Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Rock and Roll Photographer Against Warhol Foundation

Here’s the first question: Do you subscribe to Tuk’s Copyright Law Report? You should! If your job touches any intellectual property issues in the worlds of music, photography, film, literary properties, you are missing out.

Now that THAT is out of the way, go to the TCLR for a free analysis of the Court’s ruling. Or, you can read the entire ruling yourself below.

How Will the Copyright Claims Board Work?

The creation of the Copyright Claims Board (the “Board”) under the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (the “CASE Act” or “Act”)) is one of the unexpected byproducts of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. What follows is a brief summary of the major points of the Act. 

There were advocates on both sides of this legislation. Supporting the legislation was Copyright Alliance. Opposing the legislation was the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

As of right now, until the Board is firing on all cylinders, the only way to prosecute a copyright infringement claim is to file a lawsuit in the US District Court. A claimant should be represented by legal counsel who can navigate the federal rules of civil procedure and move the matter forward. 

It would seem logical to think that a purpose behind the CASE Act is to create an alternative dispute resolution system for copyright claims to be resolved outside of the federal court system. On the surface, it sounds like a reasonable idea. So far, so good. However, like everything else, the devil is in the details.

You can read my detailed analysis over at Tuk’s Copyright Law Reporter.

For the relevant statutory language, please see below:

Second Session Announced: Videoconference Exploring the Ninth Circuit’s Ruling in Tresona v. Burbank High School Music Boosters

Due to demand, On Friday, April 3rd at 3:30pm eastern, there will be a second videoconference on the Ninth Circuit’s decision, which I broke down initially here. The videoconference will be interactive, and will address questions from music educators about how the field of copyright law has significantly shifted this this court ruling.

iPhone Photography & News Outlets

This is how a simple, everyday experience of one man and his smart phone turns into big dollars. In short, a person (not a professional photographer), takes a picture of a criminal defendant. That picture is newsworthy. The picture is posted to Instragram. Cox Media uses the picture without first licensing it. The Plaintiff, who has now registered the photograph with the US Copyright Office, sues for infringement and wins the liability phase of the case on summary judgment. The Defendant asserts a fair use defense and loses.

This is the tale of Cruz x. Cox Media Grp., LLC, Docket No. 18-CV-1041 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. A copy of the Court’s Memorandum and Order appears below.

Here are a streamlined version of the facts, as presented by the Court in its opinion granting the Plaintiff’s summary judgment motion:

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Copyright Law Update: Led Zeppelin Prevails at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

For years, the members of Led Zeppelin have been defending a copyright lawsuit brought by the trustees of The Estate of Randy Wolfe, which alleged that Zeppelin had infringed on the Estate’s copyright of Taurus, which was a song written by Wolfe and performed by his band Spirit in the late 1960s.

Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an en banc ruling which ultimately sides with Led Zeppelin. The Ninth Circuit was considering the Estate’s appeal of the District Court ruling after a jury determined that no copyright infringement occurred. This is a vindication for Led Zeppelin and likely ends this claim. The Estate’s only recourse now is to file a petition for Certiorari with the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court receives tens of thousands of petitions a year, and can only grant a hearing in an extremely small percentage of those matters.

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