Author Archives: rtushnet

Is it in the public domain? Find out here

Posted on June 10, 2014 by rtushnet

The Samuelson Clinic releases “Is it in the Public Domain?” handbook: a handy, if sadly complicated, manual and flowcharts. “The handbook walks readers though a series of questions—illustrated by accompanying charts—to help readers explore whether a copyrighted work from that … Continue reading →

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Copyright Society: fan productions

Posted on June 9, 2014 by rtushnet

Crowd-Sourced Editorial Content and Fan Productions [Note: this is accidentally on purpose the perfect encapsulation of the move to monetize fandom: Four dudes sitting on a panel and telling me the history of fan fiction.] Moderator: Jay Kogan, DC Entertainment … Continue reading →

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Copyright Society: international developments

Posted on June 9, 2014 by rtushnet

International Copyright Developments Moderator: Robert Brauneis, George Washington University Law School Covering not the world, but focusing on certain important areas. Also focused on new rights/limitations rather than issues of jurisdiction and procedure.  Tomorrow: event on Marrakesh Treaty at AU—come! … Continue reading →

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Copyright Society: transformative use (herein mainly of Google)

Posted on June 9, 2014 by rtushnet

Transformation of Transformative Use           Moderator: Julie Ahrens, Stanford Fair Use Project Mass digitization: at the start of the litigation Google seemed bold, but after 8 years the result was less surprising, at least to some, since digitization is so valuable/expected. … Continue reading →

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Copyright Society meeting: Maria Pallante

Posted on June 9, 2014 by rtushnet

Copyright Society of the USA Annual Meeting [self-promotion: I’m here to pick up an award for Performance Anxiety.] The View from the Copyright Office Maria A. Pallante, Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office Petrella and Aereo through the perspective of … Continue reading →

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meaningless numbers aren’t advertising

Posted on June 5, 2014 by rtushnet

MGM Resorts Intern. v. Pacific Pillows, LLC, 2014 WL 2434628, No. 2:13–CV–1404 (D. Nev. May 28, 2014) Pacific Pillows lets consumers buy bedding products that are used in various hotels including several hotels owned by MGM. Its website allows people … Continue reading →

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(pot)head of liability: Hershey’s sues marijuana candy producer

Posted on June 5, 2014 by rtushnet

Here’s the story.  I’ve been waiting for this for years, ever since a NYT story that included similar illustrations.  As with e-cigarettes, an unregulated field full of small players tends to have a lot of playing fast and loose with … Continue reading →

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unregistrable means unprotectable by sec. 43 as well

Posted on June 4, 2014 by rtushnet

Renna v. County of Union, N.J., 2014 WL 2435775, No. 2:11–3328 (D.N.J. May 29, 2014) This is a well-written opinion whose legal conclusions are in part obvious but nice to have down in print and in part quite striking: I … Continue reading →

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a twist on substantiation claims in consumer protection cases

Posted on May 30, 2014 by rtushnet

In re Bayer Heathcare and Merial Ltd. Flea Control Prods., — F.3d —-, 2014 WL 2209024 (6thCir. May 29, 2014) In this multidistrict litigation, the district court dismissed the claims after limited discovery, and the court of appeals affirmed.  Defendants … Continue reading →

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Regression analysis is a plaintiff’s best friend

Posted on May 29, 2014 by rtushnet

Werdebaugh v. Blue Diamond Growers, 2014 WL 2191901,  No. 12–CV–2724 (N.D. Cal. May 23, 2014) I’m going to try, with probably limited success, to summarize results rather than reasoning for most of this consumer class action case in which certification … Continue reading →

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