Copyright Trolls Update

A previous article discussed how Getty Images, Inc. and other image licensing companies routinely send out demand letters claiming copyright infringement based on a one-time or accidental use of an image in a blog or other online forum.     If you are the recipient of such a letter, the first thing to check is…

Bloggers Beware – Copyright Trolls on the Prowl

Certain large companies, including Getty Images , routinely send out demand letters claiming copyright infringement based on a one-time or accidental use of an image that Getty Images claims is protected by copyright.  However, the actual validity of alleged infringement is rarely, if ever, tested in court.  Getty Images seems to have perfected the “price…

Copyright Protection May Be Available for Professional Engineering Plans

Professional engineers (PEs) often work as consultants, rather than employees.  If a PE is an employee, then his or her work product will most likely be owned by the employer.  If the PE is working as a consultant, there may be a question of who owns the plans. Often PEs think that their PE stamp…

Good News for Yoga Practitioners and Speech Advocates — Bikram not entitled to copyright his Sequence

On October 8, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California affirmed a previous ruling by a federal district court that Bikram Choudhury’s sequence of 26 yoga poses is not entitled to copyright protection. The court held that the poses represent an idea or system, neither of which may be protected by copyright. The court…