Some people just can’t take a joke. Other people have taken jokes, and it has landed them in court. Two recent American copyright cases offer an opportunity to look at…
Tag: Lawsuit
Big Telecom versus Video Games: Big Implications
As reported on Kotaku.com – “British Telecommunications, a multinational mega-conglomerate with origins dating back to the 1800s, is suing Valve, a video game company that can’t count to three”. British Telecommunications…
Do War Criminals Have Copyrights? The Role of Morality in Controversial Works
At first, a request for royalties by the estate of Nazi propagandist Goebbels was considered a joke by counsel for Random House. But the publisher now finds itself in the middle of a…
A Shared Cabin in the Woods? Joss Whedon Hit with $10 Million Dollar Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
In the words of Taylor Swift, Joss Whedon is probably singing: “Are we out of the woods yet?” On April 13th, author Peter Gallagher (no, not the actor known for…
A “Raging Bull” Won't Quit: The Doctrine of Delay and Copyright Infringement
Rules define sport. In boxing, a fighter who is knocked down has a ten-second count to stand up and continue the match. If they fail, they are declared “knocked out”…
Whose Patent is It Anyway?: The Ongoing Legal Legacy Between Samsung and Apple
Using a quote that he attributes to Pablo Picasso, the late Steve Jobs stated in a 1994 interview that “good artists copy, great artists steal.” It seems somewhat ironic that Apple Inc.,…