Another Judge Balks at SAD Scheme Joinder–Xie v. Annex A
[Note: the defendants in this case are enumerated on an “Annex A” instead of “Schedule A.” It’s a non-substantive difference in nomenclature, but it’s one of several reasons why I prefer the more general “SAD Scheme” appellation for the practice…
When a Copyright Owner Gets Only a $1,000 Judgment in Federal Court, They’re the Real Losers–McDermott v. KMC
Matthew McDermott is a freelance photographer. The New York Post hired him to take photos of NYC police commissioner Keechant Sewell, paying him a day rate of $470. McDermott kept the copyright to those photo and granted NY Post a…
A 27-Month Check-In on the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) (Guest Blog Post)
By guest blogger Tyler Ochoa This month, the Copyright Claims Board released its quarterly report of “Key Statistics,” covering the period from June 2022 (when it began operation) through September 2024 (9 quarters, or 27 months). Here are a few…
Internet Access Providers Face Contributory Copyright Liability for Subscribers’ Infringements–UMG v. Grande
This is another lawsuit against an Internet access provider (IAP) for user-committed copyright infringement via P2P file sharing. For more background on this issue, see this rrcap and the links at the bottom of this post. My post on a…
Tattoo Artist Wins Copyright Claim, But Gets Zero Damages–Alexander v. Take Two
Prior blog post. Alexander inked 6 tattoos on wrestler Randy Orton. Videogames featured Orton and his tattoos, and Alexander sued for copyright infringement. A jury ruled for Alexander and awarded $3,750 in damages. The defendants sought to overturn the jury…
Record Label Sends Bogus Takedown Notice, Defeats 512(f) Claim Anyway–White v. UMG
Surprise, another 512(f) claim fails. But the sender’s dereliction in this case really got to me, so it’s worth the blog post. The case revolves around a “beat” produced by Jordan Jenks (a/k/a Pi’erre Bourne). Jenks licensed the beat non-exclusively…
Trump’s Tweet Infringed the Song “Electric Avenue”–Grant v. Trump
This case involves Eddy Grant’s classic 1980s song “Electric Avenue.” The court describes Trump’s reuse of the song: On August 12, 2020, Daniel Scavino, Director of Social Media and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications of the Executive Office of…
Copyright Lawsuit Over Cameo Videos Fails Due to Fair Use (on a Motion to Dismiss)–Santos v. Kimmel
George Santos is the disgraced former Congressmember and a serial fabulist. After he was expelled from Congress, he set up a Cameo page (please don’t give him any money, even as a joke). To mock him, Jimmy Kimmel ordered some…
Eleventh Circuit Gives the Slip to the Duct-Taped Banana Copyright Appeel–Morford v. Cattelan
You probably recall this case. A California artist, Morford, created a work called “Banana and Orange” where he duct-taped the fruits to the wall. An Italian artist, Cattelan, created a work, “Comedian,” involving just a banana duct-taped to the wall….
A Report from the White House’s Inaugural “Creator Economy Conference” (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Franklin Graves This week, I joined 100 other creators and creator economy professionals in attending the first ever White House Creator Economy Conference. The event, which I recapped in more detail for another publication, presented an interesting…