An interesting graffiti case, filed under “We told you this can happen”, but not in the way expected. A lawyer representing graffiti artists contacted the Mercedes Benz company (also known as “Holy crap, how is Fred able to buy that Mercedes Benz on his crappy salary?!) about Mercedes Benz infringing on his client’s graffiti artwork. […]
Archive for category Be Aware
Sue Me? No, I’m Suing you!
Apr 11
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) just issued two decisions, both by 9 -0 votes directly affecting the rights and legal remedies available to copyright owners who choose to protect their work either defensively or by bringing an action for money damages for infringement. As we have written, lectured, screamed and cajoled for decades, […]
Using our powers of mentalism we know exactly what you are thinking at this moment – “What does this topic have to do with me? I don’t shoot or appear in that kind of stuff”. Now, now don’t get ahead of your skis grasshopper. The laws regarding risqué, controversial, or even sexual or simply implied […]
It is with much trepidation that we dive into this topic. It is very hard to just dip your toe into the graffiti water without jumping in the pool. The use of graffiti – plural for graffito – as either background or integral to a photo shoot is fraught with easily avoidable peril. We suggest […]
The two of us love great quotes, like almost every quoted line in Young Frankenstein (what’s not to love). Here’s one by the great writer Henry James (1843 – 1916) that is not as famous as Igor’s “What hump?”, but probably more meaningful for this column – “She had an unequalled gift, usually pen in […]
Companies that profess expertise in the ability to find instances of copyright infringement on the web are plentiful. You’ve all seen their ads and pitches. While rarely mentioning it or hiding it in the small print, they do charge for their services. But their real profit center is in a creator’s willingness to let such companies pursue […]
Our friend, Steve Brazill, posted a great instructional video on the new procedures and his workflow for registering a group of published or unpublished photos at the Copyright Office. He’s posted it on his blog and video channel called “Behind the Shot”, which is a great video blog and worth subscribing to follow. This video […]
“Moral Rights” is concept that artists have an ethical right to control their creations, and protect the integrity of their work and their own reputation. So-called “moral rights” in intellectual property exist in various countries outside of the USA particularly in the EU. There is however, a portion of the US Federal Copyright Law, which […]
With the dramatic increase in substantial copyright litigation recoveries, the costs of intellectual property litigation and upon the often insistence of insurance companies that have to pay for infringements, more and more law firms are engaged in the practice of “Risk Management”. In lay terms this means that litigators are brought in to “teach” ad […]
Copyright Troll – Part 2
Oct 30
Just in time for Halloween comes a droll “troll” decision by Judge Denise Cote out of the United States District Court for The Southern District of New York. The Southern District is the federal court that covers Manhattan, The Bronx, Westchester and Rockland Counties. Several months ago we wrote about a decision made by Judge […]
