Home » 2016 » July

This is Why You Have an Editor: Politics, Plagiarism, and Copyright

The inescapable world of U.S. politics, especially in an election year, consistently offers much legal debate. Somewhat less often, politicians and their entourages accidentally wade into the domain of intellectual property law. Politicians have famously gotten themselves into controversies by using musical works without the artists’ permission (though, without strong moral rights in the U.S., […]

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make (Your Own) Lemonade: Beyoncé Sued for Her Latest Album Trailer

Beyoncé’s Lemonade left a sour taste in at least one person’s mouth. Matthew Fulks, a Louisville-based filmmaker and creative director at the WDRB Kentucky news station, is taking the singer to court for copyright infringement. The plaintiff claims that Lemonade, Beyoncé’s trailer for her latest album, copies “visual and sonic elements” from his short-film “Palinoia.”

Federal Privacy Commissioner Provides Submission on New Data Breach Notification and Reporting Regulations

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting agreement with CyberLex. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC“) has provided its views on the data breach reporting and notification requirements that are soon to be prescribed by regulation under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5 (“PIPEDA“).

4th Circuit Appeals Court Rules No Warrant Needed for Suspects’ Cell-Site Location Data

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. On May 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, in a 12-3 decision ruled that a warrant is not needed to obtain suspects’ cell-site location information held by carriers, meaning that a court […]

Stairway to Infringement

Intro: “The Hook” This summer, an American jury found that “Stairway to Heaven” [hereafter Stairway] rockers Led Zeppelin did not infringe the song “Taurus” [hereafter Taurus], performed by the band Spirit. The plaintiff, Randy Wolfe—or rather, a trustee for the trust which owns the late Wolfe’s copyright—was Spirit’s songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, and the copyright […]

Privacy Commissioner Seeks Public Input on Consent Model

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting agreement with CyberLex. On May 11, 2016, Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien announced the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) would seek public input on the issue of how Canadians can give meaningful consent to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information […]

Maltz v Witterick: Facing the Facts on Copyright Protection for Historic Events

During the Holocaust, a Polish Catholic single mother, Francizska Halamajowa, secreted 15 Jews away from the Nazis. Two families hid for years in the hay loft of her pigsty, while another family lived under the floor in her kitchen. She also hid a deserter from the German army in her attic. To evade suspicion, she […]

Re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation

Canadian users of Facebook may be familiar with the process of “tagging” photos – adding the names of the people to images – but they may not be familiar with the ‘Tag Suggestion’ feature on Facebook. Tag Suggestions, which automatically scans photos uploaded to the social media site in an attempt to identify for the […]