Tag Archives: copyright laws

UK Producers: DeSantis Stole Our Footage For His Ad

Variety reports: After Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign shared a bizarre and wildly homophobic video that includes footage of Cillian Murphy’s character in “Peaky Blinders,” the team behind the British crime drama has denounced the video, adding that the footage of the show was “obtained without permission or official license.” The video, shared by DeSantis’ campaign on Twitter, slams rival 2024 …

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Twitter Hit With $250 Million Music Copyright Lawsuit

Variety reports: The National Music Publishers Assn., acting on behalf of 17 major music publishers, is filing a federal copyright infringement lawsuit against Twitter for its failure to license and pay for the music widely available on its platform. The complaint seeks more than $250 million in damages for hundreds of thousands of noticed infringements of approximately 1,700 works. “Twitter …

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9M Watched Pirated “Super Mario” Movie On Twitter

Forbes reports: If you were wondering what getting rid of the vast majority of Twitter staff, including moderators, might do to the site, here’s one bit of anarchy for you. After attempting something similar a few days ago, the account “vids that go hard” with 1.1 million followers has posted the entirety of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, yes the …

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MTG Forced To Take Down Clip Using Dr. Dre’s Music

TMZ reports: Turns out, Dr. Dre’s team took action — reaching out to Twitter to get the video taken down. As a result, Marjorie Taylor Greene tells us she’s been locked out of her Twitter account for using Dre’s copyrighted work without permission. MTG also has some words of her own for Dr. Dre, in an exclusive statement to TMZ, …

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SCOTUS To Hear Jack Daniels Vs Squeaky Dog Toy Case

Axios reports: The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a dispute between Jack Daniel’s and a dog toy company that sells chewable “Bad Spaniels” whiskey bottles. The case carries implications for trademark law — and a number of companies, like Levi Strauss and the makers of Campbell Soup, have filed amicus briefs on the topic. Jack Daniel’s asked the Supreme …

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Trump Loses Bid To Dismiss Lawsuit Over Song Usage

Complete Music reports: A judge in New York has declined to dismiss Eddy Grant’s copyright infringement lawsuit against Donald Trump over the use of the former’s track ‘Electric Avenue’ in one of the latter’s campaign videos last year. Team Trump claimed that their use of the song was ‘transformative’ and therefore covered by the ‘fair use’ principle in US copyright …

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Eric Idle Vows To Sue GOP Over Monty Python Song

The Hill reports: English actor and comedian Eric Idle on Friday threatened to sue the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) for using a Monty Python song in a political attack ad released Tuesday. Idle, a member of legendary British comedy group, tweeted that the congressional committee had “stolen” Monty Python’s “Lumberjack Song” in an ad criticizing Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne …

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Parents Sue Trump For Doctored “Racist Baby” Video

The Wrap reports: The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, said that Trump, his campaign and Logan Cook, a pro-Trump meme maker known as Carpe Donktum online who created the doctored video, behaved in a manner that was “extreme, shocking and outrageous” and “beyond the bounds of decency.” The suit also said that Trump, in sharing the manipulated video, …

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Trump Sued Over Use Of 80s Hit “Electric Avenue”

The New York Post reports: The musician who wrote reggae classic “Electric Avenue” sued President Trump for copyright infringement for using the song in a Twitter video that bashed Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Songwriter Eddy Grant filed the suit in Manhattan federal court Tuesday, claiming he has suffered and will continue to suffer if the video continues to spread across …

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Leonard Cohen’s Estate May Sue Over RNC’s Use Of His Song Hallelujah: They Asked Us And We Told Them No

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Leonard Cohen’s estate have issued a statement, along with music publisher Sony, regarding the unauthorized use of the late singer’s song “Hallelujah” at the Republican National Convention. The song was used without permission during two performances, says the estate, and as a result Cohen’s estate is exploring legal action. “We are surprised and dismayed that the …

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Iowa Paper Blasts Trump Campaign For Unauthorized And “Manipulated” Use Of Their Photo To Attack Biden

The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports: A new ad from President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign uses a manipulated version of a news photo taken in Coralville by a Gazette photographer to falsely say it shows presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden hiding in his Delaware basement. The image, which was used without The Gazette’s permission, was taken by Photo Editor Liz …

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Neil Young Sues Trump For Copyright Infringement

Law & Crime reports: Canadian-American folk rock artist Neil Young filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in federal court on Tuesday over the unauthorized use of two of his songs at a recent campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “This complaint is not intended to disrespect the rights and opinions of American citizens, who are free …

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Another Trump Ad Booted For Copyright Infringment

Yahoo Entertainment reports: Linkin Park fans were furious Saturday, when President Trump retweeted a fan-made re-election campaign ad that used the alternative rock band’s music — noting that late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington was vehemently anti-Trump and had believed that the president was “a greater threat to the USA than terrorism.” The controversial two-minute video in question — which …

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Twitter Zaps Trump Meme For Copyright Violations

Axios reports: Twitter has removed a picture from a tweet by President Trump on Tuesday after it received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaint from the New York Times, which owns the rights to the photo. Why it matters: This is the second time in two weeks that Twitter has had to take down content from Trump’s account due …

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Rolling Stones Threaten To Sue Trump Over Song Use

The Associated Press reports: The Rolling Stones are threatening President Donald Trump with legal action for using their songs at his rallies despite cease-and-desist directives. The Stones said in a statement Sunday that their legal team is working with music rights organization BMI to stop use of their material in Trump’s reelection campaign. “The BMI have notified the Trump campaign …

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Tom Petty Estate Demands Trump Stop Using His Song: He Wouldn’t Want His Song Used For “Hate Campaign”

The Guardian reports: The family of Tom Petty has issued a formal cease and desist letter to the Donald Trump campaign over its use of his song I Won’t Back Down at a rally in Tulsa on 20 June. In a statement posted on Twitter, Adria, Annakim, Dana and Jane Petty said the US president was “in no way authorised …

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Twitter Zaps Trump’s George Floyd Clip Over Copyright

ABC News reports: Twitter has blocked a Trump campaign video tribute to George Floyd over a copyright claim, in a move that adds to tensions between the social media platform and the U.S. president, one of its most widely followed users. The company put a label on a video posted by the @TeamTrump account that said, “This media has been …

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Space Force Logo Boldly Goes To Copyright Violation

CNN reports: President Donald Trump unveiled the new US Space Force logo on Friday — which seems to boldly go where one logo has gone before. Trump posted an image on Twitter of the insignia for the newest branch of the US military, drawing immediate comparisons of the new logo to the “Star Trek” Starfleet Starship duty insignia. A Space …

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Twitter Boots Another Trump Clip Over Copyrights

Buzzfeed News reports: The publisher of rock legends Queen forced President Trump to take down a campaign video that used “We Will Rock You” as its soundtrack. The video, featuring Trump speaking to supporters at rallies, was posted on Oct. 9, and it used the song in its entirety. At that time, a representative for the band told BuzzFeed News …

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Trump Camp Blames CNN For Booted “Batman” Clip

Mediaite reports: After President Donald Trump shared 2020 campaign video that used The Dark Knight Rises‘ soundtrack without permission, Warner Bros. had the video taken down — and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale is blaming CNN’s connection to AT&T for the removal. CNN is owned by WarnerMedia News & Sports, which is owned by AT&T, which also owns the Warner …

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