Kickstarter has become a great way for game designers to get their products made. In terms of total dollars raised, games are Kickstarter’s most successful category (Kickstarter is nice enough to make some interesting stats available here.) Game designers can now appeal directly to fans and give them what they want. And often, what fans want is something kind of like what they already enjoy. That’s how intellectual property lawsuits are born, folks. In the latest example, Wizards of the Coast (publishers of Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons) have filed suit against Cryptozoic Entertainment and Hex Entertainment for…
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Archives: Copyrights
Copyright: What is Fair Use?
April 29, 2014
This is the fourth in an ongoing series of presentations that I’m preparing on the fundamentals of intellectual property, entertainment, business, and social media law. This presentation will provide an overview of copyright Fair Use in the United States. The previous three presentations in this series were “What Is a Trademark?”, “How Do I Choose a Strong Trademark?”, and “What Is a Copyright?”
George W. Bush – Copyright Infringer?
April 15, 2014
George W. Bush – Copyright Infringer? A copyright controversy has erupted over the noted painter and former baseball team owner George W. Bush. It appears as though his portraits of current and former world leaders are all based on pre-existing images found through Google searches. Has the ex-President committed copyright infringement, and is his work protected under the defense of fair use?
Copyright Fair Use: Can I Use a Politician’s Headshot in a Political Blog?
April 1, 2014
Copyright Fair Use: Can I Use a Politician’s Headshot in a Political Blog? I’ve talked about copyright fair use often on this blog, but I haven’t had many opportunities to talk about it in the context of political speech. Generally speaking, political speech is afforded the highest level of protection under the First Amendment. Accordingly, when a fair use defense is asserted in a copyright infringement case, the political nature of the alleged infringer’s publication will be taken into account. So what does this mean for political blogs when it comes to politicians’ headshots?
