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Copyright Basics – Questions About Copyright

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Copyright Basics From the US Copyright Office and As lawyers who handle copyright cases for a variety of creative professionals, we at the , understand the importance of knowing your legal rights. We hear many questions from people about copyright law, and to some, there are simple answers. To others, the solutions require a significant review of specific facts of a case and laws that may apply. Luckily for many, the US Copyright Office has a website that offers lists of commonly asked questions along with basic answers. Here, we share with you some of the "general" copyright questions and...

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Music Sampling Copyright Claim Against G-Eazy

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Sampling Leads To Lawsuit Against Hip Hop Artist G-Eazy TMZ reported March 5, 2020, that Memphis DJ Squeeky and Gaylon Love are suing hip hop star G-Eazy for copyright infringement. The plaintiffs in the copyright lawsuit allege that G-Eazy's hit song "No Limit" "straight up sampled their 1993 Southern hip-hop classic" "Looking 4 Da Chewin." The court documents claim that Squeeky and Love are the exclusive owners of "Looking 4 Da Chewin" and that G-Eazy never got their permission to sample the song. DJ's Copyright Lawsuit Seeks Profits From G-Eazy's Hit Song "No Limit" No Limits is the lead single...

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Copyright Lawsuit Settlement with Miley Cyrus

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Songwriter Filed a $300 Million Copyright Claim Against Miley Cyrus In March 2018, Michael May, who performs under the name Flourgon, filed a copyright infringement case against Miley Cyrus. The copyright lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court asked for $300 million in damages. Flourgon's complaint accused Cyrus of stealing her hit song "We Can't Stop" from a song he recorded 25 years ago. Cyrus's tune was a mega-hit when it was released in 2013 and reached number 2 on Billboard's Top 100 list. Plaintiff Claimed That Half of Cyrus's Hit Song Came From His Number One Single May released a...

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Copyright Victory in Connection with Embedded Tweets and Photos

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Copyright Enforcement Is Essential to Protecting Creative Artists' Rights Copyright laws bestow on photographers and other creative artists the exclusive rights to reproduce, create derivative work, and perform their work publicly. The internet, social media, and technology, in general, has added a new level of complexity to the issue of copyright enforcement. It has become more difficult for artists to control who uses and shares images. Keeping track of your copyrighted photographs, for example, can be difficult. But it can be done. It is essential that when people use and share your copyrighted work without permission, you do what you...

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Photographer Sues Bieber

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Photographer Files Lawsuit Against Justin Bieber for Copyright Infringement It's Justin Bieber's turn to defend himself against a copyright infringement lawsuit. Photographer Robert Barbera filed a lawsuit against Bieber that, according to Eonline.com, accuses the pop star of the "unauthorized reproduction and public display" of a photograph copyrighted and owned by Barbera. The photo in question is of Bieber and his friend Rich Wilkerson. The picture shows the pals in a car. Bieber posted the picture on his Instagram feed on March 13. Barbera is the photographer who snapped the photo. In documents obtained by E!News, Barbera claims that he...

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New Copyright Issues with Paparazzi and Social Media

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Social Media, Celebrities, and Paparazzi Bring New Attention to Copyright Issues In an October 30, 2019 article for IP Watchdog.com, Meaghan Kent, Katherine Dearing, and Danae Tinelli highlight some legal issues gaining new attention from a spate of copyright infringement cases involving celebrities, social media, and paparazzi. Many issues remain unresolved because the lawsuits were settled out of court or dismissed for procedural reasons. However, taking a closer look at them may help photographers understand their rights and how to enforce them. At the heart of recent cases filed by photographers against celebrities is a celebrity's right of publicity using...

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Copyright Victory

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Judge Awards $258,000 to Photographer in Copyright Case Scott Gunnellis, a professional photographer, has won his lawsuit for copyright infringement. American Choppers star Paul Teutel Sr., has been ordered by a federal judge to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the photographer who sued Teutel and others for copyright infringement. Photographer Alleged American Chopper Star Used Photograph on Merchandise and Advertising Without Permission Gunnellis sued Paul, his son "Mikey," Orange County Choppers, Discovery, Inc., and Pilgrim Media Group in June 2019. The case, filed in the Southern District of New York, contained several allegations of copyright infringement. Those allegations,...

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Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

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California Artist Is Suing Pixar and Disney For Copyright Violations Daniel Goldblatt, writing for thewrap.com, has reported that a San-Francisco artist has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Pixar and Disney. The lawsuit filed in January alleges that the companies violated her rights by copying her "signature unicorn-covered van -- which she calls "Vanicorn" -- for a character in the upcoming movie "Onward." The Origin of the "Vanicorn" Artist Sweet Cecily Daniher, as it states in her complaint, "has a real thing for unicorns." Unicorns have been a "central theme" throughout her life and artistic career. In addition to publishing...

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Lawsuit Copyright Infringement

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Agency Files Copyright Lawsuit Against Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lopez is being sued, again, for copyright infringement. This time, the photo in question is of herself with fiancé Alex Rodriguez. E!News reported on October 7, 2019, that Splash News and Picture Agency claims in a lawsuit that when Lopez posted the photograph to her Instagram feed in 2017, she violated the agency's copyright. US Copyright Laws Protect Photographers US copyright laws protect the rights of photographers by instilling immediate property rights in the pictures they take. When a photographer works for an employer, the employer often holds the copyright. At times,...

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Photographer Sues Fox For Infringement

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A Photographer is Suing Fox News Network for Copyright Infringement Bloomberg News has reported that the is representing Jesse Korman, a photographer who is accusing Fox News Network, LLC of copyright infringement. The photographer alleges that Fox reproduced a picture Korman took of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and used it in one of their television broadcasts. Korman filed his lawsuit in Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York on July 24, 2019. In the complaint, Korman claims that Fox News displayed a photograph of Ocasio-Cortez during a February 2019 television broadcast. Korman further claims that as the photographer who...

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