Many fans enjoy creating original artwork based on their favorite books, TV shows, movies, and musicals. This might include drawings, t-shirt designs, posters, jewelry, and other items featuring popular characters, figures, costumes, or scenery whose copyright is owned by someone else. While fans may think that their creations are wholly original and do not constitute...Read More

Fair and Foul in Tech and Copyright What’s in this article… What is Fair Use?Practical Analysis of Fair UseConflicts With Fair Use and DMCACan You Know For Sure That You Are Covered By “Fair Use” In a world of bustling creativity and a thriving technology industry, it is essential for businesses and startup companies to...Read More

When is it Ok to Use Another’s Artwork? Use Another’s Artwork? – Today we take a look at the case of Seltzer v. Green Day and examine the circumstances under which one may use the creative works of another person. The major issue in the case was fair use of copyrighted material – in this...Read More

Fair Use of Descriptive Marks Fair Use – Today we take a look at the fair use defense to allegations of trademark infringement.  Beware!  The fair use defense in trademarks is quite different from its more notorious cousin, the fair use defense in copyright actions.  In a previous post we looked at Zatarain’s v. Oak Grove Smokehouse to...Read More