Although the recent court decision in Viacom v. YouTube represents a victory for website owners who seek DMCA protection, many website owners fail to comply with the strict requirements necessary to shield themselves from liability for 3rd party copyright infringement. Without taking the specific steps outlined below, website owners and operators could still be held liable for copyright infringement by their users, even if they had no idea that the content was infringing.
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。
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.
Imua Law attorney Mona Ibrahim has a new article on Gamasutra discussing former Infinity Ward developers Jason West's and Vince Zampella's wrongful termination and breach of contract lawsuit against Activision.
Check out Mona's article here.
And for some entertaining reading, Kotaku is hosting a copy of the complaint—a masterpiece in bashing the opposition.
A new super-fast book scanner is being called "scary" by some, but it really raises no questions that society hasn't faced before.
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.
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.
Smart businesspeople know that outcomes are often uncertain. They encounter a constantly changing landscape of opportunity and risk. At Imua Legal Advisors, we work with our clients to maximize their opportunities not by eliminating risk altogether (truly an impossible task), but by helping them to get rid of as much unnecessary risk as possible.
That's why we've been following what little news emerges about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a treaty being negotiated in secret . . .