Our friend Jonathan Bailey at Plagiarism Today describes a recent case decided by the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) in favor of real estate photographer Kimberly Mullin. The CCB is the small-claim copyright alternative administered by the U.S. Copyright Office, and Bailey notes that many of the cases it has resolved to-date have been straightforward claimsContinue reading “Timely Registration is Bargaining Power When Your Work is Misused”
Author Archives: David Newhoff
Copyright Registration & AI Training
The search tool created by The Atlantic has revealed to the general public what professional creators have been fighting in court for some time now: the big AI companies have taken billions of copyrighted works without authors’ knowledge, permission, or payment. Every day, all types of creators discover that their works are in datasets usedContinue reading “Copyright Registration & AI Training”
Assistive AI Should Not Limit Protection Says Copyright Office
It would be an understatement to say that developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have sent shockwaves through the creative fields. From the perspective of copyright law, AI raises many issues, including the extent to which copyright applies to works made with AI. The Copyright Office initially responded by publishing a “guidance” document that many thinkContinue reading “Assistive AI Should Not Limit Protection Says Copyright Office”
Bipartisan Report on AI Recognizes Creators’ Rights
Just before finishing work for the year, the U.S. House of Representative’s bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence released its report. That document is over two hundred fifty pages long and covers everything from agriculture to national security. About twenty-five of those pages are dedicated to intellectual property, including copyright, which includes clear recognition ofContinue reading “Bipartisan Report on AI Recognizes Creators’ Rights”
Whose Work Is It?
Collaboration is great, but what are the copyright implications? In the last two weeks, we’ve had conversations with creative friends about the concept of work made for hire (WMFH) — and whether you’re a contributor to a project or the presumptive owner of a project, understanding this concept in copyright law is important. In particular,Continue reading “Whose Work Is It?”
World Photography Day: AI and the Photographic Copyright
Happy World Photography Day! Napoleon Sarony was the most famous celebrity photographer of the late 19th century. His studios in New York City, especially his final location at Union Square, were visited by actors, politicians, artists, writers, military leaders, et al. whose portraits were made into cabinet cards—a popular collectible of the era. Not everyoneContinue reading “World Photography Day: AI and the Photographic Copyright”
Court Strengthens Protection for Visual Artists
In November 2023, we discussed the “server test” (or server rule) as a controversial defense to copyright infringement used by website operators. To reiterate the basics, when a web platform “displays” a work (usually a photograph or illustration) by embedding a link that points to another party’s server, the Ninth Circuit has held that thisContinue reading “Court Strengthens Protection for Visual Artists”
The Lucky Shot May Be Quite Valuable
Everyone owns copyrights. But not everyone has a need to enforce their rights. As an operation of law, copyright rights “attach” to a work the moment it is created—and the most common type of work that almost everybody creates is the photograph. Typically, we tend to think about copyright in context to professional photography, andContinue reading “The Lucky Shot May Be Quite Valuable”
Federal Court Affirms: Memes are not a Copyright-Free Zone
We’ve all become accustomed to the never-ending parade of iconic images that get picked up as viral “memes.” From Grumpy Cat to Distracted Boyfriend and many more, people seize on images that starkly convey basic emotions and copy them, adding their own context, often to humorous ends. But somewhere there is a photographer who tookContinue reading “Federal Court Affirms: Memes are not a Copyright-Free Zone”
Registration: One Work, One Author, Lots of Rules
The Single Application Form The least expensive registration avenue offered by the Copyright Office is the Single Application form. For $45 ($20less than the Standard Application), you can submit your registration. However, the Copyright Office views this as a special discount and limits the use of Single Application. As the name suggests, you may onlyContinue reading “Registration: One Work, One Author, Lots of Rules”