News2022-05-13T22:08:37+00:00

Legal News

Does Your Employer Own Your Intellectual Property in California?

You deserve credit for your own ideas. Unfortunately, sometimes employers can claim that your ideas or the work that you’ve done with them are their own. Ownership of intellectual property in California can be difficult to determine, especially without the help of an experienced attorney. It gets particularly complicated when your employer is involved and your intellectual property becomes a question of employment. If you have concerns about whether your employer owns your intellectual property, it’s best to discuss your case with an experienced California intellectual property attorney. What Is Considered Intellectual Property in California? According to California law, intellectual property refers to unique creations and ideas that come from the mind. It can range from inventions, designs, music, literature, art, photography, film, algorithms, databases, and more. Intellectual property can be protected through Intellectual Property Rights California, which is the area of the law that uses mechanisms such as [...]

April 11th, 2022|

Drake and Chris Brown Seek to Dismiss Claim that their Hit “No Guidance” Was Stolen

Rap stars Drake and Chris Brown have asked a U.S. District Court in Florida to dismiss a copyright claim alleging that the pair “copied” another duo’s song when they wrote their 2019 hit “No Guidance.” Brandon Cooper and Timothy Valentine filed a claim against Drake and Brown in October, asserting that “No Guidance” was copied or principally “derived” from “the beat, lyrics, hook, rhythmic structure, metrical placement, and narrative context” of their song “I Love Your Dress.” The pair seek monetary damages including no less than 50 percent of all direct and indirect revenues generated by “No Guidance.” The attorneys representing Drake and Brown argue that Cooper and Valentine’s claim is “baseless,” focusing closely on the suit’s allegation that Drake and Brown stole the hook “you got it” from Cooper and Valentine. The copyright lawsuit claims that “I Love Your Dress” contains the lyrics "She got it; she got [...]

April 8th, 2022|

Legendary Comedians’ Estates Sue Pandora for Copyright Infringement

Music streaming giant Pandora famously paid a $90 million dollar settlement in 2015 to many of the major record labels for streaming music produced before 1972 without the proper licensing under federal copyright law. Now, Pandora has found itself in hot water again for allegedly violating the copyright rights of artists. On February 7, 2022, the estates of Robin Williams and George Carlin filed suit in California Federal Court against Pandora for “willfully” streaming the late comedian’s routines without permission from the copyright holders. In its complaint, Los Angeles firm King & Ballow, representing the comedians’ estates, allege the legendary funny men’s works “continue to be exploited, performed, broadcast, and streamed” across Pandora’s platforms without permission. The complaint also contends that Pandora has failed to render any “substantive response” to warnings about the violations. Williams’ estate seeks $4.1 million in damages from the platform, while Carlin’s estate seeks $8.4 [...]

March 25th, 2022|

Cardi B Wins $4.1 Million Verdict in Defamation Suit

Defamation suits against public figures are notoriously difficult to maintain. Public figures are held to a higher burden of proof in defamation cases and, according to the Supreme Court’s landmark 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan case, must show not only that they were defamed, but that the defamatory statement was made according to the stringent “actual malice” standard. We witnessed how difficult it is to meet this standard just last week, when a federal jury in Manhattan returned a verdict against Sarah Palin in her defamation suit against the New York Times over a 2017 editorial linking the ex-politician to a 2011 Arizona shooting. Notably, Federal District Court Judge Jed Rakoff subsequently stated that he would have dismissed the case even if the jury had returned a verdict in favor of Ms. Palin. But this strict standard did not stop another federal jury in Atlanta from finding in [...]

March 18th, 2022|

The “Real” Lady A

Recently, country music trio Lady Antebellum changed their name to “Lady A” in the wake of the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter movement. (The old name carried an uncomfortable connection with the pre-Civil War, slave-holding South). But there was a problem: Since the early 1990s, Seattle blues singer Anita White had been using the stage name Lady A. At first, it seemed the two parties would settle the matter of who could use the name amicably and out of court. But negotiations broke down in July of 2020, when the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum filed an action in U.S. District Court in Nashville seeking a declaratory judgment allowing them to use the name. The band claimed they had used the Lady A moniker informally since filing for trademark protection in connection with entertainment services and for use on clothing in 2010. They further asserted that [...]

March 11th, 2022|

Why You Should Consider the Copyright Implications of NFTs Before Investing

NFTs (or Non-Fungible Tokens) have become the new investment craze - surpassing $40 billion in transactions in 2021. A growing number of celebrities are jumping in on the action, with stars like Tom Brady, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, and The Weeknd all ‘dropping’ their own NFTs or going public about their big investments in the new technology. Even the ever-mercurial Elon Musk temporarily got in on the game, reporting he would sell his song about NFTs as an NFT before backing out and labeling the new NFT-obsessed digital landscape as a ‘sign of mental illness’. The speed with which the NFT bonanza swept across the internet has left little time to ask some fundamental questions about the rights of NFT creators, artists, and the hundreds of thousands who are investing in the technology. First Off, What Exactly Is an NFT? In short, NFTs are digital files with a unique [...]

March 4th, 2022|

Match.Com Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Muzmatch

Match Group, which claims it “pioneered the concept of online dating” more than 20 years ago, has accused another dating app, Muzmatch, of using the word “match” in its website's metadata to help boost its profile in internet searches.  This is not the first time Match Group has filed a lawsuit against a competitor dating site. Match sued popular dating service Bumble in 2018, prompting the competition to file a counterclaim. The two corporations reached an agreement to cease their legal battle in June 2020 but did not reveal the terms of the deal. Match Group, the parent company of Match.com, Tinder, and Hinge, has brought a case against Muzmatch, a Muslim dating app claiming trademark infringement for using the term "match" in its name. Muzmatch's tagline is "Where single Muslims meet," and its primary aim is to locate marriage partners for Muslims all around the world, as the [...]

February 25th, 2022|

Original Winnie the Pooh Book and Characters Entering the Public Domain

There is an immense collection of non-copyrighted information that is largely unexplored. This information, referred to as "public domain," generally consists of works whose copyright term has expired. However, there are several hitches that may come with using public domain content. Winnie The Pooh Book and Characters entering the public domain is a great example of this. Winnie the Pooh Book and Characters entering Public Domain U.S. Copyright law protects movies, audio, and books produced in the United States. However, copyrights ultimately expire, and when they do, the works become "public domain," meaning that anyone can share them — or produce derivative works based on them — without the consent of the original author (or, more likely, the person's estate). According to Duke University's Center for the Study of the Public Domain, new titles enter the public domain every year. And for the first time, books and films featuring characters [...]

February 18th, 2022|

Meghan Markle V UK News for Copyright Infringement

In a years-long battle, Meghan Markle comes out the victor. Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, and MailOnline, recently lost on appeal its three-year court fight against Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, over the Mail on Sunday's publication of excerpts from a letter written by the duchess to her father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018. Upon publication of the letters, Meghan filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement and invasion of privacy, claiming that her father's letter was "private and personal." In February 2021, High Court judge Mr. Justice Warby granted a summary judgment in the duchess' favor, upholding her claim of invasion of privacy and copyright infringement. A summary judgment implies the judge decided there was no need to go to trial to decide this case. What will Meghan Markle get? Under an agreement reached with Britain's Mail+, the Duchess of Sussex will receive [...]

February 11th, 2022|

Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” Copyright Lawsuit

Copyright protection is critical for businesses of all sizes as it allows them the opportunity to benefit from their work. There would be little financial incentive for new ideas, music, art, design, or enterprise without such protection. A copyright exists from the moment a creative work, such as a poem, book, film, music, image, software, or song lyrics, is created so long as it demonstrates some level of labor, skill, or judgment (known as “a modicum of creativity”). However, an individual or business must file for copyright protection with the U.S. Copyright Office to be able to pursue infringers via litigation. If you follow music or intellectual property news, you may have seen details about the Taylor Swift copyright lawsuit. Being one of the highest-paid music singers in the United States has many perks but being the focus of a copyright lawsuit is not one of them. Jesse Braham (stage [...]

February 4th, 2022|
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