Topic: Copyright

Photo backgrounds and copyright infringement

By Susan Ross (US) on January 5, 2023 Posted in Copyright

Many companies post photos on social media in order to promote their businesses. A recent federal court ruling demonstrates how simple it is to become subject to a copyright infringement lawsuit because of the background of the photo. (Petersen v. Diesel Power Gear LLC, No. 1:21-cv-08827 (SDA) (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 21, 2022) (2022 WL 17832314).) Background … Continue reading

Photos and Social Media

By Susan Ross (US) on October 19, 2022 Posted in Copyright

We have previously written on how expensive it can be to copy photos found on social media and use them for commercial purposes, as a result of copyright infringement claims. On October 3, 2022, the Ninth Circuit explored a few more copyright issues, specifically: who can bring the lawsuit, who controls social media pages, and … Continue reading

Embedded Content: Copyright Infringement or Permissible Use Under the Server Rule?

By Cassandra Gizzo (US) on September 14, 2021 Posted in Copyright

The Southern District of New York recently considered whether the unlicensed embedding of a video originally posted to a social media platform constituted copyright infringement. The case, Nicklen v. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., et al., No. 20-10300 (S.D.N.Y. July 30, 2021), concerned the re-posting of a copyrighted video of a starving polar bear, taken by … Continue reading

NFTs’ nifty copyright issues

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on May 11, 2021 Posted in Copyright

Whether you are a crypto guru or not, you have likely heard about NFTs. The three-letter acronym, NFT, stands for “Non-Fungible Token”. NFTs are the centre of attention right now because of high-profile sales, such as $70 million for digital artwork, $2.5 million for Jack Dorsey’s first tweet, and more than $230 million spent buying … Continue reading

Online copyright reform consultation launched by the Canadian government

By Colin Hyslop (CA) on April 28, 2021 Posted in Copyright

On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the Canadian government launched a consultation on “a Modern Copyright Framework for Online Intermediaries”, seeking comments from the public until May 31. The goal of this consultation is to “ensure that Canada’s copyright framework for online intermediaries reflects this evolving digital world.” Alongside the announcement of this consultation, the government … Continue reading

Social media, photographs, and fair use

By Susan Ross (US) on December 2, 2020 Posted in Copyright

We have previously written about the lawsuits that can result from unauthorized uses of photographs, but on November 2, 2020, a federal trial court in New York issued a ruling regarding use of a photo from a social media site that was “fair use” under the copyright laws. (Boesen, v. United Sports Publications, Ltd., 20-CV-1552 … Continue reading

The rise of videogame streaming in a global pandemic

By Daniel Daniele (CA) and Colin Hyslop (CA) on August 26, 2020 Posted in Copyright

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large effect on our entertainment consumption. Some entertainment industries have taken significant hits, while others have been more fortunate in their rise. Videogame streaming is one such industry on the rise. During the pandemic, the global viewership of popular streaming platforms Twitch and YouTube Gaming increased by 10% and … Continue reading

Solar Energy, Trade Secrets, and Unfair Competition

By Susan Ross (US) on February 4, 2020 Posted in Copyright

On January 13, 2020, a solar energy sales lead generation company settled a federal lawsuit against several defendants, including a former employee. Both the initial complaint and settlement described the important role of social media to the business. (Solar Connect, LLC v. Endicott, Case No. 2:17-cv-01235 (D. Utah Jan. 13, 2020) (stipulated permanent injunction).… Continue reading

To regram or not to regram? Legal implications of reposting content to social media

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on August 21, 2019 Posted in Copyright

Most of us are familiar with Instagram – a social media engine, primarily utilized in its all-too-familiar form of a phone application, that allows users to share images and videos of themselves or others for public viewing and potential recognition. With the increased popularity of photo-sharing social media tools like Instagram, users have begun to … Continue reading

Fore! An Interesting Copyright and Trademark Default Judgment

By Susan Ross (US) on April 26, 2019 Posted in Copyright

On March 15, 2019, a federal trial court judge ruled in favor of famous golfer Jack Nicklaus’ company in a case that may be of interest to copyright and trademark owners. (Nicklaus Cos. LLC. v. Bryan Hepler Golf LLC, No. CV-18-01748-PHX-ROS (D. Ariz. March 15, 2019) (2019 WL 1227198).) The case began in a way … Continue reading

Grumpy Cat back in court

By Stephanie Schmidt (US) on July 25, 2018 Posted in Copyright, Litigation, Trademark

We previously reported on Grumpy Cat Limited’s big win in a copyright and trademark suit. As a recap, Grumpy Cat—the social-media-famous grimacing feline, or rather the holding company owned by her “parents”—filed a lawsuit after the defendants went beyond the scope of a licensing agreement to market a variety of Grumpy Cat-themed coffee products. According … Continue reading

Exposed! Woman awarded $6.4m for explicit revenge photos including copyright breach

By Kerri Gevers (SG) on May 17, 2018 Posted in Copyright

Four years after a Californian woman sued her ex-boyfriend for posting sexually explicit photographs and videos of her online, she was awarded USD $6.4 million in one the largest judgments of its kind. According to the New York Times, although the victim was successful, this case highlights the complexities of the law in this area … Continue reading

Social Media, Copyright & Photographs

By Susan Ross (US) on April 27, 2018 Posted in Copyright

Many social media sites and pages encourage people to post and share photos. This activity creates an issue where the owner of the photos has not given permission for that use, as a photographer alleged in a recent Fifth Circuit case Stross v. Redfin Corp., ___ Fed. Appx. ___ (5th Cir. Apr. 9, 2018) (2018 … Continue reading

Submissions Now Open For Artificial Intelligence Stakeholders: Canada’s Copyright Act Review

By Maya Medeiros on April 24, 2018 Posted in Copyright

Social media depends on digital technology, and the Canadian government has begun a review of Canada’s Copyright Act with a view to keep the copyright framework current in light of digital technology. Written submissions are now being solicited from all Canadians on Canada’s Copyright Act, as the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (“Committee”) … Continue reading

Grumpy Cat Almost Smiling Over Big Award

By Stephanie Schmidt (US) on March 14, 2018 Posted in Copyright, Litigation, Trademark

Grumpy Cat has a new reason to turn that frown upside-down. Though the cat is known for her sneer, she is (or rather, Grumpy Cat Limited and its/her owners are) sitting pretty on a recent jury award in California of over $700,000 for trademark and copyright infringement and breach of contract. (Grumpy Cat Ltd. … Continue reading

Opportunity for artificial intelligence stakeholders to shape the Canada Copyright Act

By Maya Medeiros on February 6, 2018 Posted in Copyright

Social media depends on digital technology, and the Canadian government has begun a review of the Canada Copyright Act and provided an opportunity for public comment.… Continue reading

Pepe the Frog: A Case Study On When Copyrightable Content Takes On New Meaning

By Andrea Shannon (US) on November 28, 2017 Posted in Copyright

After making headlines in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Pepe the Frog is back in the news again. This time, for the copyright enforcement efforts that Pepe’s creator is pursuing against unauthorized uses of the character by certain social media personalities and social media forums.… Continue reading

Me, Myself & ‘AI’

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on September 20, 2017 Posted in Copyright, Patent, Privacy

Human interactions with technology In the past few years, the use of social media has increased rapidly. A key feature of social media platforms and social media apps is the ability to interact with other people in ways that were not thought possible in previous generations. With the click of a button, someone from the … Continue reading

Legal chatbots: something for nothing?

By Jeff Pettit (US) on August 3, 2017 Posted in Copyright, General

In June, we introduced the topic of chatbots and highlighted some key risks and concerns associated with this growing area of technology. One business in particular, DoNotPay, made headlines recently by announcing that it would begin building legal chatbots for free. The claim? In a July 14, 2017, posting to the online publishing platform Medium, … Continue reading

The Battle for Copyright Protection in the Digital Era

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on July 13, 2017 Posted in Copyright

The age of the Internet poses many new challenges to those individuals seeking to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights online. As the Federal Court of Appeal in Canada recently stated: “Under the cloak of anonymity on the internet, some can illegally copy, download, and distribute the intellectual property of others, such as movies, … Continue reading

Car websites “scraped” but only slightly dented

By Brian Gray (CA) and Claude Brunet on April 18, 2017 Posted in Copyright

In Trader v CarGurus, 2017 ONSC 1841 (CanLII), the Ontario Court of Justice has opined on a number of points arising out of the 2012 copyright amendments introduced by the Copyright Modernization Act. The interesting points in the decision concern 1. making a work available to the public 2. fair dealing 3. when is framing … Continue reading