In many parts of the world, authors and artists also own “moral rights” in their works. Moral rights include the “right of attribution, the right to have a work published anonymously or pseudonymously, and the right to the integrity of the work.” The “right to integrity” means that right to object to the “distortion, or […]
All posts by: Adam Garson
Paparazzi Find a New Profit Center
May 22, 2023
Copyright
Did you know that there has been a spate of lawsuits filed against celebrities for using unlicensed photographs of themselves? It’s true. The list of defendants is a Who’s Who of social media, including Deshaun Watson, Justin Bieber, Emily Ratajkowski, Lebron James, Gigi Hadid, Katy Perry, Khloe Kardashian, and the list goes on. With the […]
Long-Arm Reach of U.S. Trademark Law
May 11, 2023
Trademark
The Long-Arm Reach of U.S. Trademark Law – We’ll Soon Learn Just How Long It Is One may correctly assume that United States trademark law under the Lanham Act applies to conduct in the United States. That, of course, makes sense. But what if you are a U.S. company exporting goods abroad and your trademark is infringed […]
Fair Use or Infringement — So Sorry
May 1, 2023
Copyright
Dozens of times over the past 10 years, we have written about the “fair use” exception to copyright infringement. You may recall that “fair use” under the U.S. Copyright Act permits limited use of copyrighted works for purposes of “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.” It’s a complex area and one that is continuously […]
We have two trademark news updates this month: In our February 2022 newsletter, we discussed the importance of “geographical indications” in trademark law. You may recall that a geographical indication is an association between a geographical region and a particular product. To quote ourselves: Champagne is from the Champagne region of France, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and […]
Bloggers, Register Your Copyrights Now!
April 3, 2023
Copyright
Photographers have long been able to utilize the copyright system for registering groups of photographs for a single registration fee, now $55.00. It has to be one of the best bargains in the IP world. Registration gives photographers and other authors of original content access to federal courts, a presumption of validity, a public record of ownership […]
Auld Lang Syne and the Public Domain
March 13, 2023
Copyright
*Originally posted on January 12, 2023 Should auld acquaintance be forgot,And never brought to mind?Should auld acquaintance be forgot,And auld lang syne? (Chorus)For auld lang syne, my dear,For auld lang syne,We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,For auld lang syne The New Year evokes memories of old times and no song embodies that sentiment more […]
Development and public release of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbots has cast AI into the public spotlight even though it has been a subject of modern academic research since the 1940’s. Over the years, we’ve written several articles on artificial intelligence and intellectual property law. Way back in 2017, we pondered the question of whether a work generated by AI is protected under copyright […]
Ask Dr. Copyright ©, A Parody by ChatGPT
February 28, 2023
Ask Dr. Copyright
We asked ChatGPT for a parody of Dr. Copyright. Here’s what we got: Dr. Copyright was feeling quite pleased,His legal power was never to be eased.He guarded the rights of creators with glee,Making sure no one used their works for free. But little did he know, his power was slipping,As technology made it easier for […]
*Originally posted on June 2, 2022 The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently handed down an important opinion for the Cannabis world. Before we get into the weeds (so to speak), let’s start with some basics. Possession and use of cannabis on the federal level is illegal. It is referred to […]