RiP! Explores the relationship of Copyright and Fair Use to popular culture mashups/remixes. The film features Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis), Lawrence Lessig, Cory Doctorow, Dan O’Neil and more. Also here.

Los Angeles artist Dereck Seltzer filed suit in the Central District of California against Green Day for copyright infringement. Seltzer alleges that the band used his work ‘Scream Icon’ without authorization in its website, videos and concerts, including a performance at the American Music Awards. The work (found here) was registered with the copyright office [...]

In 1990, after having been selected by a national contest, Frank Gaylord began work on a sculpture that would become the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.  Know as ‘The Column’, the final design consists of 19 stainless steel statues representing a platoon of foot soldiers. From 1990-1995, Gaylord secured 5 copyrights on various [...]

Today is World’s Fair Use Day (WFUD), “a free, all-day celebration of the doctrine of fair use: the legal right that allows innovators and creators to make particular uses of copyrighted materials. WFUD will take place at the Newseum in Washington D.C. on Tuesday January 12, 2010.” More here.

Set to premiere on PBS in January 2010, Copyright Criminals explores the relationship between hip-hop and copyright law and the complicated legal issues brought on by music sampling. From the website, Years before people started downloading and remixing music, hip-hop sampling sparked a debate about copyright, creativity and technological change that still rages today. Independent [...]

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed multilateral agreement  meant to quell international copyright piracy and counterfeit goods. While in negotiations today in Seoul, Korea (November 4-6, 2009), many are concerned that the agreement will be over-restrictive and have chilling effects.  Particularly troubling is the United States drafted section on Internet Service Providers (ISPs). [...]

The Beatles record label, EMI, sued bluebeat.com, its parent company, Media Rights Technology Inc., and Chief Executive Hank Risan for offering songs from the band’s catalog for 25 cents. More here. Professor Donald Jones sued the legal blog Above the Law for posting his faculty photo alongside a news story about his arrest and eventual [...]

On the heels of artist Shepard Fairey’s admission that he made an effort to conceal evidence by producing an alternate photo for discovery, his attorneys have made a Motion for Substitution of Counsel. From the motion, substituting the law firm of Jones Day and law professors William W. Fisher III and John Palfrey (“substitute counsel”) [...]