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4th Circuit finds no implied license to modify and use architectural plans
The 4th Circuit recently held that a housing developer cannot make its own modifications to, and then use, an architect's drawings where the party's contract expressly acknowledged the architect's copyright in the plans and specified the architect's fees for modifying them.
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保护非美国公民的著作藉由美国著作权法
你不必成为美国居民也能够使用美国的著作权法。美国的著作权法提供世界上最完整的著作权保护。 拥有著作权的非美国公民(包括媒体或软件公司、作家、博客、艺术家、摄影师、设计师、以及所有从事创新 的职业)能够利用美国法律上的强制方法来保护著作权。这些著作甚至不用在美国注册著作权。
Proteger a trabajo no-EE.UU. usando la Ley de Derecho de Propiedad Literaria
Usted no tiene que ser residente de los Estados Unidos para aprovecharse de muchos de los beneficios de las la leyesesdeproprietariaspropiedad literariaas de los EE.UU.. Estas leyes ofrecen algunas de las protecciones más fuertes de cualquier país y, no sean titulares no Estado Unidenses de derechos deproprietarios literarios propiedad literaria de los EE.UU.--incluyendoinclusolas compañías de mediosa y software, escritores, bloggers, artistas, fotógrafos, diseñadores y otros profesionales creativos--pueden usar los métodos de aplicaciónsancionde la ley que están disponibles aquíen el pais, incluso sin haber registradorse su trabajo en este país.
Der Schutz der Nicht-US arbeitet mit Amerikanischen Urheberrecht
Sie müssen nicht in den USA leben um die vielen Vorteile der
Kopierschutzgesetze in den USA zu geniessen. Diese Gesetze zählen zu
den stärksten der Welt, und Inhaber dieser Rechte, wie etwa Medien-
und Softwarekonzerne, Autoren, Blogger, Künstler, Fotografen, Designer
und andere kreative Profis können ihre Rechte gesetzlich durchsetzen
ohne ihre Werke in den USA zu registrieren.
Fair Use Ruling Overturned on Appeal
Last year I wrote an article about Gaylord v. U.S., a case involving a U.S. postal stamp that incorporated a photograph of a sculpture from the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C. The sculptor (Frank Gaylord) sued for copyright infringement and initially lost with the trial court ruling that the stamp's depiction of the sculpture constituted transformative fair use and was therefore allowed under copyright law. Today a federal appeals court majority held that the stamp was not a fair use of the sculpture and remanded the case to the trial court for an assessment of damages. Records show that the government grossed over $17 Million on sales of the stamp, so damages could be substantial.
Proper Copyright Notice bars an “innocent infringer” defense
I've long advised clients about the importance of including proper notice on their works. As a practical matter, you should do everything in your power to make it easy for someone to get in touch with you for permission (and payment) to use your copyrighted material. As a matter of law, however, proper notice—especially when you also embed it in your metadata—gives you some important legal tools. Yesterday the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion that elaborates on one of those tools: the ability to foreclose "innocent infringement" claims by unauthorized users of your work.
Protecting non-U.S. Works Using U.S. Copyright Law
You don’t have to be a resident of the United States to take advantage of the many benefits of U.S. copyright laws. These laws offer some of the strongest protections of any country and non-U.S. copyright holders—including media and software companies, writers, bloggers, artists, photographers, designers, and any other creative professionals—can use legal enforcement methods available here even without registering your work in this country.
Benefits of Copyright Registration
While it is true that copyright protection for a creative work vests in the author of that work from the moment it becomes fixed in a tangible medium of expression, you shouldn't ignore the incredibly strong benefits of registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. This article discusses some basics of copyright law and why registration is such a good idea.
Website owners liable for infringement by web designers
I've consistently warned website owners to be extremely careful with regards to content supplied by their web designers and developers. A recent ruling from a federal court in Ohio recently underscored that point by holding a website owner liable for infringement by its web designer.
In Corbis v. Starr, the court issued a summary judgment order finding that the defendant, who ran a janitorial maintenance service called Master Maintenance, could be held accountable for the unlicensed use of four Corbis photographs on its website. Even though there was no evidence that Starr or anyone in his company was directly responsible for the selection of the photos, the court determined that the company was joint and severally liable for the infringement . . .
The Magic of Metadata in Copyright Law
I've long advised my clients that one of the smartest things they can do to protect their work, after registering it with the U.S. Copyright Office, is to embed Copyright Management Information—especially proper copyright notice—into the metadata of any digital files of the work.
Metadata is an incredibly powerful tool for copyright holders in this digital age for loads of reasons, including . . .
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