventh Amendment


"On August 7, 2020, Google and Oracle submitted their final written arguments to the Supreme Court regarding their decade-long copyright battle over the source code animating the Android platform. Now, we focus on the second question presented to the Supreme Court: whether Google’s copying of Oracle’s Java source code is a non-infringing fair use.

Recall that in December 2019 we introduced “the copyright lawsuit of the decade.” In March 2020, we covered the first of two questions presented to the Supreme Court: whether Java software interfaces are protected by copyright. Before we could address the second question presented, however, the Supreme Court delayed oral arguments on the matter to the October 2020 term due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supreme Court also requested that Google and Oracle submit supplemental briefs addressing the standard of review relating to the fair use defense—i.e., whether the Federal Circuit gave the proper deference to the jury’s finding of fair use when it reviewed it de novo and reversed it...

Conclusion

The Supreme Court is finally set to resolve important questions regarding the scope of copyright protection and the fair use doctrine that could have huge ramifications for the software industry … or is it? As detailed above, the Supreme Court may lean on the standard of review applied by the Federal Circuit to delay further comment on whether Google’s copying constituted fair use. We will update you again after oral argument, which is scheduled for October 7, 2020."

Censoring Jon Hamm's Penis Doesn't Violate Copyright Law, Federal Judge Rules; Gizmodo, September 11, 2020

Matt Novak, Gizmodo; Censoring Jon Hamm's Penis Doesn't Violate Copyright Law, Federal Judge Rules

"The lesson for all you meme-makers out there? Make sure your images are transformative and put a black box over those bulging packages."

Nicki Minaj-Tracy Chapman copyright battle sets stage for future of music recording; Marketplace, September 14, 2020

Sabri Ben-Achour, Marketplace ; Nicki Minaj-Tracy Chapman copyright battle sets stage for future of music recording

"Tracy Chapman is suing Nicki Minaj for using part of one of her songs. The case has the potential to upend the way music is written and how artists borrow from one another.

Minaj’s song “Sorry” obviously takes from Chapman’s song “Baby Can I Hold You.”Nobody disputes that. Minaj and her people asked Chapman for permission during and after production of “Sorry,” and Chapman and her reps said no, multiple times. So Minaj didn’t release the song on her 2018 album.

“What complicates it in this case is that there was further redistribution,” said Eugene Volokh, a professor at UCLA School of Law."

When a Right Click Is Wrong; Comstock's Magazine, September 16, 2020

Lila Wallrich, Comstock's Magazine; When a Right Click Is Wrong

How to avoid creative copyright infringement in your promotion and presentations


"Check the Public Domain

When copyright expires or is voluntarily surrendered, work enters the public domain and becomes available for all. Exclusive rights are nonexistent, and no permission is needed. You just need to do some research to find what you need, starting here: 

  • Wikimedia Commons is one of the largest public domain resources for free photographs. 
  • Unsplash is a collective of photographers offering high-resolution images for free. 
  • Magdeleine is another high-quality resource for free photography. 
  • YouTube Audio Library offers free music and sound effects. Search by genre, mood or instrument and download as an MP3 file."

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Historic Court Cases That Helped Shape Scope of Copyright Protections; Library of Congress, September 9, 2020

 , Library of Congress; Historic Court Cases That Helped Shape Scope of Copyright Protections

"As the Copyright Office celebrates its 150th birthday, we can look back more than 240 years through the history of copyright protections in the United States to see how the law has changed in response to changing technologies and economics.

The authors of the U.S. Constitution believed that copyright was important enough to explicitly grant the federal government the power to grant authors the exclusive right to their writings.

When the first U.S. Congress convened in 1789, it put enactment of the country’s first Copyright Act on its agenda. The Copyright Act of 1790 extended copyright protections to “maps, charts, and books.” But copyright protection in 2020 covers many more types of creative expression.

The federal courts have been crucial in looking at creative media and setting the boundaries of what is protected and what isn’t. This is a look back at some of the most important court rulings on what is and isn’t protectable throughout the years under U.S. copyright law.

These cases reflect some of the landmarks for American courts for defining the scope of copyright protection: (1) Is a system of accounting and its ledgers protected? (2) Is a photograph protected when the law doesn’t explicitly mention photographs? (3) Is an advertisement protected? And (4) Is a creative work incorporated into a useful article protected?"

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Fair Use, "The Frankenstein," and the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; Lexology, August 9, 2020

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC - Brian Murphy, Lexology; Fair Use, "The Frankenstein," and the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

"Larry Marano is the professional photographer (and self-described dedicated fan of hard rock and heavy metal music) who snapped the above photo of Van Halen. Marano sued the Met in the Southern District of New York, alleging that the use of his photograph was unauthorized and infringed upon his copyright. Two days after Marano filed, Judge Valerie Caproni ordered him and his attorney (Richard Leibowitz - see this post) to show cause why the complaint shouldn't be dismissed on fair use grounds.

As a preliminary matter, the court noted that even though the case was at the pleading stage, dismissal on fair use grounds would be appropriate if "transformativeness [could] be determined by doing a side-by-side comparison of the original work and the secondary use." After the matter was briefed, the court concluded that such a determination was indeed possible in this case and that the complaint should be dismissed.
Here's a rundown of the court's analysis of the statutory factors:

Marano v. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 19-CV-8606 (VEC), 2020 WL 3962009 (S.D.N.Y. July 13, 2020)."

What I Wish They Taught Me about Copyright in Art School; Library of Congress, September 1, 2020

, Library of Congress; What I Wish They Taught Me about Copyright in Art School

"I have a confession to make. I made it all the way through a BFA in photography without knowing what exactly copyright was or what it meant for me and my work. It’s not that my professors did anything wrong. They were inspiring, wonderful, and talented creators. It’s never too late to learn though. All of us creators need to understand copyright because it so closely affects us, our work, and our careers. So with classes starting back up both in person and remotely this fall, I wanted to take a moment to speak directly to young creators about what copyright is and how it can help YOU as you start your careers. Why? If it’s worth creating, it’s worth protecting."

A Spider-Man Comic Was Written By A.I. And The Result Is Madness; Screen Rant, August 31, 2020

Kevin Erdmann, Screen Rant; A Spider-Man Comic Was Written By A.I. And The Result Is Madness

"Some DC Comics fans may be familiar with the Batman script that's long been trending on the internet created by Keaton Patti. He wrote it using a bot he forced to watch 1,000 hours of Batman films, resulting in a wild and wacky script of epic proportions. Recently, Marvel Comics reached out to Keaton, asking him to have his bot create a Spider-Man story in the same vein as part of their 25th issue of the current Amazing Spider-Man series. The result is one of the greatest and most hilarious short Spidey stories of all time.

The story itself is featured at the end of Spider-Man #25. Titled "Robo-Helpers," it was written by Patti's bot, reportedly after having it read every Spider-Man comic ever, with the art coming from humans Dan Hipp and Joe Caramanga."

'Electric Avenue' Singer Files Suit Against Trump Campaign for Copyright Infringement: Exclusive; Billboard, September 1, 2020

Gil Kaufman, Billboard; 'Electric Avenue' Singer Files Suit Against Trump Campaign for Copyright Infringement: Exclusive

"Eddy Grant argues his signature hit was used without permission in a campaign video. "This is copyright 101," his lawyer tells Billboard.

Singer Eddy Grant filed a copyright lawsuit against Pres. Donald Trump's campaign on Tuesday (Sept. 1) over a campaign video that his lawyers say illegally uses the singer's iconic 1983 song "Electric Avenue."
The suit is tied to a bizarre animated ad posted on Twitter by Trump's campaign on Aug. 12 which depicts a cartoon version of Trump's White House rival, former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, driving an old-fashioned train car while a speeding train that says "Trump Pence" and "KAG 2020" zips through a desolate town.
There is no context for the use of the song, which plays as the animated Biden hand-pumps his way through the empty streets in a handcar labeled "Biden President: Your Hair Smells Terrific" while random snippets of old quotes and interviews are played. The lyrics of the song, which include the lines, "Down in the streets there is violence/ And a lot of work to be done," were written by the Black Guyanese-British singer in reaction to the 1981 race riots in Brixton, England. The track spent five weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1983."

Will the Supreme Court Provide the Fair Use Clarity that IP Law Needs?; IP Watchdog, August 18, 2020

Terry Campo ,  IP Watchdog; Will the Supreme Court Provide the Fair Use Clarity that IP Law Needs?

"As reported in IP Watchdog on August 4 by lawyer and professional lecturer Steven Tepp, the high court will hear Google v. Oracle, a landmark copyright case, in October. Legal experts have labeled it “the copyright case of the century,” and for good reason. Since the case revolves around fair use, it will allow the nine justices to provide judicial clarity over the doctrine the nation’s innovators have desperately needed for decades."

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Pirated Versions of ‘Tenet,’ ‘New Mutants’ Appear Online; Variety, August 31, 2020

Brent Lang, Variety; Pirated Versions of ‘Tenet,’ ‘New Mutants’ Appear Online

"Poorly recorded, pirated versions of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” leaked online last week. Both are camcorded copies of negligible quality — at least one has Korean subtitles and another has German subtitles. It is unclear how widely seen the illegal copies of the sci-fi thriller were, but it comes as theaters are starting a major campaign to bring audiences back to cinemas, which have been largely closed for months due to coronavirus."

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

This Guy is Suing the Patent Office for Deciding an AI Can't Invent Things; Vice, August 24, 2020

Todd Feathers, Vice; This Guy is Suing the Patent Office for Deciding an AI Can't Invent Things

The USPTO rejected two patents applications written by a "creativity engine" named DABUS. Now a lawsuit raises fundamental questions about what it means to be creative

"A computer scientist who created an artificial intelligence system capable of generating original inventions is suing the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) over its decision earlier this year to reject two patent applications which list the algorithmic system, known as DABUS, as the inventor.

The lawsuit is the latest step in an effort by Stephen Thaler and an international group of lawyers and academics to win inventorship rights for non-human AI systems, a prospect that raises fundamental questions about what it means to be creative and also carries potentially paradigm-shifting implications for certain industries."

Intellectual-Property Assets Are Getting More Valuable; The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2020


Intellectual-Property Assets Are Getting More Valuable 

Covid-19 highlights importance of intellectual-property assets, particularly what happens with licensing contracts if a company goes out of business


"Intellectual-property assets such as brand names, customer data and trademarks are gaining value as the Covid-19 pandemic upends traditional models for retailers, restaurants and other struggling businesses."

Trade Secret Theft: Investigation Into Theft of Intellectual Property from GE Leads to Two Guilty Pleas; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), July 29, 2020

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Trade Secret Theft


"The investigation showed that Delia and Sernas stole elements of a computer program and mathematical model that GE used to expertly calibrate the turbines used in power plants.

Since GE also manufactured the turbines, they had complete understanding of them. “The company had a skill set and engineering-level details that no one else could offer,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York Wayne Myers.

Because of their expertise, power plant operators from all over the world hired GE’s performance engineers to help their turbines achieve peak performance for the climate and conditions in which they were installed. The service could increase the efficiency of the turbines enough to substantially lower the plants’ operating costs."

'The Terrible Towel' trademark owners sue Indiana county store over 'The Terrible Mask'; WTAE, August 23, 2020

WTAE; 'The Terrible Towel' trademark owners sue Indiana county store over 'The Terrible Mask'

"The owner of The Terrible Towel's trademark is suing an Indiana County store for selling a face covering called, The Terrible Mask...

Pittsburgh sports broadcaster, Myron Cope, created the Terrible Towel. 
After Cope's death in 2008, the rights were gifted to the Allegheny Valley School Foundation, now known as the Eamon Foundation."

Monday, August 24, 2020

Any Way You Slice It, D.C. Circuit Holds That &Pizza Can’t Get Piece of @Pizza; Lexology, July 23, 2020

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP - Jessica L. Hannah and Margaret A. Esquenet, Lexology; Any Way You Slice It, D.C. Circuit Holds That &Pizza Can’t Get Piece of @Pizza

"IMAPizza LLC operates the &pizza chain in the United States. IMAPizza alleged that At Pizza Ltd., an Edinburgh, Scotland company, operating under the name @Pizza, created an unauthorized copycat version of IMAPizza’s &pizza restaurant. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of IMAPizza’s copyright and trademark infringement claims against At Pizza. The D.C. Circuit agreed with the district court’s conclusions that IMAPizza failed to allege any domestic copyright infringement or that At Pizza’s actions created any effect on U.S. commerce that could justify extraterritorial application of the Lanham Act."

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

A New Copyright Office Warehouse–25 Years in the Making; Library of Congress, August 19, 2020

, Library of CongressA New Copyright Office Warehouse–25 Years in the Making

"The following is a guest post by Paul Capel, Supervisory Records Management Section Head.

The United States Copyright Office holds the most comprehensive collection of copyright records in the world. The Office has over 200,000 boxes of deposit copies spread among three storage facilities in Landover, Maryland; a contracted space in Pennsylvania; and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) facility in Massachusetts. Even with these three warehouses, that’s not enough space. Each day, the Office receives new deposits, and despite the increase in electronic deposits, our physical deposits continue to grow year after year.

These deposits are managed by the Deposit Copies Storage Unit, a dedicated team that springs into action to retrieve deposits when requested by examiners or researchers or for litigation cases. In this type of work, speed and efficiency of retrieval are critical. Managing deposits across three storage locations can present a challenge to our ideal retrieval times. When our records are stored in several locations, the potential for miscommunication or misplaced deposits increases.

This October, the Office will be opening a new 40,000 square foot warehouse that has been in discussion for over twenty-five years. We will be moving our deposits out of facilities that are more than forty years old to centrally locate them in a new state-of-the-art facility. This is a huge undertaking, and we are aiming to move 88,000 boxes from Landover in under 45 days. The new space is environmentally controlled and meets preservation requirements for the storage of federal records. Even more importantly, the new facility will allow the Office to maintain control over all our records in a single location, which will improve our retrieval times and will enable us to serve our stakeholders better.
This new facility is a great start, but we have an even bigger vision for our deposits. To truly inventory and track our deposits, the Office is investigating a warehouse management system that will help staff inventory, track, locate, and manage all the items in our warehouse. This type of system will help the Office enhance the availability and accessibility of materials, decreasing manual processing, and allowing for real-time tracking of deposits at any given time. It will also let us know who has them and when their period of retention ends.
This system will provide all the notifications  expected from any modern delivery service. Copyright Office staff will be able to obtain a copy of their order and tell when it is in transit, know when it has been delivered, and sign for it digitally. This system will also provide transparency to others who might have an interest in requesting the same deposit, to see where it currently is, who has it, and how long they have had it."

Self-Driving to Federal Prison: The Trade Secret Theft Saga of Anthony Levandowski Continues; Lexology, August 13, 2020

Seyfarth Shaw LLP - Robert Milligan and Darren W. DummitSelf-Driving to Federal Prison: The Trade Secret Theft Saga of Anthony Levandowski Continues

"Judge Aslup, while steadfastly respectful of Levandowski as a good person and as a brilliant man who the world would learn a lot listening to, nevertheless found prison time to be the best available deterrent to engineers and employees privy to trade secrets worth billions of dollars to competitors: “You’re giving the green light to every future engineer to steal trade secrets,” he told Levandowski’s attorneys. “Prison time is the answer to that.” To further underscore the importance of deterring similar behavior in the high stakes tech world, Judge Aslup required Levandowski to give the aforementioned public speeches describing how he went to prison."