Why Are Songwriters Suing the Justice Department?
In today’s digital environment, recorded music is more accessible now than ever before. Through online music streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes radio, users have all of the…
Chasing YouTube: How Europe Plans to Hold Web Platforms Accountable
As the Internet gravitates toward social media and viral content, claims of ownership over online content become more and more difficult to enforce. Songs and music videos are posted illegally…
Fashion Copyright and the Muddling of the Useful Articles Doctrine
“The law in this area is a mess—and it has been for a long time.” Such was the dissent’s blunt assessment of the state of copyright law as applied to…
The Companies Behind the #WTFU
If you follow vloggers like Nostalgia Critic or Honest Trailers, you might be familiar with the hashtag #WTFU. No, it’s not an acronym for a rude phrase—it stands for “Where…
Copyright: The Right Move?
Whether it is General Zod, The Eradicator, or Lex Luther, no force has ever been able to defeat Superman. But over the past seventy years, there has been a force…
Copyright of Meme-Saturated, Appropriation Culture
In November 2015, a Twitter user by the name of @updog7 scanned and posted every page of Josh Ostrovsky’s (@thefatjewish) book, Money Pizza Respect, on Twitter. Updog7 does not appear to…
A Conversation With David Shields
David Shields is the bestselling author of twenty books, including The Thing About Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead, and Reality Hunger: A Manifesto, which was named one of…
Baby Blue: A Bluebook Compatible Citation System in the Public Domain
The Bluebook describes itself as a “unique system of citation” on which “generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied.” One NYU Law professor is…
Instagram Deleted User Accounts for Posting Photos and Video Clips from Janet Jackson’s Tour
On October 20th, the New York Post reported that Instagram deleted accounts of individuals who posted videos and photographs of Janet Jackson’s live performances to the social networking application. Apparently,…
You Used to Copy Me in Your Videos
Drake’s recent music video for his song “Hotline Bling” is of note for more than the exceptional dance moves Drake displays therein. A mere three days after the video was…