Copyright Lately

President Trump just raised tariffs on Canada over a Reagan ad quoting Reagan's anti-tariff views. Is there a copyright issue? The answer may depend which side of the border you're on. Full story up now on Copyright Lately: https://lnkd.in/gWrzWE9M #copyright #copyrightlaw #copyrightlately #IPlaw

The latest casualty of the government shutdown? The high-profile showdown over Shira Perlmutter’s removal as Register of Copyrights. Today, Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated a scheduled November 4 hearing on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment, citing “the ongoing lapse in federal appropriations” and Chief Judge Boasberg’s Standing Order 25-55, which pauses civil deadlines for federal agencies during the shutdown. Although Perlmutter remains temporarily reinstated under a September D.C. Circuit order, the merits of her challenge to President Trump’s authority to remove her will now have to wait.

NEW: Teenager Eddie Richardson claimed French Montana stole his beat. The court said he registered the wrong copyright. But what if that wasn’t the full story? Last week in 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘷. 𝘒𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩, the Seventh Circuit ruled that Richardson couldn’t prove French Montana’s “Ain’t Worried About Nothin’” sampled his track “Hood Pushin’ Weight.” The case appears to have been litigated for six years on the assumption—shared by both courts and the lawyers—that Richardson had registered only the sound recording, not the underlying composition. And with no proof of actual sampling, that distinction proved fatal to his claim. But the registration itself lists “music” among the authored materials—which, under Copyright Office regulations, means his Form SR registration for the sound recording should extend to the composition as well. If that’s right, the case being cited as a cautionary tale about 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 might actually be one about the perils of 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴. Full story up now on Copyright Lately⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gW_5p2f2 #copyright #copyrightlaw #copyrightlately #musiclaw #entertainmentlaw #IPlaw

𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫: Southern District of New York Judge Ronnie Abrams has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit by Bollywood screenwriter Soham Shah claiming that Netflix’s 𝘚𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦 ripped off his 2009 film 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘬. The court first found that Shah lacked standing to sue because he failed to establish ownership of the film's copyright. Under Indian law, the original producer, not the screenwriter, presumptively owns the copyright, and Shah couldn't show an assignment or beneficial ownership. Standing aside, the court found that the works were “dramatically and drastically different.” While both involve deadly survival games, the court noted that this premise appears in countless earlier works, from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘯. The games themselves were “notably distinct”: 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘬 features Russian roulette, helicopter jumps, and shark-filled challenges testing chance among 16 players, while Squid Game centers on Korean children’s games with fatal consequences for 456 contestants. Tone mattered too: the court contrasted 𝘚𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦’s dark, dystopian isolation with 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘬’s upbeat Bollywood flair—musical numbers included—and contestants lounging in hotels between rounds. Dismissal was with prejudice, since the lack of substantial similarity “turns on the works themselves,” not the pleadings. Read the full ruling order in the first comment below.

What a wild week in AI and copyright. Just three days after launching its new Sora 2 AI video app with a brazen policy that let users create videos featuring copyrighted characters unless rightsholders explicitly opted out, OpenAI has slammed the brakes. Late Friday, the company announced it will move to an opt-in model requiring permission before copyrighted characters can appear in Sora 2 videos. Testing the app this week revealed the strategy: Launch without guardrails. Let Family Guy, South Park and Pikachu videos drive engagement and media coverage. Hit #1 on the App Store (for an invite only app). Then implement restrictions once you've captured the market. The reversal came with no apology—just Sam Altman chalking it up to "taking feedback." Meanwhile, he admitted the real issue: users are generating far more videos than expected, using massive compute resources on content that's often being generated for very small audiences (it is, after all, a social media app). Altman floated a potential solution: "We are going to try sharing some of this revenue with rightsholders who want their characters generated by users." The idea—perhaps similar to YouTube’s ad-monetization program for videos that include copyrighted material—would give studios a financial incentive to opt in. "The exact model will take some trial and error to figure out," Altman acknowledged, "but we plan to start very soon." If studios become partners rather than adversaries, OpenAI can potentially offset costs while buying legal cover not only for the outputs, but maybe even retroactive blessing for the unauthorized training as well. It would be a big win for OpenAI—assuming content owners play along. But that’s a massive if. There’s a world of difference between studios collecting YouTube ad revenue on video clips they produce and control, and handing over their characters for anyone to freely manipulate. Check out the full story, up now on Copyright Lately: https://lnkd.in/gCbYJaZZ #Copyright #AI #CopyrightLaw #CopyrightLately #IP #ArtificialIntelligence #IntellectualProperty #OpenAI #Sora2 #Tech #Entertainment

⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

Twenty years ago, "Lazy Sunday" gave YouTube its first viral moment—and changed media forever. Now we may be watching history repeat, this time with OpenAI's Sora 2. I spoke with Matthew Belloni at Puck about why Sora 2 feels different from past copyright battles. One distinction: it's not just a social media platform hosting user uploads—it's generating the infringement itself. My Q&A with Matt on why Silicon Valley's hottest AI tool may be Hollywood's biggest copyright test since YouTube. Full Story up now on Copyright Lately: https://lnkd.in/g8b_Ea48 #AI #CopyrightLaw #CopyrightLately #EntertainmentLaw #IPLaw #Copyright #Entertainment

Thanks Nitish Pahwa for the shout out in Slate (and for linking to my Copyright Lately post on Sora 2). Critically important issue for the entertainment industry. https://lnkd.in/g52Pj3TC

NEW: I just tried out OpenAI’s Sora 2. Within minutes, I was generating polished clips featuring Charlie Brown, Fred Flintstone, and characters from South Park, Family Guy, and King of the Hill. Real people = protected by default. Copyrighted characters = fair game (unless rights holders scramble to opt out). Consent for people. Catch-me-if-you-can for copyright. Check out the videos and what it all means for IP owners, up now on Copyright Lately: https://lnkd.in/gKudRsYN #AI #Copyright #CopyrightLaw #CopyrightLately #IP #OpenAI #Sora2 #Entertainment #Tech #Media

So... verified cameos for people, involuntary cameos for IP? Interesting choice. Edward Lee - you're gonna need a bigger map. "OpenAI has . . . drawn a clear line between copyrighted IP and individual likeness. While characters or visual styles from popular franchises may appear unless blocked, individuals cannot be generated at all — via prompt or image — unless they’ve submitted a verified cameo. The policy is intended to give people full control over how, when, and whether they appear in any AI-generated content." https://lnkd.in/ghkF2dxq