Copyright Office Rejects Registration for AI-Created Works
Thaler filed an application to register the copyright in this work, entitled “A Recent Entrance to Paradise”: Thaler explained the work “was autonomously created by a computer algorithm running on a machine” and he was “seeking to register this computer-generated…
How Fair Use Helps Bloggers Publish Their Research (Cross-Post)
[I published this post initially on the Association of Research Libraries blog in celebration of Fair Use Week 2022. Prayers for Ukraine.] Bloggers play an increasingly important role in the research ecosystem, especially as investigative journalism has declined. Bloggers often…
A Glimmer of Hope That the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) Won’t Turn Into a Troll Factory
This is much-delayed blog coverage of the Copyright Office’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing “procedures related to conducting an active proceeding, post-determination review, smaller claims, and the conduct of parties.” The NPRM would allow (1) anyone in a corporate family…
Apple Defeats Copyright Lawsuit Over Emoji Depictions–Cub Club v. Apple
The court summarizes the case: Cub Club Investment created an app that allowed people to send racially diverse emoji. According to the complaint, when Apple learned of the app, it liked the idea—so much so, in fact, that it copied…
Court Quashes 512(h) Subpoena Submitted to YouTube–Watch Tower v. Kevin McFree
A “lapsed” Jehovah’s Witnesses member, using the alias “Kevin McFree,” posted YouTube videos using stop-animation of Lego figurines to criticize the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The IP arm of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (the “Watch Tower”) claimed that one such video, the “Dubtown…
2021 Emoji Law Year-in-Review
A recap of emoji law developments in 2021: Court References I maintain a dataset of US court opinions that reference emojis and emoticons. I have compiled the dataset using keyword alerts in Westlaw and Lexis, supplemented by a few opinions…
Twitter Can’t Quash a 512(h) Subpoena
This case involves the Twitter account “@CallMeMoneyBags,” a pseudonymous account. In October 2020, the user posted 6 tweets attacking Brian Sheth, a private equity billionaire, that included photos “depicting a woman or portions of a woman’s body.” The opinion doesn’t…
Recipes Aren’t Copyrightable, No Matter How “Exciting” They Are–Coscarelli v. Esquared
This case involves vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli, the first vegan to win Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. That win made her a legend in the vegan community, and she has parlayed her fame into some great vegan cookbooks. She also connected…
A 512(f) Plaintiff Wins at Trial! 👀–Alper Automotive v. Day to Day Imports
Background A refresher: in 1998, Congress created a notice-and-takedown scheme for user-submitted items that allegedly infringe copyright. Copyright owners send takedown notices, and service providers either remove the items or lose the safe harbor. Congress recognized how much power it…
Yearbook Defendants Lose Two More Section 230 Rulings
2021 has seen the emergence of a litigation genre against “yearbook” database vendors that publish old yearbooks online. I’ve blogged three yearbook cases so far this year (Callahan v. Ancestry, Knapke v. Classmates, and Sessa v. Ancestry), and today I’ll…