Jackson Browne v. John McCain re: Copyright Infringement

Singer Jackson Browne is suing US Republican presidential candidate John McCain for using one of his songs without permission. (NY Times)
McCain used Browne’s 1977 hit “Running on Empty” in a commercial shown in Ohio. Browne claims that the use of the sone infringes hiis copyright and will make people conclude thaT he endorses McCain. He is [...]

Online petition against the Orphan Works Act of 2008

Online petition: Against the Orphan Works Act of 2008. This bill is no better than the one that I wrote about the Journal of the Copyright Society this Spring. It even includes a registration database requirement, which is an anathema to the stated purpose of the copyright clause of the Constitution. If you have time, [...]

UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Troy Augusto, et al.

The Central District of California granted summary judgment in UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Troy Augusto, No. CV 07-03106. (SJO), regarding the legality of reselling promo CDs. Mr. Augusto acquired promo CDs and resold them on eBay, which Universal alleged infringed their copyright due to the following language placed on the CDs:
This CD is the property [...]

Orphan Works Bills

I haven’t gone through both new versions of the Orphan Works bills (House, Senate). However, this month the Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA published my article detailing problems with all previous versions of orphan works legislation. Here is a PDF of the article, Darrin Keith Henning, Copyright’s Deus Ex Machina: Economic Fostering [...]

S.2913 - Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008

110th CONGRESS 
2d Session 
S. 2913
To provide a limitation on judicial remedies in copyright infringement cases involving orphan works.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
April 24, 2008
Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. HATCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 5889 - Orphan Works Act of 2008

Six months ago, the last version of an Orphan Works bill died in Congressional committee. Now, a new Orphan Works bill has surfaced in two different versions, one in the House and one in the Senate. Here is the House version:

110th CONGRESS 
2d Session 
H. R. 5889  
To provide a limitation on judicial remedies in copyright infringement [...]

Pro-IP bill to become law in 2008?

Rep. Berman: Pro-IP bill will become law in 2008
Rep. Howard Berman, who heads a congressional panel in charge of writing copyright legislation, lashed out at Internet pirates this week and defended his effort to add stiffer anticopying penalties to federal law.
Berman, a Democrat who represents the congressional district near Hollywood, said at a technology policy [...]

District Court Finds Portion of Copyright Remedy Clarification Act Unconstitutional

This month, in Marketing Information Masters v. The Trustees of the California State University (full PDF of decision here), the US Dist. Ct. for the S. Dist. of Cal. found the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act to be unconstitutional for removing sovereign immunity for state workers working in their official capacity. The court determined that Congress exceeded [...]

New Arkansas RIAA Lawsuits Coming Soon to a Federal Courthouse Near You

I have gotten a number of phone calls and emails from students (as well as parents and attorneys of students) at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Suffice it to say that there is another rash of RIAA lawsuits on its way. This time, all I have seen have been on the University of Arkansas network. [...]

The Trademark Blog: Get The Knack Of Copyright Statute of Limitations

Trademark Blog
EWeek
Mac World
MTV News
Rolling Stone
VH1
I have been sitting on this one for a while. I remember Run-DMC from way back in the day, along with others from the Queens hip hop scene. And in 1985, I was one of those kids in flyover country wearing parachute pants getting down to “It’s Tricky.” These days I [...]