ABA Journal

Copyright Law

805 ABA Journal Copyright Law articles.

Kagan, Sotomayor write dueling opinions in SCOTUS fair-use ruling against Andy Warhol Foundation

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan complained in a dissent Thursday that a majority ruling by liberal colleague Justice Sonia Sotomayor had adopted a “posture of indifference” and left “in shambles” part of a fair-use test used in copyright cases.

Sotomayor and Gorsuch didn’t recuse in cert denials involving their publisher

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch failed to recuse themselves when considering cert petitions involving the publisher of their books, Penguin Random House.

Copyright case against Ed Sheeran based on ‘an extremely common chord progression,’ law prof says

Civil rights lawyer Benjamin L. Crump told jurors in Manhattan, New York City, in opening statements Tuesday that he has “a smoking gun” showing that singer Ed Sheeran copied the Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On” when he wrote “Thinking Out Loud.”

When artists gain fame after death, questions can arise over copyright ownership

Several legal fights have pitted family members of an artist who died without a will against parties accused of commercially exploiting the artist’s work. Collectors or entrepreneurs who have obtained an artist’s physical work may then be tempted to try to profit from its underlying intellectual property, but they are different things.

Internet Archive’s scanning and lending of books violates copyrights, federal judge rules

A federal judge in Manhattan, New York City, has granted summary judgment to four publishers that sued the nonprofit Internet Archive for scanning copyrighted books and lending them out in digital form.

Breaking up is hard to do, Greenberg Traurig learns after finally succeeding in dropping rapper Ye

Greenberg Traurig has finally served notice on rapper Ye that it is dropping him as a client. The law firm was able to serve the rapper formerly known as Kanye West with the help of a California lawyer.

Meet the lawyer representing Trump in his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward

The new lawyer representing former President Donald Trump in his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward initially practiced law as a barrister in Great Britain.

Artificial intelligence companies are accused of violating copyrights for artwork and photos

Legal actions filed on behalf of artists and stock photo company Getty Images claim that artificial intelligence companies are violating the plaintiffs’ copyrights by using their images and metadata to train AI software.

Despite ‘diligent efforts,’ Greenberg Traurig can’t find rapper Ye to inform him it’s dropping him

Greenberg Traurig wants to drop the rapper Ye as a client but has been unable to serve him with a notice of withdrawal from a copyright lawsuit, the law firm informed a federal judge Friday.

Supreme Court will consider whether Andy Warhol’s Prince paintings violate copyright law

A copyright case going before the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 12 encompasses the avant-garde pop art of Andy Warhol, the musical genius and personal vulnerability of the performer Prince and the rarefied worlds of rock photography and glossy magazines.

Chemerinsky: Supreme Court poised to sharply advance the law to the right

Last year’s term was momentous: The court overruled Roe v. Wade, greatly expanded gun rights and aggressively protected free exercise of religion. There is no doubt that the coming term, too, will be filled with blockbuster decisions.

All internet service providers in US must block 3 pirate streaming sites, federal judge rules

A federal judge in New York City has ordered every internet service provider in the United States to block three pirate streaming services that are rebroadcasting copyrighted Israeli shows in this country.

Supreme Court will hear photographer’s copyright dispute over Andy Warhol’s Prince portraits

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider whether artist Andy Warhol’s portraits of singer Prince were a transformative use of copyrighted photos that constituted fair use.

After Supreme Court copyright fight, Georgia makes annotated legal code freely available

Georgia capped a yearslong legal fight over whether interpretations of its official state code are copyrightable, announcing Monday that the annotated legal code is now available online for free.

Chapman University professor files infringement suit to learn which students posted exam questions online

A Chapman University business professor has claimed in a lawsuit that unknown students who posted his midterm and final exam questions on Course Hero, a website in which students share documents from college classes, infringed on his copyright.

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