The 40 millionth US copyright registration was completed on July 8, 2022! This historic 40 millionth US copyright registration milestone coincided with the 152nd birthday of the US Copyright Office. That doesn’t mean that ONLY 40 million works are under copyright protection in the United States. That means that 40 million works have been properly […]
The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020 is the latest federal law regarding copyright law. This act created a Copyright Claims Board (CCB) that offers a low cost alternative to federal court for bringing suit for alleged copyright infringement. The CCB began accepting cases in June 2022. A number of cases are pending as […]
In September 2017 the US Copyright Office began releasing a new series of copyright circulars that provide simple explanations of US copyright law on specific topics. These circulars are divided into seven categories: Foundations of Copyright (10 Circulars, including two in Spanish) Office Practices and Procedures (17 Circulars, including one in Spanish) Copyright Concepts (10 […]
Naruto is not monkeying around folks! The saga of the monkey Naruto’s copyright battle continues. This blog is about more than animal copyrights, however. Regardless of the outcome, there is an obvious lesson for all publishers in Naruto’s case and its appeal regarding the copyrights to the photos taken by the monkey. This case, (discussed below) […]
I recently acquired copyright permission for a client to use a photograph of a mural painted on the wall of a restaurant. On first consideration, my client didn’t even factor into his publication plan what action might be required for the legal use of the mural. At the time the painting was conceived and created, […]
Animal copyrights ownership: a nature photographer and self-publisher vs. a crested macaque. Animal copyrights is one of the more interesting copyright court cases of late. In September 2015 PETA filed a copyright infringement suit in a California federal court asking that Naruto, a crested macaque, be declared the copyright owner of a selfie he took in […]
All the photos of Mike Tyson’s face in the Internet copyright news arena this past week carried me back to the not-too-distant past when another face was ubiquitous there—President Obama’s. Tyson’s facial tatoo had found its way to the face of an actor in the newly released movie “The Hangover Part II.” About two years […]
News of Marybeth Peters’ recent retirement as United States Register of Copyrights and questions about her acting replacement, Maria Pallante, and others considered for the job, has set me to thinking about the time I entered the world of copyright. I saw Marybeth Peters speak for the first time in December of 1997 at a […]