Tag: Copyright
Copyright Office Calls for Congressional Action on Digital Replicas
Late this summer, the U.S. Copyright Office released the first of its planned reports on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence. This one, designated as Part 1, addresses “Digital Replicas”. It was notably released the same day that members of the Senate introduced a bipartisan digital replica bill. The Report generally supports a federal digital replica law...
Copyright Office Releases Report on Digital Replicas
The U.S. Copyright Office released its first report addressing Copyright and Artificial Intelligence titled "Part I: Digital Replicas." Following Congress' lead, the Copyright Office's first analysis of the issues raised by AI focuses on digital replicas, not copyright law. The report is accessible at this link. I will provide a more in-depth analysis of the...
Senate Holds Hearing on Ways to Improve Draft Digital Replica Bill
Yesterday, April 30, 2024, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property’s held a hearing on “The NO FAKES Act: Protecting Americans from Unauthorized Digital Replicas.” This was a follow-up to a prior Senate subcommittee hearing on AI which nominally focused on copyright law, but largely raised the issue of personality rights. The Senate...
Comments Submitted to Copyright Office on the Right of Publicity and AI
In response to the Copyright Office's Notice of Inquiry and Request for Comments on Artificial Intelligence and Copyright, I submitted comments, particularly focused on the Office's questions pertaining to the right of publicity and the use of a person's likeness or performance in the context of generative AI. These comments sweep more broadly than those...
Draft Digital Replica Bill Risks Living Performers’ Rights over AI-Generated Replacements
The NO FAKES ACT released as a discussion draft last week proposes establishing a new federal digital replica right that would extend 70 years after a person’s death. The one-pager accompanying the draft highlights that the legislation is driven by concerns that “unauthorized recreations from generative artificial intelligence (AI)” will substitute for performances by the...
Cardi B Wins Jury Verdict against Tattooed Plaintiff
On October 21st, in Brophy v. Almanzar, a jury sided with recording artist Cardi B (aka Belcalis Alamanzar) and rejected a lawsuit brought against her by Kevin Michael Brophy. The dispute arose out of the use of Brophy’s tattoo as a starting point for the cover art of Cardi B’s “career launching” 2016 mixtape Gangsta...
Toddlers’ Lawsuit Against Trump Tossed in Test of New York’s Expanded anti-SLAPP Law
On July 9th, a New York trial court dismissed the high-profile lawsuit against Trump, Trump for President, Inc. (“TFP), and Lance Cook brought by the parents of two toddlers whose embrace was transformed from a meme of racial harmony into an edited video suggesting one of them was a “racist baby.” The parents of the two-year olds...
Dua Lipa Sued Over Posting Photo of Herself on Instagram
Dua Lipa has been sued by Integral Images, Inc. in district court in California for posting a photo of herself on her Instagram feed. This is yet another in a string of copyright lawsuits arising out of celebrities (like Khloe Kardashian & Tom Brady) posting images of themselves on social media when they are not the copyright holders of...
Sacha Baron Cohen Sues Over Unauthorized Ad Campaign
Earlier this week, film and television actor Sacha Baron Cohen and his company, Please You Can Touch, sued Solar Therapeutics in district court in Massachusetts for the unauthorized use of his likeness, Borat character, and the character's catch-phrase in a billboard advertisement for a cannabis company. The complaint sets forth claims for a right of publicity violation...
Mixed Victory for Jackson Estate in Tax Court
On May 3rd, the U.S. Tax Court issued the long-awaited decision in the long-running litigation over the estate taxes owed by the Michael Jackson estate. In a sweeping 253-page opinion (with additional appendices) the Tax Court, clearly cognizant that this opinion will likely be read by many more people than the usual tax decision, quotes...
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