A New Path Forward in Art Restitution
A recent deal signals a move away from the court system when it comes to art restitution. Negotiations between Leonard Stern, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Greek government…
The Fifth Circuit vs. The First Amendment
On September 16th, the Fifth Circuit sent legal experts and tech workers into a furor with a ruling radical even by the standards of a court known for its conservative…
Worries About the Propertization of Color
Trademarks come in a variety of forms. Indeed, trademark protection is not restricted to verbal marks like “Coca-Cola” and “Apple” but extends to an array of non-verbal source identifiers. Among…
The Spectacle of Entertainment Law: A New Courtroom Drama
Our infatuation with high-profile celebrity trials is not a new phenomenon. Approximately 150 million people watched as O.J. Simpson was tried for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson,…
How an Art Collective’s Gimmicks Could Clarify the Boundary Between First Amendment Rights and Trademark Protections
Despite the two lawsuits recently brought against MSCHF, the brand isn’t too worried about being sued. The art collective aptly pronounced “Mischief” approaches lawsuits as it does everything, from its…
The Art of Sampling and Copyright Infringement: How Do We Strike a Balance Between the Two?
In 2015, a unanimous jury found that the 2013 hit single ‘Blurred Lines’ had infringed upon copyrighted elements of Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song ‘Got to Give it Up’ and ordered…
The Intellectual Property Implications of AI-Generated Images
AI-generated imagery is taking the world by storm. Consumer-facing AI systems such DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney are able to near-instantly generate impressive visual works based on textual prompts.…
How Four Tet’s Lawsuit Against his Former Record Label Could Help Artists Escape Antiquated Streaming Royalty Provisions
Kieran Hebden, the English producer known as Four Tet, has been a major presence in electronic music over the last two decades. In the early 2000s, he began to attract…
Phonorecords IV: Better Than Before, but Still Not Enough
Music publishing executives greeted the August 31st announcement from the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), and Digital Media Association (DiMA) with triumph and optimism. The…
The Food Microbiome as Traditional Knowledge
Jacob Golan* Download a PDF version of this article here. Introduction I. Scientific and Legal Boundaries of Fermented Foods’ Microbiome A. Issues with Defining “Microbes” and “Fermentation” B. Disentangling Biogeography…