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Judge Blocks Unauthorized Catcher In The Rye Sequel On Copyright Grounds A July 2009 copyright decision in New York confirmed a trend towards strengthening copyright protection for fictional characters by limiting the ability of others to make commercial use of the fictional characters in outside works of literature. Last September, publication of a Harry Potter encyclopedia, authored by a fan, was enjoined in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Then famed author J.D. Salinger sued, also in New York's Southern District, to stop the publication and sale of "60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye," a novel based on the Holden Caulfield that Salinger created in "Catcher In The Rye". Just last week, Judge Deborah Batts found a substantial similarity between Catcher In The Rye and 60 Years, as well as between the Holden Caulfield and "Mr. C" characters in 60 Years, such that 60 Years was an infringement of Salinger's copyright. The author of 60 Years, Frederik Colting (writing under the nom de plume J.D. California), claimed that his references to Salinger's copyrights were fair uses, and therefore his book was not actionable. Colting argued his book commented on and criticized Catcher In The Rye and therefore was an example of fair use or parody. Judge Batts did not agree: "60 Years' plain purpose is not to expose Holden Caulfield's disconnectedness, absurdity, and ridiculousness, but rather to satisfy Holden's fans' passion for Holden Caulfield's disconnectedness, absurdity, and ridiculousness, which Catcher has elevated into the realm of protectable creative expression." Judge Batts preliminarily enjoined the publishing, distribution and sale of 60 Years in the United States.
Second Circuit Rules Against Google Just last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important trademark ruling that affects how businesses can advertise with Internet search engines. The Second Circuit held that the plaintiff, Rescuecom, had properly stated a claim for Lanham Act trademark infringement against Google because Google allowed the ads of Rescuecom's competitors to appear when people typed in Rescuecom as a search term. The decision reversed a Northern District of New York holding that when a business pays for a search engine to display an ad every time an Internet reader entered a competitor's trademark, there was no use of that trademark in commerce, and therefore no infringement.
Football Star Sues to Get Rights to Own Nickname A District Court in Texas has been asked to decide whether an athlete has the exclusive right to his own nicknames.
Court Ruling Has Naked Cowboy Singing A Happy Tune Less than a mile from The Lustigman Firm's offices in midtown Manhattan, a man calling himself The Naked Cowboy struts around Times Square in his tighty whities, posing for pictures with tourists in exchange for a couple of bucks. The Naked Cowboy is so well known that the makers of M&Ms made a commercial featuring one of the famous melts-in-your-mouth-not-in-your-hands candies similarly decked out in underpants, cowboy hat and guitar.
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Fantasy League Decision Affirmed Fantasy football and rotisserie baseball players rejoice! The Supreme Court has allowed fantasy sports websites to use the names and statistics of professional athletes without the permission of the sports leagues or players unions. In early June, the Supreme Court denied certiorari (meaning declined to hear the appeal), thereby allowing an decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to stand undisturbed.
Reducing Risk from Copyrighted Materials Posted by Others Allowing users to add content to your Web site can be great for community building. Unfortunately, it can also expose you to claims of copyright infringement for what users post. Read on to find out how to reduce this risk.
Copywrong: Common Myths and Realities of Copyright What are the myths of copyright, and what can happen if you get them "copywrong"? |
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Copyright, Trademark and Other Intellectual Property Recent UpdatesMarch 09, 2010 March 03, 2010 March 03, 2010 February 26, 2010 February 23, 2010 Web ResourcesFindLaw |
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