LexMonitor

SCOTUS: Does Failure to Register A Copyright Deprive a Court of Subject Matter Jurisdiction?

In re Electronic Database Litigation, 509 F.3d 116 (2d Cir. 2007) cert. granted March 2, 2009.Does 17 U.S.C. §411(a) restrict the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courtsover copyright infringement actions?Section 411 is the "register before you sue" rule.The U.S. Supreme Court has granted ...

Puerto Rican Frog Doll Knock-Offs: Interlocutory Appeal of Preliminary Injunction

In Coquico, Inc. v. Rodriguez-Miranda, 2009 WL 903954 (1st Cir. April 6, 2009) , the First Circuit Court of Appeals tackled in a copyright infringement action the important issue of whether a preliminary injunction stopping the distribution of stuffed plush dolls depicting the coqui comun - a ...

Yale Files Suit To Legalize Vladimir Lenin's 1918 Expropriation of Van Gogh

Today's visit to the Yale University Art Gallery's website reveals that the known provenance of Vincent Van Gogh's The Night Cafe is as follows (in italics):Le café de nuit (The Night Café)1888 Artist: Vincent van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 - 1890Bequest of Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A. 19031961.18.34This o...

Constitutionality of Copyright Statutory Damages - Free IP CLE on IP Colloquium

Professor Doug Lichtman of UCLA has put together an amazing series of monthly podcast CLE (Continuing Legal Education) programs available for free at www.ipcolloquium.com. These programs can be downloaded and listened to on your Ipod. Following the program, you submit the verification...

In Associated Press v. All Headline News Corp., 2009 WL 382690 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 17, 2009), Judge Castel considered a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss AP's complaint alleging (1) violations of the Copyright Act 17 U.S.C. 106 (2) violations of the DMCA 17 U.S.C. 1202, the Lanham Act Sections 1114 and...

UNICOR Slave Laborers May Not Sue U.S. Government for Copyright Infringement

As of 2006, UNICOR Federal Prison Industries Inc. employed over 21,000 inmates and had net sales of $717 million. Source: Wikipedia. Information about UNICOR, founded in 1934 is available on the Bureau of Prisons website here. UNICOR has been criticized for having prisoners engaged in slave labor...

Berlin Court Returns Poster Collection to Jewish Heir

A Berlin administrative court has ruled in favor of Peter Sachs, an heir of a victim of Nazi art looting. Article here. The decision requires the German History Museum to return thousands of posters, including one of Simplicissimus's Red Bulldog. According to the Kulturkampf blog: Simplicissimus...

Shepard Fairey: Obama's Graffiti Artist Arrested

Shepard Fairey was arrested walking into an art exhibition on February 7, story here. Good discussion of the declaratory judgment action Fairey filed against the Associated Press to declare his Obama poster non-infringing and fair use on Donn Zaretsky's Art Law Blog here. Complaint filed by San...

Remix: Lessig on the Past, Present and Future of Copyright

Cyberprophet Lawrence Lessig has hit hard in his latest book on what's wrong with copyright. In the past, the world has really not been willing to listen. In Free Culture (2004), he recounted his failure to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court of the toxic effects of extending the duration of...

Jeff Koons, Richard Prince

A good article in the Wall Street Journal here, with good images for comparison, on the claim of photographer Patrick Cariou that artist Richard Prince had ripped him off. It's not the first time that a photographer has been upset over Prince's actions. Someone sent me a NY Times article on the...