Copyright Lately

Not that anyone ever needs an excuse to go to New Orleans, but here's one anyway: The Copyright Society's 2025 Midwinter Meeting, happening January 30–February 1. There are all sorts of cool panels you can check out at the link below—or you could just spend the weekend spinning in circles at the Carousel Bar like Truman Capote. Word is if you sign up by Thursday, December 19, they'll give you an early bird discount. If you tell them Copyright Lately sent you, they'll probably retract the discount, so maybe don't say that. https://lnkd.in/eAM5fRM2 Daniel Cooper Kaitland E. Kubat Terrica Carrington Matt Skelton CeCe Cole Arthur Levy Elizabeth Townsend Gard Brian Collins

Battle of the Beige: Two influencers are duking it out in court over allegations of copying a minimalist aesthetic on social media. Beyond the viral drama, the lawsuit raises some fascinating questions about creativity, commerce, and the limits of copyright law. Plus, it’s just a really fun case—as long as you’re not one of the parties involved. My take, up now on Copyright Lately! https://lnkd.in/g2m3yyAj #copyright #copyrightlaw #copyrightlately #IPlaw

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I've been trying to figure out why a flood of traffic to Copyright Lately kept crashing the site yesterday, but I think I may have discovered the reason for the spikes. Maybe this is what it feels like to go on Shark Tank 🤪

𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝: December is here, which means that Public Domain Day 2025 is right around the corner! Fresh arrivals include the comic debuts of Popeye and Buck Rogers, classic novels by Faulkner and Hemingway, and landmark sound films from the year talkies took over. Check out my deep dive into the new (old) works entering the U.S. public domain on January 1, 2025—up now on Copyright Lately! https://lnkd.in/ghhjx4Wy #copyright #copyrightlately #copyrightlaw #publicdomain #publicdomain2025

Thanksgiving is about more than just stuffing yourself with simple carbs and passing out on the couch in the middle of the afternoon. It’s also about being thankful you didn’t end up in court over turkey reheating instructions. These five Thanksgiving-themed copyright cases show that holiday squabbles aren’t limited to who gets stuck at the kids’ table. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! https://lnkd.in/gvrxWTZz #copyright #copyrightlately #copyrightlaw

NEW: Miley Cyrus and her co-writers have filed a surprising motion to dismiss the lawsuit claiming her chart-topping "Flowers" infringes Bruno Mars’s "When I Was Your Man." As I wrote when the case was first filed, "Flowers"—a textbook “answer song” to "When I Was Your Man"—almost certainly qualifies as fair use. But this motion takes a different approach, arguing that plaintiff Tempo Music Investments lacks standing to sue because it owns only a fractional share of the Mars hit, acquired from co-writer Philip Lawrence. According to Cyrus’s team, Tempo’s failure to include the other co-owners, including Mars himself, is a “fatal flaw” that derails the case before even reaching issues like substantial similarity or fair use. In my latest post, I explain how this argument relies on controversial Ninth Circuit precedent that creates significant hurdles for enforcing co-owned copyrights. While the court has attempted to clarify its stance over the years, the resulting framework is anything but clear, creating impractical barriers that undermine copyright enforcement—particularly in the music industry, where fractional ownership is common. Ironically, the same logic could create challenges for some of Cyrus’s co-defendants in future cases. Check out my full article for a deep dive into what this could mean for the "Flowers" lawsuit—and for copyright enforcement of co-owned works across the board. Up now on Copyright Lately! https://lnkd.in/giUuV4JE #copyright #copyrightlaw #copyrightlately #music #musiclaw #entertainmentlaw #musicindustry #musicnews

I probably could have been more clear with my previous post. "Order," as in the court's Order, not "Hey, order the guitar." Although if you want to shell out $10k for this thing, I'm not gonna stand in your way. https://lnkd.in/gYjiDiTf

BREAKING: Donald Trump has just settled the "Electric Avenue" copyright lawsuit with Eddy Grant following Grant's September summary judgment win. Terms are confidential, so unclear whether the new Trump-branded electric guitar is part of the deal. Order here: https://lnkd.in/gxdkgRr9

People keep filing lawsuits over unprotectable ideas, so I keep having to write about them. This week, the producer of 𝘌𝘥𝘦𝘯—a little-seen and eminently forgettable retread of 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 about a men’s soccer team stranded on a Malaysian island after a plane crash—filed a lawsuit against the creators of Showtime’s 𝘠𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴. That hit series also features a plane crash, but with a high school girls’ soccer team stranded in the Canadian wilderness. And let’s not forget the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team in 1972 that famously endured a harrowing ordeal in the Andes after their plane crashed and were forced to resort to cannibalism. Making a lousy film with a recycled plot is one thing, but claiming that your recycled plot is original—and accusing someone else of ripping 𝘺𝘰𝘶 off—that's truly next level. Check out the full story, plus my take, up now on Copyright Lately! https://lnkd.in/gQn7TpfY #copyright #copyrightlately #copyrightlaw #entertainmentlaw #IPlaw