In this episode of the Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a Copyright dispute between professional Basketball player, Terry Rozier III and holiday product retailer, Easter Unlimited, over his use of the iconic ghost mask from the horror film, “Scream.”
Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Don’t Scream: Copyright Infringement Case Finds for “Scary Terry” Rozier

In a recent case, Bell v. Wilmott Storage Services, LLC, decided September 9, 2021, the Ninth Circuit clarified the role that the de minimis concept plays in copyright infringement cases.  In essence, the Ninth Circuit explained that de minimis goes to the amount of copying of a copyrighted work as opposed to any de minimis use or display of any such a work.
Continue Reading The De Minimis Concept in Copyright Cases – The Ninth Circuit Says What it is and What it Isn’t

In this week’s episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the NCAA’s recent policy change which allows college athletes to monetize their NIL, as well as potential downsides to the new policy.
Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Dealmaking Pitfalls in NCAA’s New NIL Policy

Calling it a “ball of confusion,” the Ninth Circuit recently considered a case involving the music of the Turtles, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and whether royalties are owed under California copyright law for music dating prior to 1972. In doing so, the Ninth Circuit reviewed nearly 200 years of copyright law to reach its conclusion.

In a lawsuit that was originally filed in 2013 titled, Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc., the Ninth Circuit confronted the issue of “whether digital and satellite radio stations have a duty to pay public performance royalties for pre-1972 songs under [California] copyright law.” The crux of the case turned on the meaning of the phrase, “exclusive ownership,” which the California legislature used in California’s copyright statute in 1872.
Continue Reading “Happy Together” – The Ninth Circuit Plays the Golden Oldies of Copyright Law