On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Feb 4, 2020 | Copyright Law
While most people are aware of at least one major copyright infringement taking place within popular culture, there are still many misconceptions about copyright law. Understanding what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to this topic can prevent you from...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Jan 4, 2020 | Copyright Law
When you create an original artistic work in California such as a painting, a book, a musical composition, a computer program, a website, etc., you receive an automatic copyright to it once it reaches its final form. This gives you the right to affix the copyright...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Nov 21, 2019 | Copyright Law, San Francisco Civil Litigation Blog
We spend a significant amount of time on this blog discussing entertainment law, including copyright law.The legal protections afforded to copyright holders are significant, but they must be policed to counteract infringement. This can be challenging to do, especially...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Nov 7, 2019 | Copyright Law, San Francisco Civil Litigation Blog
Copyright protections are far-reaching. This is great news for those who create a work, but it can spell trouble for those who are unfamiliar with these protections and are accused of misappropriating these works. When this happens, litigation can arise. For a...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Sep 26, 2019 | Copyright Law, San Francisco Civil Litigation Blog
Intellectual property can be quite valuable. One reason is because it can be used over and over again. A book can be read multiple times and adapted into film, movies can be shown in theaters and transferred to DVD and modes of streaming, and songs can be played in...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Aug 16, 2019 | Copyright Law
Songwriters, producers, entertainment lawyers and other people in the music industry have reacted with disbelief at the verdict in a recent copyright lawsuit against the pop star Katy Perry. Last month, a jury found that Perry and her co-writers had infringed on the...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Aug 1, 2019 | Copyright Law
Many of us remember a time not long ago when peer-to-peer file sharing sites like Napster threatened to financially ruin the music industry. While the law has clamped down on illegal downloading for copyright violations, the market has changed in response. Although...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Jul 18, 2019 | Copyright Law
An individual who creates a musical composition or lyrics automatically obtains a copyright over those works. This instills that individual with a number of rights, including the right to record and sell the composition, license it for use in commercials and film and...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Nov 22, 2018 | Copyright Law
Owning a business and being an artist are both challenging feats. There are many considerations that must be made and failing to do so can result in unintended and unwanted consequences.For instance, as one recent case highlights, failing to police one’s...
On behalf of Fergus, A Law Office | Mar 12, 2018 | Copyright Law
By its very nature, graffiti art is often public, immovable and temporary. And the artists that specialize in this medium frequently believe that these characteristics make graffiti art exempt from copyright protection. However, a recent ruling issued by a U.S....
