“Rick Roll” or Legitimate Lawsuit: Rick Astley Sues Rapper Yung Gravy Over Soundalike Song
Julianna Favale May 25, 2023 in Copyrights
Some may know British singer Rick Astley from his performance of 1987 hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Or from the song’s internet phenomenon resurgence in 2007, rising to one billion views on YouTube by 2021. However, in January of this year, Astley and the famed song became newsworthy once again when he sued rapper Matthew Huari, known as “Yung Gravy,” over a soundalike song – alleging that Gravy’s 2022 breakout hit “Betty (Get Money)” […]
Continue ReadingEd Sheeran’s Win Shows Building Blocks of Music Cannot be Copyrighted
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney May 4, 2023 in Copyrights
Musical artists have always had to deal with questions of copyright. In recent years, however, many have felt a shiver up their spine from copyright issues that deal with the basic building blocks of music. That encompasses fundamentals like chord progressions, rhythmic profile, and “feel.” The case that stirred things up was the estate of Marvin Gaye winning an infringement case against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for “Blurred Lines.” It caused many artists to […]
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“Mass Copyright Infringement”: Internet Archive Faces Copyright Judgment
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Apr 20, 2023 in Copyrights
As we have discussed, a central theme of U.S. Copyright law is the stimulation of creative ideas, their free exchange, and commercial profitability from them. This is why copyright enforcement is not black-and-white/all-or-nothing – not all infringement is considered damaging. This question has come up regarding a recent ruling from a Southern NY District Court judge, whose opinion landed in favor of four major publishers against the Internet Archive for mass copyright infringement. The publishers sued […]
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U.S. Copyright Office Begins to Grapple with Questions of Authorship in AI Generated Works
Logan McEwen Apr 6, 2023 in Copyrights
On March 16, 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office published policy guidance on the registration of works containing materials generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The Copyright Office has been receiving copyright applications for AI technology, as author and co-author within the name of the work and in the acknowledgments. The guidance clarifies how copyright applications should address AI content (in hopes of more uniformity). The office repeats, reiterates, restates, and all but yells from the mountaintops: […]
Continue ReadingCan You Copyright a Font? “Blooming Elegant” Designer Confronts Zazzle
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Feb 9, 2023 in Copyrights
If you have ever opened a wedding invitation from Zazzle, you have likely crossed paths with the Blooming Elegant font, a curly typeface in the “handwritten” family. Well, until recently. Its disappearance from the website last summer at the behest of its designer raised a common question with a surprising answer: Can you copyright a font? You Cannot Copyright a Typeface – You Can Copyright a Font Software Technically, the shape of letters – what […]
Continue ReadingThree Broadcast Groups Deny Copyright Infringement in Unlicensed Radio Play
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Jan 19, 2023 in Copyrights
When you hear a song on the radio, what sorts of intellectual property law does that evoke? And if a radio station plays a song without obtaining the proper permission, what kind of trouble can that spell for the station? We are currently seeing this play out in a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Global Music Rights against three different U.S. radio broadcast groups. Allowed Use or Copyright Infringement: How Radio Licensing Works Radio play […]
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