Tag Archives: copyright laws

Politico reports: President Donald Trump continued a firing spree at the Library of Congress on Saturday when he dismissed the top copyright official in the nation — a position traditionally overseen by the legislative branch. The White House contacted Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter Saturday afternoon informing her that her job leading the U.S. Copyright Office had been “terminated,” according …

CNN Business reports: KFC accused Church’s Texas Chicken of violating its trademark rights when its fried chicken competitor began using the words “Original Recipe” in its advertising and promotions. KFC claimed in a lawsuit that beginning September 30, it noticed Church’s “abruptly” began using the phrase and ignored KFC’s October 24 letter objecting to the ads. In the disputed promotions, …

Posted to Little Feat’s social media accounts: It has come to Little Feat’s attention that Donald Trump’s Campaign has been using the song “Let it Roll” at some of his campaign rallies. In no way is this use authorized. Little Feat does not endorse his campaign. If needed, legal action will be taken. Please get out and VOTE! The single …

Billboard Magazine reports: The White Stripes have filed a copyright lawsuit against Donald Trump for using “Seven Nation Army” in a social media post, making good on threats to sue the Republican presidential candidate. In a complaint filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, Jack White and Meg White accused Trump and his campaign of “flagrant misappropriation” of one of the …

CNN reports: A federal judge has ruled former President Donald Trump and his campaign must pause on using the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.” The decision came after the estate of the late R&B artist and songwriter Isaac Hayes sought an emergency injunction to stop the Trump campaign from using the song at campaign events, alleging the campaign does not …

Politico Europe reports: Is this Trump’s Waterloo? Legendary Swedish pop group ABBA on Thursday demanded that former U.S. President Donald Trump stop playing their hits at his election campaign rallies. “We, together with the members of [ABBA], have discovered that videos have been released where Abba’s music has been used at Trump’s events and have requested that such use be …

The Associated Press reports: The Beastie Boys are suing the parent company of Chili’s in a case that accuses the chain restaurant of running an advertisement that used the hip-hop trio’s smash hit “Sabotage” without permission. The rap group, in a federal case filed Wednesday in New York, alleged Brinker International created a Chili’s ad that used significant portions of …

Rolling Stone reports: The dispute tied to Cher’s suit goes back many years. When she and Sonny settled their divorce in 1978, it was determined that Cher was entitled to a 50 percent stake in the Sonny & Cher publishing catalog. After Sonny died in 1998, Cher and Bono’s heirs entered a partnership over the songs. But in 2016, Mary …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …