Z-Library operators arrested, charged with criminal copyright infringement; The Register, November 18, 2022

 

Jessica Lyons Hardcastle, The Register ; Z-Library operators arrested, charged with criminal copyright infringement

"Two Russian nationals accused of operating Z-Library – one of the largest online book piracy websites – have been charged with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud and money laundering.

According to a newly unsealed indictment, 33-year-old Anton Napolsky and 27-year-old Valeriia Ermakova, both of St Petersburg, Russia, operated the site between January 2018 and November 2022, allowing people to freely download pirated books and academic papers.

The duo "did knowingly and willfully infringe a copyright for purposes of commercial advantage and private financial gain" by distributing copyrighted works "having a total retail value of more than $2,500," according to the court documents [PDF].

They were arrested on November 3 in Cordoba, Argentina, at the request of the United States. Around the same time, the Feds also took down Z-Library's network of nearly 250 domains and seized its assets – much to the dismay of students everywhere who used the site to access textbooks and academic journals without paying the hefty price tags charged by academic publishers."

Explainer: The Supreme Court, Fair Use and the Future of Protected Artistic Expression; Jurist, December 1, 2022

 Jaimee Francis | Boston University School of Law, Jurist; Explainer: The Supreme Court, Fair Use and the Future of Protected Artistic Expression

"What’s at stake here?

The decision of the current Supreme Court case can shape the future of what does and does not constitute fair use. Goldsmith claimed that Warhol’s images based upon her copyrighted photographs constituted a derivative work. Thus, Goldsmith argued that the Warhol Foundation infringed her exclusive right to prepare derivative works and is therefore liable to her. The Warhol Foundation, however, argued that Warhol’s images were sufficiently transformative and thus constituted fair use. As such, the Warhol Foundation argued that it did not infringe Goldsmith’s copyright and is therefore not liable for its use of Goldsmith’s work in the Prince illustrations.

By finding in favor of Goldsmith, who owns copyright in the Prince photographs, the applicability of fair use may be limited. In this scenario, future content creators may face increased liability when creating new content based on copyrighted work. Because creativity is often inspired by some underlying work, such a decision may stifle creativity. As the Acuff-Rose case highlights, for example, works like parodies of a copyrighted work would constitute infringement without fair use. On the other hand, by finding in favor of the Warhol Foundation, which used Goldsmith’s copyrighted work in its work, future copyright owners may be denied a remedy when a user has unfairly used their creative work. Because the copyright regime has historically protected a creator’s financial incentive, such a decision may stifle creativity. In either scenario, creativity may be stifled: over-protecting a work may prevent others from using that work in their creative process, while under-protecting a work may prevent creators from entering the market without an assurance of monetary gain. As the Gerald Ford case highlights, for example, some uses may unfairly exploit the initial creator’s work. As the Supreme Court noted in that case, quoting in part an earlier decision, “The challenge of copyright is to strike the ‘difficult balance between the interests of authors and inventors in the control and exploitation of their writings and discoveries on the one hand, and society’s competing interest in the free flow of ideas, information, and commerce on the other hand.'”"

May ‘Bad Spaniels’ Mock Jack Daniel’s? The Supreme Court Will Decide.; The New York Times, December 5, 2022

  Adam Liptak, The New York Times; May ‘Bad Spaniels’ Mock Jack Daniel’s? The Supreme Court Will Decide.

"The justices agreed last month to decide the fate of the Bad Spaniels Silly Squeaker dog toy, which looks a lot like a bottle of Jack Daniel’s but with, as an appeals court judge put it, “lighthearted, dog-related alterations.”

The jokes are scatological. The words “Old No. 7 Brand Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey” on the bottle are replaced on the toy by “the Old No. 2, on your Tennessee carpet.” Where Jack Daniel’s says its product is 40 percent alcohol by volume, Bad Spaniels’s is said to be “43 percent poo.”

A tag attached to the toy says it is “not affiliated with Jack Daniel Distillery.”

Trademark cases generally turn on whether the public is likely to be confused about a product’s source. In the Bad Spaniels case, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, said the First Amendment requires a more demanding test when the challenged product is expressing an idea or point of view."

Copyright Office and USPTO Announce NFT Study and Roundtables; U.S. Copyright Office, November 22, 2022

U.S. Copyright Office, NewsNet 988; Copyright Office and USPTO Announce NFT Study and Roundtables

"The U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are publishing a Federal Register notice announcing a U.S. Copyright Office and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) joint study to examine various matters related to intellectual property that arise from the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

In a letter dated June 9, 2022, Senators Patrick Leahy and Thom Tillis requested that the Copyright Office and the USPTO conduct a joint study and address issues related to NFTs and intellectual property rights in consultation with the private sector, drawing from the technological, creative, and academic sectors.

To assist in preparing a report for Congress, the notice seeks written responses from the public to several questions. It also announces that the Copyright Office and USPTO intend to hold virtual public roundtables in January 2023.

For additional information, including instructions for submitting comments and asking to participate in the roundtables, please visit the Copyright Office website. Comments must be received no later than January 9, 2023."

 JAMES VINCENT, The Verge; The scary truth about AI copyright is nobody knows what will happen next

"...is any of this actually legal?

The question arises because of the way generative AI systems are trained. Like most machine learning software, they work by identifying and replicating patterns in data. But because these programs are used to generate code, text, music, and art, that data is itself created by humans, scraped from the web and copyright protected in one way or another.

For AI researchers in the far-flung misty past (aka the 2010s), this wasn’t much of an issue. At the time, state-of-the-art models were only capable of generating blurry, fingernail-sized black-and-white images of faces. This wasn’t an obvious threat to humans. But in the year 2022, when a lone amateur can use software like Stable Diffusion to copy an artist’s style in a matter of hours or when companies are selling AI-generated prints and social media filters that are explicit knock-offs of living designers, questions of legality and ethics have become much more pressing."

Jury orders Steve King's campaign to pay $750 for using copyrighted meme; Des Moines Register, November 18, 2022

 William Morris, Des Moines Register; 

Jury orders Steve King's campaign to pay $750 for using copyrighted meme

"King's campaign used Sam's photo, superimposed over a background of the U.S. Capitol, in a Facebook post in January 2020 urging supporters to "Fund our memes!!!" Laney Griner, who copyrighted the photo in 2012, sent a cease-and-desist letter soon after, and, in December 2020, sued King and his campaign for copyright infringement and invasion of privacy against Sam, now a teen...

The jury agreed that King's campaign violated the copyright and awarded $750 in damages, the minimum allowed by statute. But it did not find that King, who denied knowledge of the meme before it was posted, had personally violated the copyright. Jurors also found neither campaign nor candidate had invaded Sam Griner's privacy with the Facebook post...

Although used freely as a meme online, the photo also has commercial value. The Griners have licensed its use in ad campaigns and objected to King's unauthorized use of it for fundraising purposes, according to the complaint."

Twitter’s Broken Its Copyright Strike System, Users Are Uploading Full Movies; Forbes, November 20, 2022

Paul Tassi, Forbes; Twitter’s Broken Its Copyright Strike System, Users Are Uploading Full Movies

"It should be fairly obvious to anyone what kind of liability it opens Twitter up to if their copyright system is non-functional, and its newly limited pool of workers are going to need to manually hunt down infringers. Once media companies get wind of this, we could see Twitter hit with all sort of DMCA claims and potential legal issues if they can’t get a handle on this quickly. I’m picturing Disney content starting to be uploaded here and them going nuclear."

‘Wild West’ of Generative AI Poses Novel Copyright Questions; Bloomberg Law, November 18, 2022

Riddhi Setty and Isaiah Poritz , Bloomberg Law; ‘Wild West’ of Generative AI Poses Novel Copyright Questions 

"Artist Kris Kashtanova became the first person to register a copyright for an artificial intelligence-assisted work in September, for an 18-page comic book called “Zarya of the Dawn” that was created with the AI art program Midjourney.

In recent weeks, however, Kashtanova said the Copyright Office wants to revoke the registration because it had overlooked the use of AI in the creation of the comic.

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence applications has left the burgeoning industry reckoning with how the powerful new technology interacts with copyright laws that govern everything from source code to art prints. The legal landscape is far from clear, with both the creators of AI tools and the artists who use them confronting copyright questions that haven’t yet been answered.

“It’s like the wild west right now,” said Ryan Abbott, an attorney at Brown Neri Smith & Khan LLP.

In what appears to be the first copyright infringement suit against the creator of an AI program, research company OpenAI Inc.—which has created a number of AI programs including generative art program DALL-E—was hit with a class action earlier this month by two software developers who said another OpenAI program called Copilot unlawfully duplicates their code without the proper license or attribution."

'Weird Al' Yankovic wants to 'bring sexy back' to the accordion; Fresh Air, NPR, November 16, 2022

Terry Gross, Fresh Air, NPR; 'Weird Al' Yankovic wants to 'bring sexy back' to the accordion

"GROSS: What kind of permissions do you legally need now to do a song parody, the kind that you do where often it's, like, musically note for note from the original recording but, you know, the lyrics are different? So, you know, you're satirizing the lyric, but the music isn't really - the instrumentation isn't really a satire. It's the thing. It's the - sounds like the original thing.

YANKOVIC: It's a gray area in terms of legally what I need to do especially in cases like "Smells Like Nirvana" because, again, that's satire. And that's considered free speech and fair use. And if push came to shove, if it went to the courts, generally, that's - you know, the courts rule in favor of the parody artist. But I - you know, I don't go by just what's legal. I go for what I think is right. And what's right to me is always getting permission from the original songwriters and get their blessing. Because if an artist doesn't want me to do their song, I will back off. I mean, no matter what, you know, the courts or the law says, it's like, I just want to, you know, do good by them because I respect artists. And I don't ever want them to feel like I'm, you know, stepping on their toes."

Two Russian Nationals Charged with Running Massive E-Book Piracy Website; Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York, November 16, 2022

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Eastern District of New York

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

"Two Russian Nationals Charged with Running Massive E-Book Piracy Website

Defendants Operated Z-Library, Which Offered Free Download of Copyrighted Works

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, an indictment and a complaint were unsealed charging Russian nationals Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud and money laundering for operating Z-Library, an online e-book piracy website.  The pair was arrested on November 3, 2022 in Cordoba, Argentina at the request of the United States.  At the same time, Z-Library’s network of online domains was also taken offline and seized by the U.S. government, pursuant to a court order that was also unsealed today.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the arrests and charges.

“As alleged, the defendants profited illegally off work they stole, often uploading works within mere hours of publication, and in the process victimized authors, publishers and booksellers,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights that enable creative and artistic expression, and holding individuals accountable for threatening those rights.”

“The defendants are alleged to have operated a website for over a decade whose central purpose was providing stolen intellectual property, in violation of copyright laws.  Intellectual property theft crimes deprive their victims of both ingenuity and hard-earned revenue. The FBI is determined to ensure those willing to steal and profit from the creativity of others are stopped and made to face the consequences in the criminal justice system,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.

As alleged in the indictment and court filings, Z-Library bills itself as “the world’s largest library” and claims to offer more than 11 million e-books for download.  Z-Library, which has been active since approximately 2009, offers e-book files in a variety of file formats, stripped of their copyright protections, and encourages users to upload and download titles.  Many of the e-books offered by Z-Library are protected intellectual property for which authors hold copyrights and publishers hold exclusive distribution rights, and which Z-Library has no right or license to distribute, and which are available elsewhere only with anti-circumvention measures applied. As such, a central purpose of Z-Library is to allow users to download copyrighted books for free in violation of U.S. law.   In addition to its homepage, Z-Library operates as a complex network of approximately 249 interrelated web domains.  As part of this action, those domains were taken offline and seized by the U.S. government.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  

The government’s case was initiated by the Office’s Cyber Crime Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorney Chand Edwards-Balfour, Alexander Mindlin, Antoinette N. Rangel and Kaitlin Farrell are prosecuting the case.  Brian Morris of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the FBI’s Legal Attachés abroad and foreign authorities in multiple countries provided critical assistance in this case.  In particular, the Office extends its appreciation to the Argentine authorities for their assistance in the capture of Napolsky and Ermakova.

Multiple organizations representing the victim authors and publishers also provided critical assistance in this case.  The Office extends its particular appreciation to The Authors Guild in New York and The Publishers Association in London for their assistance.  The Office also extends its appreciation to the National Cyber-Forensics & Training Alliance for its assistance in the domain takedown.     

The Defendants:

ANTON NAPOLSKY
Age:  33
St. Petersburg, Russia

VALERIIA ERMAKOVA
Age:  27
St. Petersburg, Russia

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-525 (NM)

Attachment(s): 

Download Indictment"

U.S. Copyright Office; Dancing with Copyright: A Conversation with Janet Eilber and Jamar Roberts; U.S. Copyright Office, November 17, 2022

U.S. Copyright Office; Dancing with Copyright: A Conversation with Janet Eilber and Jamar Roberts

"The Copyright Office hosted a conversation on copyright, dance, and choreography with Janet Eilber, artistic director for the Martha Graham Dance Company, and Jamar Roberts, a critically acclaimed choreographer and resident choreographer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. This conversation was recorded in February 2022."

Descendant of Doctor Zhivago author loses copyright court case; The Guardian, October 25, 2022

Haroon Siddique, The Guardian; Descendant of Doctor Zhivago author loses copyright court case

"A descendant of the Doctor Zhivago author, Boris Pasternak, has lost a claim for copyright infringement against the writer of a novel about the publication of the Russian epic.

Anna Pasternak claimed seven chapters in Lara Prescott’s work of historical fiction, The Secrets We Kept (TSWK), copied elements from her own book Lara, a 2016 biography of her great uncle’s lover Olga Ivinskaya."

A.I.-Generated Art Is Already Transforming Creative Work; The New York Times, October 21, 2022

Kevin Roose, The New York Times ; A.I.-Generated Art Is Already Transforming Creative Work

"These programs use what’s known as “generative A.I.,” a type of A.I. that was popularized several years ago with the release of text-generating tools like GPT-3 but has since expanded into images, audio and video.

It’s still too early to tell whether this new wave of apps will end up costing artists and illustrators their jobs. What seems clear, though, is that these tools are already being put to use in creative industries."

Who Owns the Copyright in A Tattoo?; Lexology, October 17, 2022

McKee Voorhees & Sease PLC - Brandon W. Clark, Lexology; Who Owns the Copyright in A Tattoo?

"In this, the first ever case of its kind to reach a jury, the jury found in favor of Alexander. However, the decision was something of a hollow victory for Alexander as the jury only awarded damages of $3,750. This case illustrates many of the issues with putting a copyright case in front of a jury as the court removed many of Take Two’s potential defenses from the jury’s consideration including de minimus use, an implied license, and waiver.

While the issues are novel and some of the case specific facts are fascinating, the outcome of the case could have a significant impact on copyrights and licensing for video games, television, motion pictures, and photographs. It is too early to tell what specific impact the result could have, and the minimal damages award will likely prevent an onslaught of similar cases, but the result does indicate a potential increase in risk when using someone’s name, image, and likeness, and will likely change the way these licenses are drafted in the future.

From a practical perspective, since copyright rights can only be transferred via a signed writing, the one sure way to avoid this risk is to ensure that tattoo artists sign a copyright assignment at the time the work is completed."

Obituary: Marybeth Peters, Former Register of Copyrights; Publishers Weekly, September 30, 2022

Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly; Obituary: Marybeth Peters, Former Register of Copyrights

"Marybeth Peters, who served as the U.S. Register of Copyrights from 1994 to 2010, died on September 29. She was 83.

Peters spent her career working in the copyright field, and was considered a leading expert on both international and domestic copyright issues. Prior to her appointment as Register of Copyrights, Peters held a variety of positions in the copyright office. During her time there, Peters played a key role in adapting copyright to the digital age, including helping to implement both the 1976 Copyright Act and the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The controversial Google Book Search lawsuit also took place during her tenure, and Peters was critical of the proposed settlement, arguing that it was at odds with the law. The settlement was eventually rejected by Judge Denny Chin."

The Supreme Court meets Andy Warhol, Prince and a case that could threaten creativity; NPR, October 12, 2022

Nina Totenberg, NPR ; The Supreme Court meets Andy Warhol, Prince and a case that could threaten creativity

"You know all those famous Andy Warhol silk screen prints of Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor and lots of other glitterati? Now one of the most famous of these, the Prince series, is at the heart of a case the Supreme Court will examine on Wednesday. And it is a case of enormous importance to all manner of artists...

However the Supreme Court rules, its decision will have rippling practical consequences. So it is no surprise that some three dozen friend of the court briefs have been filed arguing on one side or the other, and representing everyone from the American Association of publishers and the Motion Picture Association of America to the Library Futures Institute, the Digital Media Licensing Association, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the Recording Industry Association of America and even the union that represents NPR's reporters, editors and producers, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

The outcome could shift the law to favor more control by the original artist, but doing that could also inhibit artists and other content creators who build on existing work in everything from music and posters to AI creations and documentaries."

Ralph Lauren apologizes after wife of Mexico's president accuses US fashion giant of 'plagiarism' by appropriating Indigenous designs from country's pre-Hispanic cultures for $360 cardigan; Daily Mail, October 21, 2022

 Daily Mail; Ralph Lauren apologizes after wife of Mexico's president accuses US fashion giant of 'plagiarism' by appropriating Indigenous designs from country's pre-Hispanic cultures for $360 cardigan

"Ralph Lauren has apologized after the wife of Mexico's president accused the luxury US clothes brand of plagiarizing indigenous designs, which she described as an appropriation of the work of the country's pre-Hispanic cultures."

Copyright Fair Use: How Much Copying is Too Much Copying?; Lexology, August 15, 2022

Goodell DeVries Leech & Dann LLP - Jim Astrachan, Lexology; Copyright Fair Use: How Much Copying is Too Much Copying?

"...no plagiarist can excuse the wrong by showing how much of his work he did not pirate.” These words were written by Judge Learned Hand in 1936. His point was that a taking of someone else’s expression will not be excused merely because it is insubstantial in quantity when held up for comparison to the infringing work.

Years back a copyright defendant client related copyright lore as a defense to his actions. He swore up and down that copying was permissible as long as not more than 10 percent of the source work was taken. Many times that belief has been mistakenly repeated. Many of the older, bedrock, principles of copyright practice are worth repeating. Perhaps this repetition comes from being the teacher that I suspect is part of my DNA.

The “ancient” case of Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985) should absolutely disabuse anyone of this silly notion."  

The Importance of a Work Made For Hire Agreement; JD Supra, August 16, 2022

Arthur Zorio, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; The Importance of a Work Made For Hire Agreement

"It is ideal for a business to employ policies and strategies to own intellectual property, not merely to receive an assignment or license thereto. One tool for doing so is to ensure that copyrightable works are created under effective “work made for hire” circumstances. In the United States, the initial owner of a copyrightable work is generally the person who reduces a copyrightable expression to a tangible medium. However, the individual who reduces a copyrightable expression to a tangible medium is not the owner if it is a work made for hire. A work made for hire exists generally when: (1) the work is prepared by an employee within the course and scope of employment for the employer; or (2) the work is prepared by an independent contractor who has signed a work made for hire agreement pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Section 101."

Moderna suing Pfizer over Covid vaccine technology; BBC News, August 26, 2022

Jim Reed, BBC News; Moderna suing Pfizer over Covid vaccine technology

"Moderna said it is suing Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement linked to the development of the first Covid-19 vaccines.

The US biotech company is alleging that mRNA technology it developed before the pandemic was copied.

The lawsuit, which is seeking unspecified financial damages, was filed in the US and Germany."

AI Creating 'Art' Is An Ethical And Copyright Nightmare; Kotaku, August 25, 2022

 Luke Plunkett , Kotaku; AI Creating 'Art' Is An Ethical And Copyright Nightmare

If a machine makes art, is it even art? And what does this mean for actual artists?

"Basically, we now live in a world where machines have been fed millions upon millions of pieces of human endeavour, and are now using the cumulative data they’ve amassed to create their own works. This has been fun for casual users and interesting for tech enthusiasts, sure, but it has also created an ethical and copyright black hole, where everyone from artists to lawyers to engineers has very strong opinions on what this all means, for their jobs and for the nature of art itself."

AI’s Role in Modernizing Intellectual Property and Bolstering National Security; U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, August 1, 2022

Michael Richards Director, Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement, U.S. Chamber of Commerce ; AI’s Role in Modernizing Intellectual Property and Bolstering National Security

Here are six recommendations for how the U.S. can lead on AI from the U.S. Chamber's fifth and final AI Commission hearing in Washington, D.C. on July 21, 2022.

"The U.S. may lose its position as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) if we do not modernize our intellectual property system and bolster our national security strategy. That emerged as the key theme at the U.S. Chamber’s fifth and final AI Commission field hearing, hosted in Washington, D.C. last week. Experts from civil society, government, academia, and industry gathered to discuss this and other important issues related to the use and regulation of AI. 

U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark opened the hearing by noting several challenges ahead, such as cooperation between Russia and China to compete against the U.S., intellectual property (IP) theft, and regulation from abroad. With regard to the Commission’s forthcoming policy recommendations, she noted, “You can count on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to do something with this. You can count on us to not just produce a white paper but to really turn it into action, into work.” 

Here are six recommendations for how the U.S. can lead on AI:..."

‘Copyright Trolls’ Are Suing People Over Creative Commons Photos; PetaPixel, June 1, 2022

MATT GROWCOOT, PetaPixel ; ‘Copyright Trolls’ Are Suing People Over Creative Commons Photos

"An Alleged Copyright “Trap”

Mike Hiestand from SPLC was damning in his condemnation: “let’s call it what is: a trap. And once a user falls into their trap, a demand letter soon follows.

“Unfortunately some photographers and companies are now intentionally taking advantage by including very specific or complex licensing terms that they know most — or at least many — users probably won’t comply with.” 

These “traps” are perfectly legal but appear to be done in bad faith. Users of CC images are strongly advised to read the fine print less they fall foul of one of these demand letters." 

Celebrating LGBTQ+ Inventors and Entrepreneurs; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), June 27, 2022

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Director's Blog: the latest from USPTO leadership; Celebrating LGBTQ+ Inventors and Entrepreneurs

"This month, the U.S. Department of Commerce is celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and paying tribute to the many LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and innovators who help fulfill the promise of America for all.  Below we share the stories of a few leaders in the community and ways in which our agencies are advancing inclusive innovation for the betterment of society."

Ed Sheeran and co-writers awarded £900,000 in costs over copyright case; The Guardian, June 21, 2022

PA Media, The Guardian; Ed Sheeran and co-writers awarded £900,000 in costs over copyright case

"Ed Sheeran and his co-songwriters have been awarded more than £900,000 in legal costs after winning their high court copyright trial over the hit Shape of You earlier this year."

Ohio State University secures trademark for use of the word 'THE' on clothing; The Columbus Dispatch, June 22, 2022

Aaron Skubby, The Columbus Dispatch; Ohio State University secures trademark for use of the word 'THE' on clothing

"What happens now that The Ohio State University has its trademark?

The trademark approval now gives Ohio State permission to use THE for “clothing, namely, t-shirts, baseball caps and hats; all of the foregoing being promoted, distributed, and sold through channels customary to the field of sports and collegiate athletics.”"

Pride in Literature: Inspiring Authors for Everyone; Library of Congress, June 23, 2022

Holland Gormley, Library of Congress; Pride in Literature: Inspiring Authors for Everyone

"June is Pride Month, which is celebrated each year to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan and to honor the lives and experiences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community. Copyright helps to protect the rights of authors from all communities, allowing them to tell new and diverse stories that enrich our culture, educate the public, and inspire the next generation. In honor of Pride Month, and as part of our Copyright for All initiative, here are a few LGBTQ+ authors to inspire anyone to create their own copyrightable work!"

Miles Davis Tattoo Suit Pits Copyright Against Body Autonomy; Bloomberg Law, June 17, 2022

 Riddhi Setty, Bloomberg Law; Miles Davis Tattoo Suit Pits Copyright Against Body Autonomy

"Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D’s use of a famous photograph of jazz great Miles Davis has led to what’s believed to be the first lawsuit over whether an image’s copyright protection extends to tattoos, pitting questions about artistic freedom and body autonomy against photographers’ rights to own their creations. 

Photographer Jeffrey B. Sedlik is suing Von D, who used his “Iconic Miles Davis Portrait” in a tattoo she inked on a colleague. Sedlik shot the photograph around 1989, and it has appeared in publications around the world, including Life magazine’s annual “Pictures of the Year” issue. 

The case is on the road to trial, after a California federal judge recently said a jury must resolve disputes that include whether the image falls under the “fair use” doctrine—a copyright infringement defense that the US Supreme Court will tackle this fall in a case involving Andy Warhol’s print of a photo of the musician Prince."

REVIEW: Image Comics' Public Domain #1; CBR, June 20, 2022

 SERGIO PEREIRA, CBR; REVIEW: Image Comics' Public Domain #1

"The prolific creator continues to blend humor and drama in Public Domain #1, the first installment of a new series from Image Comics, where he works to take on creators' rights.

The first issue introduces Syd Dallas, a comic book artist responsible for The Domain, the biggest superhero around. Sadly, no one knows that Syd created the character because Singular Comics owns the publishing rights. And his former collaborator, Jerry Jasper, is more than happy to take the credit for it. Syd's children, Miles and David, struggle to understand why their father hasn't fought harder to gain what is rightfully his. However, a chance encounter at the premiere of Eminent Domain, the latest film in the franchise, may change everything for Syd."

Amazon Seller Shenanigans and Why You Must Register Your Copyrights; Lexology, May 29, 2022

Harris Bricken - Fred Rocafort, Lexology ; Amazon Seller Shenanigans and Why You Must Register Your Copyrights 

"By registering your copyright, you can reduce the chance of a counter-notice, or even an infringement in the first place. Savvy infringers will know that your options are very limited if your copyright is not registered. On the other hand, the existence of a registration might give infringers pause, since they know you will have the option of filing suit.

It is rough out there: Register your copyrights now."

The Owner Of Seth Green's Stolen Bored Ape Said They Have No Plans To Return It; BuzzFeedNews, May 25, 2022

Sarah Emerson, BuzzFeedNews; The Owner Of Seth Green's Stolen Bored Ape Said They Have No Plans To Return It

"BuzzFeed News reported on Tuesday that the theft of Green’s NFTs could present complications for his forthcoming series, White Horse Tavern, which incorporates characters from the actor’s extensive NFT collection. It’s possible that after losing his Bored Ape to a phishing scam this month, Green also lost his license to commercially adapt the monkey. In what has become something of a hostage scenario, Green has since tried to negotiate the return of what he has called his “kidnapped” ape."

Triumph Development sends cease and desist letter to Vail Resorts over alleged use of its intellectual property; Vail Daily, May 25, 2022

Scott Miller , Vail Daily; Triumph Development sends cease and desist letter to Vail Resorts over alleged use of its intellectual property

Letter alleges East Vail housing project is improperly using old designs

"The letter to The Vail Corporation states that the firm has submitted a “nearly identical” design for its East Vail project.

The letter alleges that The Vail Corporation “is well aware that Triumph owns the Intellectual Property. Indeed, (The Vail Corporation) repeatedly expressed interest in modifying the original contract with Triumph to provide for a transfer” of that intellectual property. “Triumph declined, and now (The Vail Corporation) is using it anyway.”"

Webinar: Proud Innovation 2022, part one: From ideas to innovations; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Wednesday, June 15, 2022 3 PM - 4:05 EDT

Proud Innovation 2022, part one: From ideas to innovations 

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Do you have an idea you want to bring to life? Join the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to get inspired by successful innovators turning concepts into creations. Register for the free, online Proud Innovation 2022 series, part one: From ideas to innovations.

The Proud Innovation series highlights the accomplishments of LGBTQIA+ innovators, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who are using their intellectual property to promote advancements and serve as mentors.

This page will be updated with speaker biographies as the event approaches.

Agenda

(All times ET)

3-3:05 p.m. Program welcome and overview    

• Sean Wilkerson, Innovation Outreach Program Manager, USPTO 

3:05-3:10 p.m.  Leadership greetings  

3:10-4 p.m.  Panel discussion: How to transform your idea into reality  

Hear how these innovators are using their experiences and inventions to build a better tomorrow:

• Arianna T. Morales, Ph.D., Staff Research Scientist, General Motors R&D Center
• Suma Reddy, Co-Founder and CEO, Future Acres 
• David Taubenheim, Senior Data Scientist, NVIDIA 
• Theodore ‘TJ’ Ronningen, Ph.D., Chair, Out to Innovate; Research Scientist, Ohio State University (moderator)

4-4:05 p.m. Wrap-up and resources   

• Sean Wilkerson, Innovation Outreach Program Manager, USPTO 

Arianna T. Morales, Ph.D., Staff Research Scientist, General Motors R&D Center