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Category: Law

Use or lose the right to file a copyright infringement lawsuit

In 1994, Firooz Zahedi, a photographer, took several photographs of Uma Thurman in character in her now-famous role as Mia Wallace in the Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction. Miramax, the studio that produced Pulp Fiction, used one of Zahedi’s photographs, with some changes (including changing the position of the gun on the bed in front of Ms. Thurman) on its poster for the film.

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Originality remains the sine qua non of copyright, no author may copyright his ideas or the facts he narrates

The musical Jersey Boys depicts the history of a popular musical quartet, the Four Seasons (“the Band”), from its origins in Belleville, New Jersey, in the 1950s, to the Band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. In the late 1980s, Band member Tommy DeVito partnered with Rex Woodard to write a book telling “the whole story” of The Four Seasons. The result of this partnership was an autobiography of DeVito (“the Work”), ghostwritten by Woodard and completed before the Play was developed.

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Whether the Copyright Office can help stakeholders identify and adopt standard technical measures without congressional action?

As noted in the Report, the Office believes that the identification and adoption of standard technical measures (“STMs”) may provide an opportunity to improve the overall functioning of the notice-and-takedown system through relatively small, incremental changes that nonetheless could have a large impact on the ability of all rightsholders to protect their rights online.

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Public views on AI and IP policy

In January 2019, the USPTO held an AI IP policy conference. The conference featured IP specialists from around the world and included panel discussions on patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, IP enforcement, global perspectives, and the economics of IP protection of AI.

On August 27, 2019, the USPTO issued a request for comments (RFC) on patenting AI inventions. The USPTO received 99 comments from a wide range of stakeholders, including individuals, associations, corporations, and foreign IP offices.

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Third edition of USA copyright office compendium – audiovisual work copyright registration issues

Videogames

Generally (draft), a videogame contains two major components: the audiovisual material and the computer program that runs the game. If the copyright in the audiovisual material and the computer program are both owned by the same entity, they should be registered together on one application. By contrast, if the copyright in the program and the audiovisual material are owned by different parties, separate applications will be required.

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Technological Changes Since the 1990s Have Changed the Landscape in which Section 512 Operates

The technology that allows copyright owners to distribute content directly to consumers’ living rooms via streaming services also enables new forms of piracy: streaming of unlicensed content and stream-ripping – that is, using software to make an unlicensed copy of streamed content that would otherwise be licensed.

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When does the Fourteenth Amendment care about copyright infringement?

In 1717, the pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, captured a French slave ship in the West Indies and renamed her Queen Anne’s Revenge. The vessel became his flagship. Carrying some 40 cannons and 300 men, the Revenge took many prizes as she sailed around the Caribbean and up the North American coast.

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Revisions to section 512 should take into account differences within and among stakeholder classes

Requirements that pose a relatively minimal burden for large, established OSPs could be crippling for a small startup that lacks access to enterprise-level technology. Larger rightsholders with in-house enforcement teams may have more resources to monitor online infringement than small rightsholders that must face a choice between devoting their time to creative endeavors or to enforcing their rights.

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