BLOG

            At the beginning of June, four publishing companies filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Internet Archive alleging direct and secondary copyright infringement. Specifically, the four publishing companies, including HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House, allege Internet Archive’s “Open Library” and/or “National Emergency Library” infringes their respective copyrights.             Plaintiffs are four of the world’s preeminent publishing houses and collectively, they publish some of the most successful and leading authors in the world. Indeed, many of these authors are winners of the…

            Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many states, including California, have implemented strict shelter in place orders, under which people are forced to perform their daily activities out of their homes. As a result, use of livestreaming platforms, such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, WebEx, as well as, Instagram Live, Facebook Live, and YouTube, has significantly increased. Businesses of all types have also started using livestreaming platforms to provide services that were previously delivered in person. These services range from religious services, educational services, and fitness classes to weddings, funerals, graduations, and other social events. Because many of these livestreams include…

            Los Angeles-based photographer Anais Ganouna and her company, Frank & Anais, filed a lawsuit against The Colors You Like (TCYL) and Cincoro Spirits Group (doing business as Cincoro) for copyright infringement, fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, and unfair competition. Ganouna claims the defendants knowingly and unlawfully exploited her creative work in connection with Cincoro’s highly anticipated launch of its premium tequila brand in 2019. Cincoro is owned by Michael Jordan and four other NBA owners.             Ganouna is a professional photographer and was commissioned to do a photoshoot for the defendants of the agave fields and plants in…

            In an action to determine whether certain anthropomorphized characters representing human emotions qualify for copyright protection, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the action. The lawsuit was filed by Denise Daniels and The Moodster Company, who created “The Moodsters.” In their complaint, plaintiffs alleged that The Walt Disney company and Pixar infringed their copyrighted characters through the movie “Inside Out.” The Ninth Circuit also affirmed the district court’s denial of plaintiffs’ claim for breach of an implied-in-fact contract under California law based on plaintiffs’ alleged disclosure of information about…