In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a defamation dispute between Rachel Williams – a victim of con artist Anna Sorokin – and Netflix, over her portrayal in the docudrama “Inventing Anna.” Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Defamation by Docudrama – Inventing Anna

The Onion recently filed a headline-grabbing amicus brief intended to defend the rights of Ohio amateur satirist Anthony Novak. Novak created the “City of Parma Police Department” Facebook account, admittedly to exercise his “fundamental American right” of “[m]ocking our government officials.” His posts to the account included mock advertisements for a “Pedophile Reform event” and a program intended to starve the homeless to encourage them to leave the area. Soon after, the police department obtained a search warrant, seized his phone and laptop, and arrested Novak for disrupting police functions.

Continue Reading Area Man Defends the Rights of Satirists: The Onion’s Headline-Grabbing Amicus Brief Defends the Right to Deadpan Parody

Copyright protection automatically attaches to a work when it is created. Specifically, copyright protection attaches to the original, creative work when it is fixed in a tangible medium, such as when it is written, drawn, recorded digitally, or typed electronically. Copyright law “protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.” It also protects images, photos, videos, and other written work, such as blog posts.  See here. Continue Reading Tips for Avoiding Copyright Infringement

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss Paramount’s motion to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit relating to ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’

Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Paramount is Ready to Dogfight in Top Gun Maverick Copyright Lawsuit