Copyright in the News: Dinosaurs and Leprechauns

 

Poison Face Copyright Lawsuit – Noisecreep http://aol.it/vxAXU5  Glam metal heroes Poison are being sued for copyright infringement. The suit comes from Billy McCarthy and James Stonich and dates all the way back to the ’80s.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit was filed Oct. 19th in Illinois federal court. Talk about Laches, nothing like waiting thirty years to bring suit.

 

Judge Orders Talks in Montana Dinosaur Dispute http://bit.ly/t8LxDp Attorneys say the case is the first of its kind involving a copyright fight over dinosaur castings _ fossil replicas often used in museum displays. It pits a South Dakota research company against a Montana nonprofit that allegedly made unauthorized copies of castings from two t-rexes, dubbed Stan and Sue.  Funny the article does not mention that these castings were registered with the copyright office. Probably because they would have been laughed all the way to the exit doors.

 

Universal Uses Copyright To Censor Bad Lip Reading Parody; Why Not Embrace It? | Techdirt http://bit.ly/sENHio Just goes to show that although parody is specifically excepted from copyright infringement, it won’t slow down censorship.

PROTECT IP Act (Internet Blacklist Bill) Could Kill iCloud http://bit.ly/saqc8R

J&J, Notre Dame, Prada, Louboutin: Intellectual Property – Businessweek http://buswk.co/vgXvmh EU authority said it’s probing contractual arrangements between J&J and Novartis that may have had the “object or effect of hindering entry” of the generic drug onto the Dutch market. Paying a competitor in an attempt to restrict generic drugs once the patent expires. Sweet.   The University of Notre Dame has told a Kansas high school to quit using the leprechaun logo associated with its “Fighting Irish” football team, the South Bend Tribune reported.  This will be the fourth school the Golden Domers will have gone after.  Really? Are these schools really eating into your profit margin with their t-shirt sales? Maybe if you lay off, some of the bad karma apparently affecting the football program will dissipate. They really didn’t know the difference between a lateral and a forward pass?