04 Dec, 2023 Two Courts, Two Ad Campaigns, and Copyright's Idea-Expression Dichotomy By Brian Murphy Lawyers say this to clients all the time: you can’t copyright an idea; copyright protection extends only to an author's original...
20 Oct, 2023 Advertiser That Tells Its Agency to "Recreate" a Competitor's Video (But Make it Better) Liable for Copyright Infringement By Brian Murphy Door-to-door storage services deliver packing crates to your house and pick them up once they are filled up. It is, apparently, a...
23 Jan, 2023 A Copyright Pleading Dilemma: How Do You Properly Allege Substantial Similarity When You Can’t Access the Defendant's Code? By Brian Murphy Here's a dilemma. You own valuable software, and you are convinced that your competitor has copied it. However, since your competitor...
11 Mar, 2022 Victory is in Katy Perry's Veins: Gray v. Perry Affirmed by CA9 By Brian Murphy The Ninth Circuit has affirmed U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder's "thorough" decision in which she ruled that the song "Dark Horse"...
10 Mar, 2022 What Does it Take to Dismiss a Copyright Complaint in the Ninth Circuit? By Brian Murphy Within ten days of each other, two Ninth Circuit panels took up the question of whether complaints alleging copyright infringement had...
31 Jan, 2022 When Copying Isn't Infringement: Filtering Out Facts By Brian Murphy Another day, another copyright lawsuit involving car advertising. Last week's case - our first nominee for "Silliest Copyright Case of...
20 Jan, 2022 Photographs: Thick or Thin Copyright Protection? (And Our First Nominee for the "Silliest Copyright Case" of 2022) By Brian Murphy A case filed in the Northern District of Ohio has earned my first nomination for the "Silliest Copyright Case" of 2022. Yes, I know that...
31 Dec, 2021 Taylor Swift Can't Catch a Break, Break, Break, Break ... By Brian Murphy Taylor Swift just can't ... give it the slip ... skip out on it ... pay no mind to it ... Oh, Jiminy Cricket. I'm just going to say it....
07 Dec, 2021 Ninth Circuit Affirms Holding that "You Raise Me Up" is Not Substantially Similar to "Söknuður" By Brian Murphy In an unpublished, summary decision, a panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed the lower court’s determination that the composition You Raise...
11 Oct, 2021 "Scary Terry" Rozier Beats Copyright Claim Brought By Owner of Ghost Mask from Horror Pic SCREAM By Brian Murphy Pro baller Terry Rozier (our defendant) began his career with the Boston Celtics and now plays for the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier's...
11 Apr, 2021 The Second Circuit "Clarifies" (?) Transformativeness in Fair Use Cases Involving Visual Works: The Andy Warhol Foundation vs. Goldsmith By Brian Murphy Andy Warhol must be rolling over in his grave - a grave that is viewable 24-7 via this webcam. (Something, no doubt, that would have...
05 Apr, 2020 Copyright Protection for the Selection and Arrangement of Uncopyrightable Elements: Gray v. Perry By Brian Murphy In 2016, Christian rapper Marcus Gray (p.k.a FLAME) and his co-authors filed a lawsuit alleging that the song "Dark Horse" written by...