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• Paramount Flies Clear of Copyright Turbulence in “Top Gun” Lawsuit A federal court has shot down a copyright infringement lawsuit claiming that Top Gun: Maverick flew too close to a 1983 magazine article that inspired the original film. A California federal judge has permanently grounded a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the heirs of Ehud Yonay, the writer whose 1983 article in California Magazine inspired the original Top Gun film. Yonay’s widow and son launched the legal action in June 2022 after Paramount Pictures released the blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick without... More
• State Farm’s Nod to Nostalgia Sparks Copyright Clash With Atari A botched attempt to target young gamers lands the insurance company in court, as Atari sues over a classic console’s unauthorized ad appearance. It’s a mistake that could have been avoided. Video game publisher Atari Interactive has launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against State Farm, claiming that the insurer improperly appropriated artwork from Atari’s 1983 arcade game “Crystal Castles” for an advertising campaign as part of a “cynical plot” to resonate with fickle millennial and Gen Z consumers. Crystal Castles, Atari’s 1983... More
• War of the Wordles: Did the New York Times Go Too Far? Using the DMCA to target hundreds of Wordle-likes, the publication claims exclusive rights in the game’s grid dimensions and color scheme. Fresh on the heels of filing an infringement lawsuit against OpenAI, The New York Times Co. is flexing its copyright muscles once again, this time targeting the developers of hundreds of games inspired by Wordle, the popular word game the Times purchased in 2022. While some of these games are straight-up clones, others share little in common with Wordle... More
• Why the Carlin Estate’s Lawsuit Over Fake Comedy Special May Be DOA While billed as a groundbreaking move in the battle over unauthorized digital replicas, the George Carlin estate’s new lawsuit faces tough challenges in court. The late, great George Carlin once said, “I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.” Subversive comedy was Carlin’s stock-in-trade, but a new lawsuit claims that an AI-generated Carlin impersonation is a bridge too far. In case you missed it, earlier this year a couple... More
• Kat Von D Tattoo Infringement Trial Begins (and Ends!): What You Need To Know A federal jury is set to decide whether celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D infringed photographer Jeff Sedlik’s copyright in a Miles Davis portrait by tattooing the image onto her client’s body. A first-of-its-kind copyright infringement trial begins today in Los Angeles. Like the tattoo at issue in the case, the lawsuit is poised to leave a lasting impression, not only on copyright law, but the entire multi-billion-dollar tattoo industry. UPDATE—January 27, 2024—Kat Von D has prevailed at trial, with the... More
• The 5 Worst Copyright Lawsuits of 2023 Thousands will compete, many are objectively baseless, but only five can be crowned the worst of the worst copyright lawsuits of 2023. We’re nearing the end of December, which means it’s time for Copyright Lately’s annual worst-of list. This year, I’m counting down the five most frivolous, ill-conceived, and all-around cringeworthy copyright lawsuits of 2023. The rankings come from my decidedly unscientific survey of copyright cases from coast to coast, and we don’t stop until we get to the top. Now,... More
• Public Domain Day 2024 is Coming: Here’s What to Know Oh Mickey, you’re so fine—but you’re not alone: An avalanche of copyrighted works will enter the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2024. Here’s what it all means. Yes, yes, Steamboat Willie will enter the U.S. public domain on January 1, 2024—and that’s a shame. Before you accuse me of being some sort of Disney shill, I’m not advocating for longer copyright terms. It’s just that the liberation of Mickey Mouse 1.0 has been sucking up so much... More
• A Five-Course Feast of Thanksgiving-Themed Copyright Cases If you like your turkey with a side of copyright infringement, you’ve come to the right place. Ahh, Thanksgiving. There’s nothing quite like eating dinner at 4 p.m. and falling asleep on your brother’s couch by 4:30. But before you enter your tryptophan-induced coma, feast your eyes on Copyright Lately‘s platter of 5 Thanksgiving-themed copyright cases, all stuffed with a generous helping of legal fowl play. 1. I’ve Got It—Now Who Do I Sue? First up is a 2010 copyright infringement... More
• Choreography Copyright Gets Its Due in the Ninth Circuit In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has revived choreographer Kyle Hanagami’s copyright lawsuit against Fortnite’s Epic Games. Choreography is like the Rodney Dangerfield of copyright law. It wasn’t until 1952 that modern dance pioneer Hanya Holm was able to secure the first ever copyright registration for her choreography of the Broadway musical Kiss Me Kate. It took another quarter-century for the U.S. Copyright Act to explicitly recognize standalone “choreographic works” as eligible for copyright protection. Labanotation ain’t... More
• Inside Donald Trump’s Super-Secret Copyright Defense Trump is actively litigating a copyright infringement lawsuit over the Eddy Grant song “Electric Avenue” while trying to keep relevant deposition testimony in the case permanently under seal. For someone accused of treating classified documents with about the same care as old CVS receipts, Donald Trump is going to great lengths to keep his deposition testimony in a long-running copyright infringement case confidential, redacted, and permanently under seal. I previously wrote about this lawsuit three years ago when musician Eddy Grant first... More