Category: Copyright Infringement

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SHOULD PATENTS BE TREATED AS JUST ANOTHER INVESTMENT VEHICLE?

Written by: Mark Terry In light of all of the news about patent reform legislation and the backlash against Non-Practicing Entities (NPE) [you know … patent trolls], did you know that large corporations like Microsoft, Sony, Apple, Intel, and Google invest or have invested in patent funds? Why do they do it? Has it helped fuel infringement lawsuits? We explore these issues here.   Intellectual Ventures (IV) has opened funds to investors since 2000 and is currently courting investors to invest in its planned $3 billion fund for investing in patents. Microsoft and Sony have subscribed, but Intel and Apple

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Coca Cola Copyright Infringement Suit in Miami Concluded

Written by: Mark Terry Southern District Court Judge K. Michael Moore recently handed down an equitable and somewhat unique decision regarding a timely dispute over the rights to a Spanish-language version of a Coca-Cola theme song that was created for the 2010 World Cup. At issue in the suit, Vergara Hermosilla v. Coca-Cola Co., No. 10-21418, 2010 WL 2232657 (S.D. Fla. June 2, 2010), was whether the South-Florida based artist retained rights to the content of his work product “Wavin’ Flag” – originally performed in English by the artist K’naan – in translating and producing the song. As a Miami-based trademark and

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Photographer Sued Over Photo of Statue: Copyright Infringement? – Florida Patent Lawyer Blog

Written by Mark Terry    In 2008, photographer Mike Hipple took a photo of a famous sculpture by Jack Mackie in Seattle. The photo at issue was sold to a stock photo company subsequently used in its for-pay catalog. As a Miami Copyright Attorney, this case interests me because it brings up subtle copyright issues. This not an issue of direct copyright infringement. The copyright in the sculpture is directed to a 3D work of art. The photographer did not make a 3D copy of the sculpture. Instead, the photographer made a 2D derivative work of the sculpture. Thus, if there

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U.S. Copyright Protection for Architectural Works and Constructed Buildings – Florida Patent Lawyer Blog

Written by Mark Terry    Can you protect architectural drawings and constructed buildings using copyrights? As a Miami Copyright Attorney with an active copyright docket, this is a question I’ve been asked more than once. Generally the answer is yes. An original design of a building created in any tangible medium of expression, including a constructed building or architectural plans, models, or drawings, is subject to copyright protection as an “architectural work” under 17 U.S.C. §102 of the Copyright Act. Protection extends to the overall form as well as the arrangement and composition of spaces and elements in the design but does not include

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