Copyrights, Trademarks, AI and More on Entertainment Law Update Podcast
The latest Entertainment Law Update Podcast with music lawyer Tamera Bennett and film attorney Gordon Firemark covers the biggest headlines in copyright, trademark, and entertainment law—from McGucken v. Valnet on embedding images, to Thaler v. Perlmutter on AI authorship, Stone v. Carey on copyright infringement, Shuster v. DC Comics on copyright grant terminations outside the United States, and more.
McGucken v. Valnet, Inc. – Cert Denied
The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in McGucken v. Valnet, Inc., No. 24-1040.
The case challenged the "server test" established in Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007), which holds that embedding images does not constitute copyright infringement if the images are not stored on the server of the embedding site.
Duke University Objects to Use of Trademark in White Lotus
In White Lotus Season 3, a character wore a Duke University sweatshirt in a scene involving suicidal ideation.
Duke University contacted HBO to object, suggesting that the use of its trademarks in that context was potentially damaging.
The issue implicates the Rogers v. Grimaldi test for expressive works.
Read more about the history of Rogers v. Grimaldi here.
Stone v. Carey – Lawsuit Dismissed Again
In Andy Stone v. Mariah Carey, No. 2:22-cv-08789-FMO-PVC (C.D. Cal.), the court granted summary judgment to defendants Carey, Sony Music, and co-writer Walter Afanasieff.
Stone alleged copyright infringement based on similarities between his 1989 song and Carey’s 1994 song “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Thaler v. Perlmutter – Human Authorship Requirement Affirmed
In Thaler v. Perlmutter, No. 1:22-cv-01564 (D.D.C.), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed that a work must be authored by a human to qualify for copyright.
Stephen Thaler had attempted to register a work generated by an AI system, the “Creativity Machine,” listing the machine as the sole author.
Robinson v. Binello (Roblox) – Infringement Claims Move Forward
In Robinson v. Binello, No. 1:22-cv-00973 (S.D.N.Y.), the plaintiff alleged that a sound recording of Maple Leaf Rag was uploaded to Roblox without authorization.
The court allowed claims for direct and vicarious copyright infringement of the sound recording to proceed, based on allegations the Roblox team used human review and approval of the content.
The court dismissed the contributory infringement claim.
Sexton v. Apple Studios – Anti-SLAPP Motion Granted
In Sexton v. Apple Studios, LLC, No. 22STCV31106 (Cal. Super. Ct., L.A. Cty.), the court granted Apple’s motion to strike under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
Actor Brent Sexton alleged he was dropped from a project for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
The court determined that Apple’s casting decision was an act in furtherance of free speech, contributing to public discourse on both the Covid 19 pandemic and the creative retailing of the character Sexton was initially cased to portray: President Andrew Johnson.
Shuster Estate v. DC Comics – Suit Dismissed for Lack of subject Jurisdiction
In Marc Toberoff, Trustee of the Joseph Shuster Trust v. DC Comics et al., No. 1:23-cv-03206 (S.D.N.Y.), the court dismissed claims that British copyright law had reverted international rights to Superman.
Shuster’s estate contended that under British law—where copyrights revert 25 years after the author’s death—Superman’s rights returned to them in 2017, and that Warner failed to pay royalties for use of the character in territories such as the U.K., Canada, Australia, India, Israel and Ireland.The dismissal was based on lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction.
The case has since been refiled in New York state court.
UMG v. Anthropic – Preliminary Injunction Denied
In UMG Recordings, Inc. et al. v. Anthropic PBC, No. 3:23-cv-01092 (M.D. Tenn.), the court denied a motion for preliminary injunction.
The federal judge rejected a request from Universal Music Group and other music publishers to block AI company Anthropic from using song lyrics to train its AI models. The court cited the publisher (UMG) had failed to demonstrate “irreparable harm” which is a prerequisite for an injunction.
These cases and much more on this Episode of Entertainment Law Update with inherited copyright lawyer Tamera Bennett and film, TV, and podcast lawyer Gordon Firemark.
