Tag Archives: copyright
Copyright Fair Use – Is “Transformativeness” The Key?
Fair use is a statutory defense to copyright infringement. The fair use statute, 17 U.S.C. § 107, suggests certain types of uses that generally may qualify as fair use, and identifies four factors a court must consider to decide when any particular use qualifies. The statute reads as follows: Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 […]
2014 Substantial Similarity in Copyright Law Supplement Available
The 2014 annual supplement to our treatise Substantial Similarity in Copyright Law is now available from PLI.
Copyright Litigation: Analyzing Substantial Similarity
A new article I’ve written, Copyright Litigation: Analyzing Substantial Similarity has just been published by the Practical Law Company. Think of it as Substantial Similarity in Copyright Law light. It discusses just the very basics of what you need to know when evaluating a copyright infringement claim. If you want detailed information, you still have to […]
Highlights of the 2013 Copyright Society Annual Meeting II
Here of some highlights from today’s sessions at the annual meeting of the Copyright Society of the USA, Bolton Landing, NY June 11, 2013 Panel on Future of TV and Radio Copyright Litigation: Elenor Lackman, Bruce Joseph, Kelly Klaus, David Leichtman, Fritz Attaway David Leichtman gave overview stating with Sony Bruce Joseph suggest courts get […]
Highlights of the 2013 Copyright Society Annual Meeting
Highlights from the first days sessions at the annual meeting of the Copyright Society of the USA, Bolton Landing, NY June 10, 2013. Maria Pallante, Register of Copyrights gave an update on activities at the Copyright Office. Cell phone unlocking requirements will be continued, likely by reinstating recently expired exemption in the DMCA, although present […]
Product Manuals and Copyright
Equipment manufacturers can gain a measure of control over distributors and repair shops by registering and enforcing copyrights in their product manuals. Notwithstanding their highly factual and utilitarian purpose, courts typically hold that manuals involve enough creativity to be copyrightable. Such creativity may be comprised of the wording of the text, the creative elements of […]
New York Office
On the one year anniversary of Osterberg LLC, I’m pleased to announce the opening of a New York office at 112 West 34th Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10120.
2013 Substantial Similarity Shipped
I sent the 2013 update of Substantial Similarity in Copyright Law to the publisher PLI earlier this week. This will be the tenth anniversary edition. We’ve included more illustrations of the works at issue in the cases discussed, a significant revision of the chapter on useful articles, and more. Look for it in on the […]
Work For Hire Part II – Scope of Employment
Following up on my last post concerning works made for hire, this post tackles the question: When is a work “prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment?” The answer is determined based on common law principles as set forth in the Restatement (Second) of Agency. The three criteria are: (1) […]
Work For Hire – Eligible Works
One commonly misunderstood aspect of IP law is the limited scope of work for hire. The broad concept of work for hire is that one can hire another person to create something, and the hiring party will own the copyright. What many layman and attorneys either do not realize or forget, however, is that unless […]
