Category Archives: Copyright Law

A Spooky Copyright Decision for Producers of Friday the 13th Franchise



As Scott Hervey mentioned on the IP Law Blog, a much-anticipated copyright reversion case involving the slasher franchise, Friday the 13th was decided. In this episode of the Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott and Josh Escovedo dive deeper into the lawsuit.

Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here.

Read more about the case on the IP Law Blog, here.


Don’t Scream: Copyright Infringement Case Finds for “Scary Terry” Rozier



In this episode of the Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a copyright dispute between professional basketball player Terry Rozier III and holiday product manufacturer, Easter Unlimited, over his use of the iconic ghost mask from the horror film, “Scream.”

Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here.


Dealmaking Pitfalls in NCAA’s New NIL Policy



In this week’s episode of The Briefing by the IP Law BlogScott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the NCAA’s recent policy change which allows college athletes to monetize their NIL, as well as potential downsides to the new policy.

Watch the full episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here.


Tattoos, Videogames, and Lawsuits: Who Owns the Copyright on Athletic Ink?



In this week’s episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss lawsuits over identifiable tattoos on professional athletes featured in video games, and who owns the copyright to body art.

Watch the video version of this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here.

Continue reading Tattoos, Videogames, and Lawsuits: Who Owns the Copyright on Athletic Ink?


Dr. Seuss Sets Photon Torpedoes on Star Trek Mashup in 9th Circuit Appeal (Part One, Copyright)



In this week’s episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the Ninth Circuit ruling on the copyright aspects of Dr. Seuss “Mashups.”

Watch the video of this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here.

Listen to part two of this topic here.

Watch part two of this topic here.

Cases discussed:

  • Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Penguin Books USA
  • Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Comic Mix LLC

Don’t Film So Close to Me: Can Copyrighted Music Keep Vids of Police Encounters Off The Internet?



In this week’s episode of the Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss recent news stories reporting that police officers played copyrighted music during filmed encounters, ostensibly to keep the videos from being uploaded to the Internet. Scott and Josh discuss how copyright law, the DMCA, and fair use apply to this tactic.

Watch the video of this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here.

Scott’s article on this topic on the IP Law Blog can be read here.

Case discussed: Lenz v. Universal Music Group


Space Erotica Flick Not Infringed by Black Mirror



This week on the Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the copyright lawsuit over a Black Mirror episode starring Miley Cyrus, the plot of which filmmaker Geoffrey Blair Hajim said was lifted from his film Strange Frame: Love and Sax.

Watch the episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here.


Andy Warhol’s Prince Prints: Not Fair Use!? (Part Two)



In this week’s episode, attorneys Josh Escovedo and Scott Hervey discuss an update to the litigation over Andy Warhol’s series of portraits of the artist Prince (Andy Warhol Foundation v Goldsmith). They provide a recap of last week’s episode, which covers the Second Circuit decision in favor of Goldsmith, the photographer whose image Warhol used to create the Prince Portraits, and the holding that Warhol’s renditions were not transformative enough to be fair use. That decision overturned a lower court decision in favor of the Warhol Foundation.

This week, Scott and Josh discuss the possible impact of the Supreme Court fair use decision in Google LLC v Oracle America, Inc., including the Andy Warhol Foundation’s petition to the Second Circuit for review of the Goldsmith decision.

Watch the video version of this episode on the  Weintraub YouTube channel, here.

Listen to part one of this topic, here.

Watch part one of this topic, here.


Andy Warhol’s Prince Prints: Not Fair Use!? (Part One)



In this week’s episode, attorneys Josh Escovedo and Scott Hervey discuss the litigation over Andy Warhol’s series of portraits of the artist Prince (Andy Warhol Foundation v Goldsmith). Their discussion covers the Second Circuit decision in favor of Goldsmith, the photographer whose image Warhol used to create the Prince Portraits, and the holding that Warhol’s renditions were not transformative enough to be fair use. The decision overturned a lower court decision in favor of the Warhol Foundation.

Production Note: This episode includes a discussion of the high-profile litigation between the artist Shepard Fairey and the Associated Press over Fairey’s iconic “Hope” poster of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. Throughout the episode, Scott and Josh mispronounce Fairey’s last name as “Farley.” They offer apologies to listeners and to the artist.

Watch a video version of this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here.

Listen to part two of this topic here.

Watch part two of this topic here.