The US Supreme Court in American Broadcasting Cos., Inc. v. Aereo, Inc. held that Aero’s retransmission of broadcast television signals qualified as a public performance of a copyrighted work under the Copyright Act of 1976. The US Supreme Court found that Aereo’s activities were substantially similar to the activities of community television providers that led […]
Archive for the 'Copyright Law' Category
WNET v Aereo
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided today that Aereo’s service does not infringe the plaintiffs’ public performance rights under the Copyright Act. The Aereo service transmits broadcast television programs to its subscribers as those programs are airing on broadcast television. The opinion can be found here WNET v Aereo.
Kirtsaeng v John Wily & Sons
The U.S. Supreme Court held that the “first sale” doctrine applies to copies of copyrighted material originally sold outside of the United States and then resold here. The 6-3 majority opinion held that the “first sale” doctrine set forth in 17 U.S.C. Sec. 109(a) has no geographic limitation. Thus, the resale in the United States […]
Thomas-Rasset v Capital Records
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant certiorari in the appeal from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals finding that a damages award of $222,000 for the willful infringement of copyrights in 24 songs by the defendant was not unreasonable. Thomas-Rasset v Capital Records
Agence France Presse v Morel
The United States Disctrict Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgement to a photographer, Morel, finding that Agence France Presse and The Washington Post were liable for copyright infringement for using without permission photos Morel had taken in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti and posted to Twitter. AFP and […]
Kirstaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week on a case addressing international copyright exhaustion. The case could impact the ability of U.S. owners to resell goods that are subject to copyright protection and were manufactured abroad. The oral arguments can be found here Kirstaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc
