By Dale C. Campbell
A copyright holder has the right to specify the terms under which others may use his or her work. How the terms under which a third party may use a copyrighted work are described can dramatically affect the remedies available to the copyright holder when the terms are breached.Continue Reading LICENSE TERMS: CONDITIONS OR COVENANTS – WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
By Scott Cameron
The United States Government, which created the courts and a legal system to provide an avenue to seek redress for injury, is immune from suit in that system unless the Government agrees to be sued by waiving its immunity. This is commonly known as “sovereign immunity,” and allows many lawsuits to be dismissed at the pleading stage. On July 25, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an opinion regarding the scope of sovereign immunity as applied in a copyright infringement case.
The Federal Government has waived its immunity for suits based on its infringing the rights of copyright owners. It is a rather limited waiver, however, and allows the Government to infringe much more freely than a private party. Last week’s Federal Circuit decision, Blueport Co., LLC v. United States, shows how easy it can be for a government employee to lose his rights to work he has created.Continue Reading We’re the Government, and We’re Here to Copy – Blueport Co. v. United States
By: Dale C. Campbell and Serena Crouch, Third Year Law Student at McGeorge School of Law
Internet users and privacy advocates across the nation fear they are losing the continuing battle to protect internet privacy rights. A court decision in a lawsuit between Viacom and YouTube.com is the most recent battlefield regarding data likely to provide the video viewing habits of millions around the world.
In March 2007, Viacom sued YouTube and Google, Inc. in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, seeking at least $1 billion in damages for alleged copyright infringement. Viacom claims that YouTube built its business by willfully offering Viacom’s copyright protected material such as episodes of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and the cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Viacom claims that neither YouTube nor its users are licensed to upload its material in the manner it is being used.Continue Reading Viacom V. Youtube: Are Our Internet Privacy Rights Really In Danger?
On March 26, 2008, the District Court for the Central District of California issued an order closing one chapter to a long running battle between the heirs of one of the original creators of the iconic comic book superhero, Superman, and DC Comics. The court’s order addressed the heirs’ attempt to exercise their rights under the termination provision contained in the Copyright Act of 1976; a formalistic and complex statutory scheme which allows authors and their heirs to terminate a prior grant of copyright in a creation.
At issue in the case was a 1938 grant (and other purported grants) by Jerome Siegel and his creative partner Joseph Shuster, of the copyright in the first edition of Superman published by DC Comics. The court’s order is a detailed 72 page ruling which devotes great consideration to the story behind the creation of Superman. As the court notes, “any discussion about the termination of the initial grant to the copyright in a work begins with the story of the creation of the work itself.”Continue Reading Superman and a Super Copyright Battle
The Ninth Circuit just doesn’t like karaoke. At least, that’s what plaintiffs, manufacturers of karaoke machines, in two recent opinions involving copyright law would likely say. In both decisions, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district courts’ dismissal of the complaints without leave to amend. Both of these decisions discussed the various copyrights that are implicated in a karaoke device, including the copyright of the performance of the song itself, the song lyrics, and the synchronization of the two. Both decisions also involved the licenses required by karaoke device manufacturers.Continue Reading The Ninth Circuit Just Doesn’t Like Karaoke
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