Authors, beware! The next time you post your work on social media, you may lose significant ownership rights. A core principle of U.S. copyright law is that the author controls how their work is used, and can earn money from that use if they wish. But what happens when a photographer posts her work on […]
All posts by: Joshua Waterston
A Kinder Approach to Cease and Desist Letters In the world of intellectual property, the “Cease and Desist” letter is king. These are letters from attorneys for the owner of a work or invention, sent to an alleged infringer of the owner’s intellectual property rights. The letters cite the legal basis for the owner’s claim, […]
Two thousand years ago, the Roman historian Tacticus said that “victory is claimed by all, failure to one alone.” Such is the fate of successful creative works, whether they are music, art, or television shows. In recent years, the Star Trek universe has expanded to include several new shows, including the successful Star Trek: Discovery. […]
You Can’t Copyright That?
February 13, 2023
Copyright
*Originally posted on April 1, 2021 Copyright law often isn’t as well understood as, for example, criminal defense, or family law. Most people may know that if you write a book, perform a song, or take a photograph, you can obtain copyright protection for those works. But what about items that you can’t protect through […]
What happens when Congress is unable – for almost 50 years – to figure out how to protect recorded music? Specifically, music recorded before 1972? Messy litigation involving the Turtles is what happens. First, some background. Almost 50 years ago, Congress passed the Sound Recording Amendment to the 1909 Copyright Act, which provided copyright protection […]
On July 13, 2020, the era of the NFL’s Washington Redskins ended (following pressure from the public and from corporate sponsors) and a new era began. Unfortunately, it was – and remains – an unnamed era. The team is currently called “The Washington Football Team” – it’s better than “The Washington Insert Name Here” but […]
For 35 years, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) has been a powerful weapon in law enforcement’s arsenal against computer hackers. Essentially, it criminalized the standard definition of hacking – accessing information on a computer, where the user lacks authorization to do so. But what happens when someone is authorized to access the information, […]
Over the past few years, you may have heard various people express support for or opposition to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. While President Trump and others have accused Internet content publishers of using it to discriminate against conservative points of view, the reality is quite different and actually not political at all. While people will […]
Where Have All the Soundtracks Gone?
May 6, 2021
Copyright
When fans of the TV show “Dawson’s Creek” watch it on Netflix, it will sound very different. This is because the theme song (Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait”) has been replaced by Jann Arden’s “Run Like Mad” due to lack of streaming and DVD rights to the Paula Cole song. Dawson’s Creek has plenty of company […]
U.S. v. Arthrex: A Battle for Power over Patent Judges
March 4, 2021
Patent
A fascinating aspect of the law is that something can be standard practice, or settled law, until a creative lawyer or court pulls it apart, turns it on its head, and a new paradigm is born. Think of Brown vs. the Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, or Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Each of these decisions […]