Graffiti artists win TRO blocking NYC building demolition

Gerald Wolkoff and his G&M Realty firm may own the New York City land on which they plan to construct a 1,000-unit luxury apartment project. But the Visual Artists Rights Act grants 16 artists a copyright in a landmark collective graffiti project there known as 5Pointz, a federal district court…

Oct 29, 2013 7:55 PM CDT

‘Blues Brothers’ nixed in tribute show title, but judge OKs ‘distinctive style’ of black-suited duo

The producers of a tribute show honoring two characters famously portrayed by Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi can’t use their “Blues Brothers” moniker in the title. But the “distinctive style” of the black-suited duo isn’t restricted by their right of publicity, since it wasn’t unique to them and,…

Oct 23, 2013 8:50 PM CDT

‘Raging Bull’ copyright case will be heard by SCOTUS

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the daughter of Jake LaMotta’s biographer may sue the movie studios profiting from DVD sales of Raging Bull, the 1980 film about the boxer’s life. The 2009 suit by Paula Petrella, daughter of biographer Frank “Peter” Petrella, alleges copyright infringement, report…

Oct 2, 2013 3:09 PM CDT

Scorned as ‘copyright troll,’ poet fights back in verse

Oct 1, 2013 9:10 AM CDT

Woman sues after her photo is juxtaposed with ‘I am positive’ in HIV awareness ad

A “mortified” Brooklyn woman has sued a stock-photo house after a portrait of her from a 2011 photo shoot ended up in an HIV rights awareness advertisement with the tagline: “I am positive. I have rights.” Erin Lloyd, the plaintiff’s lawyer, told the New York Daily News that her client,…

Sep 20, 2013 9:00 PM CDT

What will 3-D printing do to IP Law? Manufacturing? Product liability?

Legal and technology analysts see a host of changes on the horizon as a result of 3-D printing technology. Intellectual property “will be ignored and it will be impossible or impractical to enforce,” said John Hornick, a Washington, D.C.-based IP attorney with Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, at a…

Sep 20, 2013 8:14 PM CDT

Village People ‘cop’ regains control of copyright share for ‘YMCA’ and other hits

The Village People’s former lead singer—who dressed as a cop during performances—has regained a share of the copyright for “YMCA” and other hit songs he co-wrote as a result of a 1978 law regarding termination rights. Victor Willis invoked a provision of the law that allows songwriters to regain control…

Sep 11, 2013 12:56 PM CDT

Harper Lee settles case claiming agent tricked her for ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ rights

Harper Lee has reached a settlement with the agent she claimed tricked her into giving him the copyright for To Kill a Mockingbird, the man’s defense lawyer told Reuters. Lee’s attorney confirms the information as well, Hollywood Esq. reports. In 2007, according to Lee’s Southern District of New York federal…

Sep 9, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

This cease-and-desist smackdown has Spice Girls reference, copyright notice ‘just for fun’

A Vermont lawyer, an apparent Spice Girls fan, has dispatched a snarky smackdown reply to a cease-and-desist letter that had asserted the American Bankers Association has a copyright in bank routing numbers. The association had asked Greg Thatcher to stop publishing the routing numbers on his website, claiming in a…

Sep 4, 2013 1:24 PM CDT

Portland raises stink over its public potty design, sues for infringement

Portland Loo. The Sidewalk Restroom. The city of Portland—which sports stylish 24/7 flush toilets dubbed “Portland Loos“—isn’t happy to see a Southern Oregon company seemingly take a page from its design book. In a copyright infringement lawsuit filed this week, Portland claims The Sidewalk Restroom sold by Romtec Inc. looks…

Aug 27, 2013 4:04 PM CDT

Harvard law prof Lessig sues record company, claims copyright threat violated law

A Harvard law professor who is an expert on copyright issues decided to sue after an Australian record company accused him of infringement by using a French band’s song in a lecture posted on YouTube. Law professor Larry Lessig claims he was protected by the fair use doctrine when he…

Aug 27, 2013 12:55 PM CDT

Open-access website faces infringement suit for posting safety and technical standards

A website operated by open-records advocate Carl Malamud is facing a lawsuit claiming copyright and trademark infringement for posting safety and technical standards developed by nonprofit groups. Public.Resource.Org is accused of copying standards that were incorporated by reference in federal regulations and then posting them in their entirety, reports 3…

Aug 15, 2013 3:05 PM CDT

Photographer sues Philadelphia DA, says he used copyrighted picture as Twitter wallpaper

When photographer R. Bradley Maule saw one of his pictures on the personal Twitter page for Philadelphia’s district attorney, R. Seth Williams, he says, his first move was simply to complain. But after Williams repeatedly failed to take down the copyrighted image, a 2005 skyline photo of the city that…

Aug 1, 2013 7:05 PM CDT

Hearsay: Leader of the pack

Aug 1, 2013 8:30 AM CDT

Record industry tussles over whether a resale market for online music violates the Copyright Act

Aug 1, 2013 8:20 AM CDT