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by Zachary Wadlé 

Recent news reports tell of an impending legal battle between the artist of the painting at left and the Associated Press who owns the photograph upon which the painting was based. The legal battle will determine whether the ubiquitous painting of the 44th President is an original piece of artwork, or one that improperly misappropriated a photograph protected by copyright laws.

But what of President Obama’s rights in his own likeness? Can any artist commandeer the President’s likeness for his/her own commercial purposes without fear of legal repercussions? Could President Obama stop such commercial use of his likeness if he was so inclined? The answer depends on how “transformative” of President Obama’s likeness the work of art is.Continue Reading “Transformative” or Not?

By Audrey A. Millemann

The beginning of the year is a good time to review your clients’ intellectual property needs. The first and most important thing to do is to determine what intellectual property the client has. Once the intellectual property has been identified, the means of protecting it can be analyzed and a plan for establishing protection set up. 

What is Intellectual Property?

Almost anything can constitute intellectual property. IP may fall into one or more of the following categories: inventions that can be patented, expression that is copyrightable, names or logos that are trademarks, and information that is a trade secret. Continue Reading Intellectual Property Basics

By Scott M. Hervey

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