Generally speaking, if you purchase an item you have the right to resell it. This is an actual intellectual property law called the first sale doctrine. Here is how it is defined: “The first sale doctrine, codified at 17 U.S.C. § 109, provides that an individual who...
Copyrights
This Artist Taped a Banana to a Wall – He Did Not Think It Would End in Copyright Litigation
Sometimes, thankfully, intellectual property law proves to be downright comical. The case we examine this week taps the funny bone and reads like the setup of a joke: How many artists does it take to duct tape a banana to a wall? To be more specific, how many artists...
The Right to Copyrights: How Should Ownership Be Passed on After Death?
Imagine that you are the landlord of an elderly, reclusive tenant who has been with you for decades. Right before the tenant dies, he is moved to a nursing home and tells you he does not need anything from his apartment. It is all “yours.” He certainly does not give...
“Rick Roll” or Legitimate Lawsuit: Rick Astley Sues Rapper Yung Gravy Over Soundalike Song
Some may know British singer Rick Astley from his performance of 1987 hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Or from the song’s internet phenomenon resurgence in 2007, rising to one billion views on YouTube by 2021. However, in January of this year, Astley and the famed...
Ed Sheeran’s Win Shows Building Blocks of Music Cannot be Copyrighted
Musical artists have always had to deal with questions of copyright. In recent years, however, many have felt a shiver up their spine from copyright issues that deal with the basic building blocks of music. That encompasses fundamentals like chord progressions,...
“Mass Copyright Infringement”: Internet Archive Faces Copyright Judgment
As we have discussed, a central theme of U.S. Copyright law is the stimulation of creative ideas, their free exchange, and commercial profitability from them. This is why copyright enforcement is not black-and-white/all-or-nothing – not all infringement is considered...
U.S. Copyright Office Begins to Grapple with Questions of Authorship in AI Generated Works
On March 16, 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office published policy guidance on the registration of works containing materials generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The Copyright Office has been receiving copyright applications for AI technology, as author and...
Can You Copyright a Font? “Blooming Elegant” Designer Confronts Zazzle
If you have ever opened a wedding invitation from Zazzle, you have likely crossed paths with the Blooming Elegant font, a curly typeface in the “handwritten” family. Well, until recently. Its disappearance from the website last summer at the behest of its designer...