Copyright

No Entrance to Legal Paradise: D.C. Court of Appeals Affirms Denial of Copyright Registration for AI-Generated Artwork

The Court’s ruling is consistent with longstanding law, reaffirming that works exclusively created by AI are ineligible for copyright protection. While this opinion ultimately leaves more nuanced “line-drawing” questions for another day, authors of AI-generated works are likely to continue to register their works with the Copyright Office and engage in legal fights to determine…

Dua Lipa Wins Summary Judgement in Levitating Copyright Infringement Case

While acknowledging that “it is possible that a ‘layperson’ could listen to portions of Plaintiffs’ and Defendants’ songs and hear similarities,” Judge Katherine Polk Failla concluded that “there can be no substantial similarity (and thus no copyright violation) as a matter of law, because ‘the similarity between the works concerns only non-copyrightable elements of the…

Ninth Circuit Reverses Copyright Lawsuit Against Aritzia, Opening Up Possibility of Copyright Protection for Kinetic Sculpture

The Ninth Circuit noted that “copyrightability of kinetic and manipulable sculptures” is “an area of copyright law that has not yet received much attention” and “may be better informed with a more complete factual record.”

George Santos Loses Cameo Copyright Case

Santos sued after the show Jimmy Kimmel Live! used short videos of Santos saying absurd things in exchange for money on the site Cameo—videos that Kimmel allegedly tricked Santos into making. The defendants moved to dismiss Santos’ complaint on the grounds that they made a fair use of Santos’ videos.

Copyright Law Used to Deny Access to Covenant School Shooter’s Manifesto

Federal Court Holds That Copyright Act Preempts X’s Web Scraping Claims

In a blockbuster ruling that is bound to have far-reaching implications, including in the swarm of copyright infringement cases brought against AI platforms, a California federal court recently dismissed a complaint that X Corp. brought against web scraping company Bright Data.

Supreme Court Provides for Broader Availability of Damages in Copyright Suits

The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, No. 22-1078, holding that damages are available under the Copyright Act for acts of infringement that predate the initiation of suit by more than three years.

Top Gun Lawsuit Shot Down

The 1983 magazine article “Top Guns” and Paramount Pictures’ recent blockbuster movie Top Gun: Maverick are not substantially similar under copyright law, a California federal judge ruled this month.

Supreme Court, Second Circuit Consider Copyright Infringement Statute of Limitation Implications

Neither case squarely presented the question of when a copyright claim ‘accrues,’ understood by many federal circuits as when the copyright owner first “discovers” the allegedly infringing use. However, the challenges that both cases raise about the discovery rule’s application may hint at its potential impermanence.

Fourth Circuit Rules Against News Org’s Use of Ted Nugent Photograph

The Fourth Circuit ruled that a news organization’s use of a photograph of musician Ted Nugent did not constitute fair use, siding with the photographer who argued that the news organization did not alter or add any new expression required to overcome the requirements for proper attribution.