Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
Copyright Exemption to fix McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines
I came across an interesting story regarding a copyright issue and McDonald’s ice cream machines: https://ktla.com/news/consumer-business/mcdonalds-restaurants-find-solution-for-infamous-broken-ice-cream-machine-issues McDonald’s ice cream machines are notorious for frequently being out of service. These machines are exclusively supplied by Taylor Company, which previously held the sole copyright and the exclusive right to repair them. This restricted McDonald’s franchisees and other […]
Qualcomm may no Longer be Allowed to use ARM IP to Design CPUs
Qualcomm is an American company that designs CPUs. ARM is a British company that licenses off-the-shelf CPU core designs to other manufacturers. Unlike the x86 architecture designed by Intel that is featured in virtually all modern desktops and laptops, ARM-based CPU designs are low power and are widely used in smartphones, cars, and the burgeoning […]
Tossing a (Bit)coin: UK Court Rejects Dr. Craig Wright’s Claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, But What’s Next?
Back in March this year, the High Court of Justice in the UK dismissed the claim by Dr. Craig Wright, a computer scientist and businessman from Australia, that he is the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, the unrevealed mastermind behind Bitcoin. Justice Mellor, in the decision issued on May 20, found that Dr. Wright did not write […]
Temu: Selling “Exact Copies” of Independent Designers’ Creations
I recently read an interesting article about Temu, an online retail platform known for copying the works of independent designers and selling them at a very low cost. The article highlights the challenges these designers face in seeking justice, shedding light on the feelings of powerlessness many experience when their work is replicated by a […]
News Publishers sue AI search engine Perplexity for copyright infringement
Came across another example today of news publishers suing AI for copyright infringement. The Wall Street Journal and New York Post sue AI search engine Perplexity accusing Perplexity of copying copyrighted news and using it to generate responses to users’ queries. The article notes how it is among other actions taken against Perplexity by news […]
The Blind Side: Fact or Copyrightable?
I came across a New York Times Daily podcast about the movie “The Blind Side” that reminded me of a discussion from class a few weeks ago. The podcast (and the NYT article it is based on) provides the perspective of Michael Oher, whose “story” is told in “The Blind Side”. Currently, Oher is pursuing a […]
Narrowing the Scope of Patent Protection for Waterslide Features: A Slippery Slope?
Introduction As a fan of all varieties of theme parks and water parks, this article from McMillan summarizing a case on the scope of patent protection for waterslide features immediately caught my attention. Section 42 of the Patent Act Under s. 42 of the Patent Act, the granting of a patent to a patentee confers […]