Copyright Law

Romantics Detail What They Don?t Like About Activision

Posted on November 23, 2007
As commented upon by Michael Madison, the Romantics have filed suit against Activision, alleging that the version of “What I Like About You” included in the Guitar Hero Rocks the ’80s video game (for which Activision got a license from the songwriters) sounds too much like the original recording...

Followup on § 2257

Posted on November 09, 2007
I’ve received a number of emails asking for basic information about the ramifications of the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Connection Distributing case, discussed here.  I can’t say what the decision means for any particular person, but here are some helpful facts: Who is this “Sixth Circuit”? The decision was issued by a three-judge panel of the [...

Followup on § 2257

Posted on November 09, 2007
I’ve received a number of emails asking for basic information about the ramifications of the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Connection Distributing case, discussed here.  I can’t say what the decision means for any particular person, but here are some helpful facts: Who is this “Sixth Circuit”? The decision was issued by a three-judge panel of the [...

Join the ABA IPL Special Committee on the DMCA

Posted on November 05, 2007
This year, I’m co-chair of the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law Special Committee on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. My co-chair is Kate Spelman of Cobalt LLP, and we have a great deal planned for the coming year...

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A Full Day of Legal Blogging Events on November 5th

Posted on November 05, 2007
A programming note. Tomorrow, November 5th, I’ll be honored to participate in a lunchtime panel at Stanford Law School with four highly-regarded law professor bloggers (Ann Althouse, David Friedman, Eric Goldman, and Larry Solum), moderated by none other than Jonathan Zittrain...

6th Cir.: § 2257 Facially Unconstitutional

Posted on October 24, 2007
In a beautifully written, powerfully reasoned opinion, the Sixth Circuit today declared 18 U.S.C. § 2257 facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment for overbreadth. The opinion, in Connection Distributing Co. v. Keisler, is here. The statute imposes harsh recordkeeping requirements on all producers and disseminators of sexually explicit content, ostensibly in order to more easily [...

Roommates.com: reh?g en banc granted!

Posted on October 13, 2007
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit granted rehearing en banc in the Roommates.com case, which I expressed my concerns about here. This means that the existing panel opinion was withdrawn by the court, and is no longer usable as precedent. A 15-judge panel will now hear and decide the case as if the panel opinion had never [...

Turns Out You Can?t Do That

Posted on October 05, 2007
Yet another “reconstructed copyright deposit leads to great sorrow” case, this time from Puerto Rico, via the First Circuit Court of Appeals: Fernando Torres-Negrón v. J&N Records. (Via Bill Patry.)

D. Mass.: Unfinished Works Aren?t Covered by VARA

Posted on September 25, 2007
Judge Ponsor of the District of Massachussetts has decided Mass MoCA v. Büchel, a case featuring the thrilling combination of an improperly-bisected house, a suspended spider-hole, and a huffy Swiss artiste. The story, in brief: Christoph Büchel is an installation artist...

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