The technology news website Fusible reported on June 30 that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) denied a cybersquatting complaint Nintendo of America had filed against the owner of the website WiiU.com. Wii U is the name of Nintendo’s latest video game console, but the video game website Kotaku reported that WiiU.com was actually registered
James Cameron and 20th Century Fox are facing their fourth lawsuit in the past year over the 2009 film “Avatar,” according to the entertainment news website Deadline.com. Fantasy landscape artist William Roger Dean filed a complaint alleging copyright infringement, contributory infringement, breach of implied contact, unfair competition and unjust enrichment against Cameron and Fox on June 27. He
Jonah Peretti, the founder of the viral content website BuzzFeed, told the Atlantic in an April 2012 story discussed some of the ways that the popular website avoids copyright infringement issues. In addition to licensing fees BuzzFeed pays to Reuters, the Associated Press and Getty Images for use of their libraries, Peretti argued that a lot of
Over 600 Oregonians were facing copyright infringement charges for illegally downloading a Steven Seagal movie before a federal judge kicked out the case, according to Oregon Live. The defendants started receiving word of the case in March, at which time they were told that their only option was to each pay a $7,500 settlement. However, Judge Ann
On Monday, we discussed a lawsuit filed by filmmaker Jennifer Nelson that seeks to have a court declare the song “Happy Birthday to You” to be in the public domain. That New York Times story noted that another filmmaker, Steve James, had to pay $5,000 to use the song in the 1994 documentary “Hoop Dreams,”
g by Apollo 9 astronauts on March 8, 1969? In fact, it was also featured in the world’s first singing telegram, and the New York Times noted in a June 13 story that it is “widely credited for being the most performed song in the world.” However, you might also notice that many restaurants have
Patrice Désilets, designer of the historical action-adventure video game Assassin’s Creed, left Ubisoft in 2010 to work in the Montreal office of North American video game developer THQ. However, when THQ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2012, Ubisoft was one of several companies that came into purchase some of the developer’s assets in January—one
If your computer is locked and an FBI seal comes across your screen with a demand that you pay hundreds of dollars because of alleged copyright infringement, do not worry. You are not alone. Just be sure not to enter any of your credit card information. The Staten Island Advance reported on June 13 that messages
Three producers filed a $60 million breach of contract lawsuit over the Oxygen cable television channel’s 2011 reality series “Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings.” According to the Hollywood Reporter, Denny O’Neil Jr., Jake Hall and Charles Malcolm claim that they registered an idea with the Writers Guild in 2007 for a show called “Wedding Rescue,” in which
We have frequently discussed the many concerns that have been voiced regarding the age and limitations of copyright law. As technology continues to evolve, certain groups are pushing for stronger copyright infringement penalties in cases of piracy. In an increasingly global economy, there is also unease about international copyright protection. On May 22, an article published in
