Tag Archives: copyright

Can’t Shake This Lawsuit

After achieving a dismissal in a copyright lawsuit, which alleged a similarity of lyrics between her song and the 2001 3LW song, ‘Playas Gon’ Play,’ Taylor Swift now must stand trial. The plaintiffs in the original case appealed the dismissal; and a three-judge panel ordered for the case to be reconsidered at the district court level in October 2019. Earlier this month, in the United States District Court of the Central District of California, Swift was denied a second dismissal. The judge who denied the dismissal reasoned that a trial would help to provide clarity on the true similarities between ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Playas Gon’ Play.’ Swift’s legal team, however, challenges the argument that there are significant resemblances. Continue reading →

Tattoo Dispute Fades Away

Tattooed work of art

Much like painters or musicians, tattoo artists are creators in their own right. However, are their inked canvases considered unique designs worthy of copyright protection? Solid Oak Sketches seemed to think so, as the company filed a lawsuit against producers of NBA 2K video games, including Take-Two Interactive Software. In 2016, the tattoo licensing firm accused NBA 2K of embodying athletes such as LeBron James, Eric Bledsoe, and Kenyon Martin with their real-life tattoos in the video games, without properly compensating the artists who tattooed them. That lawsuit, initially filed in a Manhattan court, was just dismissed this month. Continue reading →

Taylor Cannot Swiftly Escape This Lawsuit

Copying a song?

A 2017 copyright lawsuit in reference to Taylor Swift’s popular hit “Shake It Off” is going back down to the US District Court level for further proceedings. Songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler sued Swift for her lyric “players gonna play…haters gonna hate.” According to Hall and Butler’s claim, Swift allegedly stole the line from a 2001 song they wrote entitled “Playas Gon’ Play” for the music group 3LW. When the 2017 lawsuit was dismissed, a judge ruled that the original 2001 lyric was “too brief, unoriginal, and uncreative to warrant protection under the Copyright Act.” A recent panel of three judges, however, disagreed with that reasoning, and were in favor of the plaintiffs’ appeal. Continue reading →

Things Get Stranger: Man Sues Netflix

There’s a storm coming

Netflix has had tons of success in the last few years, rising from the ashes to become a technology powerhouse. The business model is a low cost, subscription-based service providing content to consumers who love their tv shows and movies. One of the most successful pieces of original content is the Netflix-original Stranger Things, a sci-fi / fantasy series about kids in the 1980s who experience (you guessed it) “strange things”. Even stranger is that the now famous images used to promote the show, which an ominous thunderstorm system moving through the clouds, allegedly infringes on a Montana photographer’s copyright. As such, he is taking Netflix to court and seeking damages regarding this misuse of his image. Continue reading →

Claim on the Caribbean

Arghhh!

In a shocking lawsuit, an author claimed that Disney stole his idea in their film, Pirates of the Caribbean. In the film, the pirates transform into living skeletons under moonlight. This author failed at attempting to make billions when a federal judge ruled in Disney’s favor. Royce Matthew, the plaintiff in this suit, has failed several times in lawsuits regarding the wildly successful Pirates of the Caribbean films. His first lawsuit attempt dates back to 2005, promptly followed by a second attempt in 2006. The 2006 lawsuit was quelled when Disney revealed old “theme park art” that dated far beyond Royce Matthew’s claims. This art proved that Disney independently put forth the idea of “unique supernatural elements”. After this event, Matthew signed a release form.