“The more desperate one is to get attention, rather than to accurately communicate what one believes a problem is, the more one ventures into the realm of sensationalist propaganda.” That observation was not written about anyone promoting the Stop the Steal narrative that led to the insurrection on January 6, 2020. No, that’s Chris Ruen, in his book Freeloading (2012), ...
This week, the SDNY denied the motion to dismiss requested by Donald J. Trump et al in the copyright suit filed by singer/songwriter Eddy Grant. The complaint stems from the unlicensed use of Grant’s song “Electric Avenue” which was synched with an animated, political video satirizing then candidate Joe Biden in 2020. The video was distributed via social media, including ...
Fundamental copyright doctrines and procedures are presently on trial in the case of SAS Institute v. World Programming Limited, now on appeal at the Federal Circuit. Suffice to say, U.S. software developer SAS alleges copyright infringement by UK developer WPL, and these entities have been litigating on both sides of the pond for many years. But it almost doesn’t matter, ...
Justice O’Connor, in Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises (1985), called copyright “the engine of free expression.” This was not a novel idea. The Justice was merely summarizing a well-established relationship between an author’s copyrights and the freedom to express herself as she wishes. Freedom in artistic expression requires that the author have a degree of personal economic liberty, which ...
On September 30, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss the Copyright Office report, published in May, commenting on the efficacy of Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Section 512 provides conditional immunity to online service providers for copyright infringements conducted by users of their services. (For a basic summary of conditions, see page here.) ...
