The United States Copyright Act was written in order to cover many situations, but a federal judge has now ruled that it was not drafted to protect the rights of animals who happen to take […]
Tag: Copyright
Twitter Suspends Accounts Of Two Major Sports Websites After NFL Complaints
The Twitter accounts of two popular sports websites were suspended on Monday after the National Football League along with other groups filed several complaints in regard to copyright laws. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is also […]
Batmobile Given Copyright Protection By U.S. Court of Appeals
It’s official – the Batmobile is a real character with one new defensive shield – a ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which has given it copyright protection. The court’s appellate judges […]
Courts Are Going Bananas In Major Copyright Case Involving Monkey
A major debate is taking place as to whether or not an animal can own the copyright to a selfie that the animal itself took. The curious animal in question is Naturo, a crested black […]
Getty Images Tries To Sue Famed Hacker Magazine Over Content It Has No Copyright Over
Notorious copyright troll Getty Images has once again been caught making illegitimate claims of copyright infringement. Yet unlike most small businesses and individual users it usually targets with its big lawyers the target this time […]
In Germany, Taking Pictures Of Food You Purchased Is Now Illegal
For many years there have been different stories about cooks who think that people taking photographs of their food are “stealing” something. According to a recent publication, it appears that this is not just a […]
Big Media Companies Sued For Using YouTube Clip Without Permission
CNN and Canada’s CBC and will face legal action after the two media houses allegedly took a 31 second video clip from YouTube and utilized it in their news broadcasts without permission. Besides allegations of […]
Copyright Troll Illegally Extorts $2 Million Per Year From Those Singing ‘Happy Birthday’
Groundbreaking evidence has emerged that shows the song “Happy Birthday To You” was indeed in the public domain years before Warner /Chappell claimed copyright for it. The new evidence tips the scale in favor of […]
Media Giant Wants You To Pay To Sing ‘Happy Birthday’
Despite being the English language’s most popular song, “Happy Birthday to You” actually belongs to Warner/Chappell and is not public domain. The company has sensationally claimed ownership rights to the song sang in millions of […]
Global Mega DJ David Guetta Credits File Sharing For Packed Live Shows
While Big Media lobby bodies like the Recording Industry Artists Association (RIAA) insist on criminalizing those who share music and have long blamed piracy for the decline of their industry, renowned DJ and producer David […]
Wikipedia Fighting European Push To Ban The Free Use Of Photos Of Public Spaces
Under European copyright law a well constructed exception allows people to create and make use of photographs of public places with very little restriction. The ‘Freedom of Panorama’ provision allows organizations, such as Wikipedia, to […]
FTC Pushes For Big Overhaul Of U.S. Patent Laws
In what has surely been a long time coming, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pushing the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to drastically re-work its rules on licensing intellectual property. “Clearer patent notice […]
Judge Calls Patent Troll “Ingenious Crooked Extortionate Operation”
Convicted patent troll Prenda was in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday to appeal sanctions leveled against it two years ago for abusive legal practices that amounted to extortion. It was not a pretty […]
Farmers Not Allowed To Repair Tractors Because Of Copyright Law
Over the last week stories have starting to appear about farmers unable to repair tractors and working Americans unable to repair their cars because of copyright legislation. It’s not a side effect. It was the […]
Should You Be Allowed To Repair Your Own Car? Automakers Say No!
The concept of ownership is at risk of disappearing in America. From music to software to fonts the trend is toward the average American becoming a mere limited rights licensee despite our proud history of […]