Last January, readers may recall our article about Georgia v. Public Resource Org Inc. (“PRO”). At the time, that case had been successfully appealed to the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS). We now have a decision. PRO involved the issue of whether the Official Code of Georgia Annotated [OCGA] was subject to copyright protection. Here were the facts: Georgia publishes and sells the […]
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 […]
Dear Doc: Is the song “This Land is Your Land” in the Public Domain? Signed,A. Singer Dear A: Back in 2004 the website JibJab posted a video in which John Kerry and George W. Bush had a rap-battle to the tune of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” Kerry called Bush a “right wing nut job” and Bush […]
The Philly Phanatic has been a mainstay of Philadelphia culture since he arrived on our shores in 1978. But did you know that the Phanatic has been the subject of numerous lawsuits? He’s even been called “the most sued mascot in baseball.” His most recent lawsuit involves the facts surrounding his birth. It’s a long, convoluted story so we’ll just briefly review the facts […]
Dear Doc: I know that you sometimes answer intellectual property questions that are not strictly about copyright, so here’s one for you… I know that folks may register just about any available word as a domain name on the Internet, using one of the many Top Level Domains (TLDs) like .com, .org, or .biz. I also […]
For the first time in over 100 years, on June 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case, Georgia v. Public Resource Org Inc., to decide “whether the government edicts doctrine extends to works that lack the force of law, such as annotations in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated [OCGA].” What is the “government edicts” […]
Dear Doc: I’ve heard that politicians who use music at their campaign appearances and in their Internet postings (Tweets, Memes, and other stuff) need to get permission from the music artists, and that sometimes, they don’t. What happens then? Signed,Dazed and Confused Dear D&C:The basic rule of copyright is that unless use of a […]
Dear Doc: I have heard that Congress is considering a new law that would create a small claims court for copyright infringement cases, particularly those that stem from infringement on the Internet. That sure sounds like it would help to stop unauthorized copying! Whaddya think? Signed,Well-intentioned. Dear Well: Have you ever shared a […]
Here is some news for old fogey music lovers (like me). Remember the Spencer Davis Group? Stevie Winwood was the sixteen year old lead singer belting out hits like “Gimme Some Lovin’.” In 1966, the song reached the number 2 hit single position in the U.S. According to Muff Winwood, the bassist, it was “conceived, arranged, and […]
Dear Doc: I know that in the past you have said (complained, actually) that copyrights last far too long…for the life of the author plus another 75 years (or 95 years for corporate-authored works.) That said, it was not always the case that the term was so extensive. How can I know if a book […]
