Is Disney Losing Mickey Mouse Because of Copyright Law?

When I first read the headline to this New York Times article, “Mickey’s Copyright Adventure: Early Disney Creation Will Soon Be Public Property,” I thought that Mickey Mouse would soon lose its copyright and enter the public domain. If Mickey Mouse were to enter the public domain, artists could use Mickey without fear of a copyright infringement lawsuit. I learned from an IP survey course … Continue reading Is Disney Losing Mickey Mouse Because of Copyright Law?

Finding a Fix for TDM’s Issues

For all the good copyright law does to protect the creative works of authors, it causes problems for Text and Data Mining (TDM) by researchers and AI. TDM is a tool that allows computers to “read” and analyze large amounts of text or data. As I explained in Part 1 of this post, TDM is likely copyright infringement under current U.S. law. However, the initial copyright infringement isn’t the only issue. Continue reading “Finding a Fix for TDM’s Issues”

CHAT GPT – Should we have a chat about IP’s role?

What is ChatGPT and how does it work?

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) computer program developed by the San Francisco based company,OpenAI. ChatGPT works by taking a natural language input, which is an input of human language as it is spoken and written, from a user and then producing a natural language output. Essentially, ChatGPT works like a search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc.). However, instead of returning a list of websites, ChatGPT returns exactly what you ask it to in a conversational format. As a result, ChatGPT enables a user to receive direct responses to their questions. ChatGPT has received substantial media coverage for its easy-to-use interface and extensive capabilities. By simply asking ChatGPT to do so, a user can receive a literary work such as an essay, or an article created by the program. Continue reading “CHAT GPT – Should we have a chat about IP’s role?”

Trouble in Vermont: A Case Study on Artists Moral Rights

The New York Times recently reported a story about Vermont Law School and a mural on their campus that gave rise to a copyright dispute.  The mural, painted by a white man, depicts slavery and the evils around it.  Many who have seen the mural objected to how African Americans were depicted.  Indeed, they found that the depictions were racist caricatures of black people.

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What’s Mine is Yours?

What’s Mine is Yours?

When I was younger, my dad told me that he worked on “artificial intelligence” after graduating college. I thought this was the coolest job ever. What if my dad was part of the team that made a self-aware AI like in the movies? He told me that AI didn’t really work that way. In fact, he worked on a smaller piece of AI technology dealing with sorting data based on algorithms. I didn’t really understand what he meant at the time, but it still seemed pretty neat. Continue reading “What’s Mine is Yours?”

Jazz Musician Turned into a Tattoo: Miles Davis Photographer’s Suit against Tattoo artist Kat Von D for Copyright Infringement

Jazz Musician Turned into a Tattoo: Miles Davis Photographer’s Suit against Tattoo artist Kat Von D for Copyright Infringement

The tattoo industry has largely avoided cases of copyright infringement or other types of intellectual property suits based on an artist’s work. This may change as Jeffrey Sedlik, a well-known photographer, who photographed the prolific and well known jazz musician Miles Davis, is suing tattoo artist Kat Von D. for using his photograph to produce a tattoo for a colleague. Continue reading “Jazz Musician Turned into a Tattoo: Miles Davis Photographer’s Suit against Tattoo artist Kat Von D for Copyright Infringement”

NCAA Sports and IP – The Perfect Merger

Since the inception of the National Collegiate Athletic Association otherwise known as the “NCAA”, student-athletes were not able to collect any type of financial benefits while they were playing collegiate-level sports. Fast forward to today, student-athletes are now allowed to make profits off of their “name, image, and likeness” aka “NIL,” a type of intellectual property right that’s grouped under the right of publicity (essentially gives each person the exclusive right to use and license their identity for commercial promotion). What I and many others were once not allowed to partake in, is now available and encouraged for all student-athletes. Some student-athletes are already making millions in deals and sponsorships!
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Thinking out Loud…. About Copyrights: Ed Sheeran’s Recent Copyright Lawsuits

Ed Sheeran is a Grammy-winning artist known for his hit songs such as “Thinking Out Loud” and “The Shape of You.” Sheeran has accrued a great deal of wealth and as a result seems to be a good target for copyright trolls, litigious entities or individuals that litigate large amounts of copyright infringement cases with often baseless claims in the hope for a settlement. Ed Sheeran is a well-known artist and as such, he is in a financial situation to settle lawsuits rather than go through the litigation process. Continue reading “Thinking out Loud…. About Copyrights: Ed Sheeran’s Recent Copyright Lawsuits”