Copyright Law

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On September 30, 2021, the United State Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided a much-anticipated copyright reversion case involving the slasher franchise, Friday the 13th.  This case concerns the claim for copyright reversion made by Victor Miller, the screenwriter of Friday the 13th, seeking the reversion to the rights in the screenplay to the popular horror film.  The case is aptly entitled Horror Inc v. Victor Miller.
Continue Reading Producer’s Copyright of Friday the 13th Screenplay Slashed In Screenwriter’s Termination Lawsuit

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

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the Ninth Circuit Ruling on the copyright aspects of Dr. Seuss “mashups.” In the second episode of this two-part series, they discuss the trademark aspects of this case.
Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Dr Seuss Sets Photon Torpedoes on Star Trek Mashup in 9th Circuit Appeal (Part One, Copyright)

In this week’s episode of the Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss recent news stories reporting that police officers played copyrighted music during filmed encounters, ostensibly to keep the videos from being uploaded to the Internet. Scott and Josh discuss how copyright law, the DMCA, and fair use apply to this tactic.
Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Can Copyrighted Music Keep Vids of Police Encounters Off The Internet?