A federal court has granted summary judgment for Nirvana, dismissing Spencer Elden’s claim that the Nevermind album cover — depicting him as a baby — constituted child pornography. In this episode of The BriefingScott Hervey and James Kachmar revisit their earlier coverage of the Ninth Circuit’s decision and unpack how the district court’s final ruling turned on artistic intent and context rather than perception.

Continue Reading The Briefing: The Nirvana Baby Lawsuit – A Win for Nirvana

Disney faced a copyright lawsuit over the use of MOVA facial-capture software in Beauty and the Beast. A jury found Disney vicariously liable, the district court threw out the verdict, but the Ninth Circuit has now reinstated it. In this episode of The BriefingScott Hervey and Tara Sattler discuss:

Continue Reading The Briefing: Studios Beware – The Danger of the Beauty and the Beast Copyright Decision

Former Congressman George Santos sued Jimmy Kimmel after the late-night host used Cameo videos in a comedy segment called “Will Santos Say It?” Santos claimed copyright infringement and fraud, but both the District Court and the Second Circuit said Kimmel’s use was fair use. In this episode of The Briefing, Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler break down:

Continue Reading The Briefing: George Santos vs. Jimmy Kimmel: Why the 2nd Circuit Sided with Comedy

Neil Young vs. Chrome Hearts — What happens when a rock legend collides with a luxury fashion powerhouse? Chrome Hearts has filed suit against Neil Young, claiming his new band “Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts” infringes on their famous trademark.

Continue Reading Neil Young vs. Chrome Hearts: When Rock Meets Runway in Court

The Anthropic settlement shows just how costly copyright missteps can be in AI development. Anthropic has agreed to a $1.5B settlement after a court found that keeping a permanent library of pirated books was not fair use—even though training its AI model on those same works was.

Continue Reading The Briefing: Anthropic Settles AI Training Case for $1.5 Billion +