I listened yesterday morning to oral arguments presented (via video conference) on Monday before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. ComicMix LLC. As a quick recap, in 2016, Dr. Seuss Enterprises (DSE) filed a copyright claim against publisher ComicMix over a mash-up book called Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!. The author/illustrator team who created ...
A recurring narrative promoted by the internet industry and its cheerleaders is that the old creative industry, which relies on copyright law, is “outdated.” The major rights holders, they keep saying, “cling to old models,” pretending the future is not happening. Of course this new v old narrative is more than a misleading PR message—it is a gross hypocrisy if ...
After a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a number of blogs and articles appeared with headlines announcing that it is now a federal crime if, for instance, your kid uses your Netflix password. While that kind of headline is good for traffic and buzz, it’s also typically exaggerated and misleading—at least insofar as this recent decision is concerned. ...
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals handed down opinions on June 16th with two important implications—one that looks like legislating from the bench by ignoring Section 301(c) of the Copyright Act and another that appears to create a split with the Ninth Circuit over interpretation of what’s called “red flag” knowledge referring to § 512(c) of the DMCA. The case ...
