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...
Copyright Law
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...
De minimis use may not be a defense to copyright infringement of a photograph
Scraping a copyrighted photograph from the internet and publicly displaying it (on a website, in an ad, etc.) without the copyright owner's permission amounts to copyright infringement, plain and simple. Sometimes, however, individuals and businesses make the mistake...
Visual artist? You have enforceable “moral rights” in your artwork
A federal law called the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) provides protections for visual artists against physical alteration or false attribution of their artwork (referred to as artists' "moral rights"). These rights are separate and distinct from other copyright...
What’s involved in a copyright infringement claim?
Copyright is a form of intellectual property law that protects an author's original works, such as dramatic, musical, literary and visual works of art, from unauthorized use. It covers both published and unpublished work but does not protect facts, ideas, methods of...
Designer asks court to sort out legal issues in copyright dispute
In a move that is getting lots of press, New York influencer and fashion blogger Danielle Bernstein’s company WeWoreWhat (WWW) filed a lawsuit on Oct. 16 for a declaratory judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Brooklyn...
If someone disputes ownership of your creative work, don’t wait to protect your rights
Copyright law protects the creations of “original works of authorship” like those in television, movies and theater productions. A high-profile copyright dispute between iconic comedian Jerry Seinfeld and long-time creative collaborator writer and director Christian...