Pop star Ed Sheeran is famous for his candid songs of love and heartbreak while bridging the sounds of pop, soul, hip-hop, folk, dance, and rock. He’s been one of the world’s biggest music stars since his major label debut in 2011 entitled +. His second album, 2014’s...
Copyright Law
Public domain usage may not be straightforward
In 1998, Disney waged a zealous effort to extend its copyright protections to 95 years (for corporate copyrights) and 70 years after the death of an individual creator. Detractors called it the Mickey Mouse Protection Act, which the Supreme Court upheld in 2003. Now...
Taylor Swift copyright case dismissed
A copyright infringement case against Taylor Swift was dismissed with prejudice, which means that the plaintiff cannot file another claim involving the same issue. The trial was to begin on January 17, 2023. The dispute involved the Swift song "Shake it Off," released...
Music lawsuit against Meta will continue
Sweden's Epidemic Sound has a catalog of 38,000 pieces of music spread across 160 genres. These are designed for use in video content, film and television production, podcasts, streaming platforms, and other media. Recently valued at $1.4 billion, the company filed a...
USCO announces plans to retool Music Modernization Act
Government agencies often announce plans to revamp or create new regulations before making final decisions. This approach allows citizens and businesses to weigh in with opinions on the proposed changes. Such is now the case with the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO),...
Stone Brewing fights Trademark infringement claims
The craft beer community is often collegial based on the “us against them” paradigm. In this case, “us” is the small independent breweries that have popped up by the thousands across the United States, and “them” is Miller, Budweiser and a handful of other large...
Warhol silkscreens case heard by SCOTUS
Lynn Goldsmith was hired to photograph Prince in 1981 for a Newsweek article just as the musician's star was rising. The photographer was famous for shooting musicians' portraits and album covers. She shot him performing live and invited him to her studio for more...
Infringement claims may be brought only if there is an issued copyright registration
The Supreme Court of the United ruled in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, cleared up some contradictory rulings among the Circuit Courts. Generally speaking, a work of authorship is subject to copyright protection if it is sufficiently...
Elements of a copyright work made for hire agreement
Copyright is typically owned by the party who created or authored the work, unless the author assigns the rights, or it is a "work made for hire." A work made for hire is developed or created by an employee whose responsibilities include authoring the subject work or...
Photographer or model: who owns the rights to a photograph?
Photography, like any other form of art, is subject to intellectual property and copyright law. Photography can involve more than one party when the subject of the art is a person; a model. While the photographer is considered the creator or "author" under copyright...