Twenty-three years after the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), the social media landscape remains a “Wild Wild West” for copyright owners. Though not afforded the attention attracted by the spread of misinformation on these platforms, copyright enforcement can be an uphill battle for copyright owners, as social media companies struggle to enforce rules of conduct for the enormous output of third-party content they host. » Read More

One of the past year’s most important U.S. copyright bills, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (the CASE Act) was passed in December. It establishes an administrative tribunal process for copyright claims of up to $30,000. Though targeted to small parties, larger businesses that own massive amounts of copyrightable content will also benefit. » Read More

In the social media age, sharing is the name of the game. Whether it’s a social media post, a viral image, or even an instructional video, you might want to add it to your own social media platform or even your webpage. » Read More

For decades, federal courts around the country have split over whether a U.S. copyright registration is required to bring an infringement action, or whether the filing of an application with the U.S. Copyright Office is sufficient. At long last, the U.S. » Read More

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA for short) contains a number of provisions helpful to copyright owners who suffer online infringement, which is frequently perpetrated anonymously.  Of particular importance is the “take down” provision, which enables the copyright owner to write to the “Internet Service Provider” (“ISP”) whose site contains infringing content demanding its removal.  » Read More

Last year, the Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to determine whether for purposes of instituting a copyright infringement action, a claimant’s “registration” has been made once the claimant has applied for the registration (application approach) or once the Copyright Office has acted on that application (registration approach).  » Read More

The launch of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign this week came with a mistake frequently made by political candidates — using a musician’s song without his or her permission.  Trump used Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” at his presidential campaign launch without Mr. » Read More