Author Archive

On January 27, 2010 the Wisconsin Court of Appeals adopted the “single publication rule” for defamation cases. Bottom line: once defamatory material is published online, subsequent “hits” or visits to that material do not constitute re-publication and the statute of limitations does not renew. Wisconsin courts had not previously addressed this issue.
 
Bob Uecker is [...]

Authors and publishers now have until September 4, 2009 to decide whether to stay in or opt out of the class action lawsuit settlement involving Google’s Book Search service. The previous deadline had been May 5.
CNET NEWS reports that Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued [...]

Situation Management Systems, Inc. v. ASP Consulting LLC was decided by the First Circuit Court of Appeals on March 19, 2009. The decision has implications far beyond the dispute of the parties; it affects the copyright expectations of the more than $100 billion management training industry in the United States. Bottom line: this decision supports [...]

If you counsel a book author, book publisher or any other person who owns a copyright in a “Book” or an “Insert,” a class action settlement regarding Google’s practice of scanning and displaying in-copyright works might affect your client’s rights.
If you haven’t heard about the Google Book Settlement, visit the settlement website and get up to speed. Do [...]

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals - District I -  has decided a matter involving the notice one must supply prior to bringing a claim for the publication of libelous matter in a newspaper, magazine or periodical. (DeBraska v. Quad Graphics, Inc., et al, January 21, 2009, recommended for publication).
WIS. STAT. § 895.05(2) contains five requirements for valid [...]

A new top level domain is currently being made available: . tel

Unlike other top level domains, which simply direct users to websites that may be hosted anywhere in the world, .tel will store the owner’s contact information directly on the associated DNS (domain name server) — and will return that contact information when a user [...]

Robert W. was an inmate at the United States Prison Leavenworth. While there, he was assigned to work for Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI), a US government-owned corporation that produces, sells and distributes various products. In the course of his duties for FPI, and using government-furnished computers, Robert W. developed and produced desk-blotter calendars for [...]

Although copyright protects architectural work, protection does not extend to the “individual standard features” of such work such as common windows, doors and other “staple” building components.
US Copyright Law defines an “architectural work” as: the design of a building as embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building, architectural plans or drawings. The
work [...]

The Wall Street Journal reports that the recording industry is abandoning its 5-year offensive against those who allegedly download music illegally. The RIAA has sued thousands since commencing its litigation campaign in 2003, and now appears to be admitting that its tactics have done very little to achieve reductions in online piracy.
It appears that the [...]

The Fifth Circuit has ruled in favor of four universities (Lousiana State University, the University of Oklahoma, Ohio State University and the University of Southern California) against an apparel company that sold t-shirts with the schools’ color schemes and other identifying indicia referencing the games of the schools’ football teams.
Said the court: “We conclude that [...]