[Statute of] Queen Anne’s Revenge? Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Allen v. Cooper
By guest blogger Tyler Ochoa If your literary or artistic work is copied by a state government or state officials, can you sue those defendants for copyright infringement? Section 511…
Copyright Registration, Publication on the Internet, and the Revolving “Back Door to Berne” (Guest Blog Post)
…to register copyright. In Fourth Estate (see Tyler Ochoa’s post on the decision), the Supreme Court held that in order to file a copyright infringement suit, an owner of an…
Supreme Court Requires Completed Copyright Registration Before Filing Suit–Fourth Estate Public Benefit v. Wall-Street (Guest Blog Post)
Guest Blog Post by Tyler Ochoa On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, No. 17-571, 139 S.Ct. ____, 2019 U.S….
An Analysis of Title I and Title III of The Music Modernization Act, Part 2 of 2 (Guest Blog Post)
Guest Blog Post by Tyler Ochoa [This is part 2 of a 2-part series on the Music Modernization Act. Check out part 1 before reading this post.] The Musical Works…
An Analysis of Title I and Title III of The Music Modernization Act, Part 1 of 2 (Guest Blog Post)
Guest Blog Post by Tyler Ochoa On October 11, 2018, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1551, the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act, which became Public Law 115-264,…
An Analysis of Title II of Public Law 115-264: The Classics Protection and Access Act (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Tyler Ochoa On October 11, 2018, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1551, the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act, which became Public Law 115-364, 132…
Realistic Docudramas Don’t Violate California Publicity Rights–deHavilland v. FX
By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa Last week, the California Court of Appeal ordered the dismissal of a right of publicity and false-light privacy lawsuit brought by legendary actress Olivia de…
A Seismic Ruling Revisited: No Common-Law Public Performance Rights in Pre-1972 Sound Recordings in New York–Flo & Eddie v. Sirius
By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa On December 20, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals (the highest court in the State of New York) held 4-2 (with one judge recused)…
Was Melania Trump’s Plagiarism Also Copyright Infringement? (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa The first night of the Republican National Convention generated quite a bit of controversy, as Melania Trump was accused of plagiarizing a key passage in…
Chain of Title Proves Fatal to “Happy Birthday” Copyright Claim (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa “Happy Birthday” has been described as “The World’s Most Popular Song.” It is sung almost every time that people gather to celebrate a birthday. The…