Recently, a client asked why we included a short form option agreement and a short form assignment agreement as an exhibit to a long form literary option agreement. I am sure that many a corporate transactional attorney has similarly wondered why a short form copyright assignment agreement is included within the package of numerous M&A… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Copyright Act
The Jury Is Still Out on What “Registration” Means Under Section 411 of the Copyright Act.
Posted in Copyright LawThe Copyright Act provides that “Registration” of a copyright is a precondition to filing suit for copyright infringement. 17 U.S.C. § 411(a). We are still trying to figure out exactly when registration occurs. While copyright registration is voluntary, the Copyright Act provides several incentives for a copyright owner to register a copyright, one of… Continue Reading
Is Fox News Proposing a New Standard For Determining Fair Use?
Posted in Copyright LawNorth Jersey Media Group Inc. is the copyright owner of the iconic photograph of three firefighters raising an American flag at the ruins of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. On September 11, 2013, a Fox News producer posted a photograph that juxtaposed the 9/11 photograph with a World War II photograph of… Continue Reading
9th Circuit Agrees to En Banc Rehearing of Garcia v. Google, Inc.
Posted in Copyright LawIn March 2014, this column analyzed a decision by a Ninth Circuit panel in Garcia v. Google, Inc., in which the Court held that an actress, who believed she was appearing in a minor role in an Arabian adventure movie, could maintain a copyright infringement claim against the producers when they used the footage instead… Continue Reading
Will The Copyright Act be Amended to Include a “Making Available” Right
Posted in Copyright Law, Legal InfoUnder the WIPO Internet Treaties, member states are required to recognize in their national laws the exclusive right of authors of works to ‘‘make [the works] available’’ and ‘‘communicate [the works] to the public’’, including through interactive platforms, such as the Internet. The United States implemented the WIPO Internet Treaties through the Digital Millennium Copyright… Continue Reading