Top Internet Law Developments of 2018
My schedule tends to get busy around each new year, so my year-end recaps keep coming later and later. I hope it’s better late than never. It’s been a rough year for Internet law. As I tweeted in June: When…
Copyright May Protect a Car Wash’s Liability Disclaimer–Rassamni v. Fresno Auto Spa
A pretty interesting copyright dispute is brewing in unexpected circumstances: among rival car washes in Fresno. The plaintiff includes the following language in its brochure and inspection sheet: Dear Customer, While it is our intent to provide you with the…
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 Database One of the most important provisions in the MWM…
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, 132 Stat. 3676. It contains three titles pertaining to copyright…
2H 2018 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright)
* Capitol Records LLC v. ReDigi, Inc., No. 16‐2321 (2d Cir. Dec. 12, 2018): “ReDigi version 1.0’s process for enabling the resale of digital files thus inevitably involves the creation of new phonorecords by reproduction, even if the standalone digital…
Best and Worst Internet Laws [Repost from Concurring Opinions’ Archive]
[In 2007, I guest-blogged at the group law professor blog Concurring Opinions. With the demise of that blog, I am now archiving my guest posts on my own blog. This post first appeared on February 15, 2007.] __ [Preface: I’ve already…
Real Estate Appraisals and Copyrighting Facts [Repost from Concurring Opinions’ Archive]
[In 2007, I guest-blogged at the group law professor blog Concurring Opinions. With the demise of that blog, I am now archiving my guest posts on my own blog. This post first appeared on January 28, 2007.] As reported by the Washington…
Screenshotting a Newspaper Page May Infringe a Licensed Photo–Hirsch v. Complex
This is a copyright infringement lawsuit. Hirsch, a professional photographer, took a photo of Santino Boderick, who was an associate of a well-known hiphop artist, Bobby Shmurda. Hirsch licensed the photograph to the New York Post, where it appeared in…
Another Section 512(f) Case Fails–ISE v. Longarzo
This ruling doesn’t break a lot of new doctrinal ground. Another 512(f) case fails–nothing new. I’m blogging mostly for completeness and as a follow up to my May post remarking that a 512(f) case survived a motion to dismiss. At…
Fair Use for “Meme” Can’t Be Decided on Motion to Dismiss—Philpot v. Alternet Media (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Stacey Lantagne Memes implicate many legal issues, one of the major ones being copyright infringement and fair use. The copyright dispute here revolves around a photograph of Willie Nelson taken by the plaintiff, Philpot, and posted to…