The law of copyrights is relevant to
anyone who is a creator or user of creative works. Traditional
copyright rules have been challenged by the evolution of
digital media and the Internet, which render simple and
universal the copying, dissemination, and alteration of
creative works. Interpreting these rules in today's digital
environment- and in appropriate cases bringing creative
legal challenges to them - is at the heart of the firm's
practice.
- Filing numerous amicus briefs for national library and educational associations in the U.S. Supreme Court and courts of appeal cases. Briefs were filed in the following cases: The New York Times Company, Inc. v. Tasini , 533 U.S. 483 (2001) ( brief in support of authors when their articles are republished in electronic databases without prior approval or compensation); National Geographic Society v. Greenberg , 534 U.S. 951 (2001) , Faulkner v. National Geographic Society , 409 F.3d 26 (2d Cir. 2005), Greenberg v. National Geographic Society , 244 F.3d 1267 (11th Cir. 2001), and Greenberg v. National Geographic, No. 05-16964-JJ (11 th Cir. filed June 6, 2006) ( Supreme Court 2001 brief , Supreme Court 2005 brief , Second Circuit 2004 brief and Eleventh Circuit 2006 brief , in support of National Geographic Society's right to create a CD-Rom version of 100 years of magazine publications in the face of a copyright challenge by freelance photographers); and Eldred v. Ashcroft , 537 U.S. 186 (2003) ( brief supporting the challenge to the constitutionality of the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act). The firm also filed an amicus brief on behalf of two noted economists concerning peer-to-peer file sharing in the landmark case of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd . , 125 S. Ct. 2764 (2005).
- Handling, on behalf of television programmers, complex Copyright
Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) proceedings before the
Library of Congress, in which millions of dollars in cable
and satellite royalties are at stake each year.
- Defending a software company's right to distribute its innovative
DVD backup and restoration software and advancing the public's
fair use rights in
the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit
federal court and in the Copyright Office's
second triennial rulemaking proceeding under Section 1201
of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. The company fought
to establish that consumers may decrypt scrambled content
on a lawfully-acquired DVD in order to repair or make a
personal backup copy of that DVD, and that it may lawfully
distribute software designed to enable that activity.
- Developing, in conjunction with another law firm, the strategy
that successfully defended a client's delivery of Internet
"pop-up" ads as part of its innovative contextual marketing
program. In defeating claims that our client's practices
infringed copyright in certain commercial websites, we successfully
advanced the principle that individual consumers are entitled
to control their experience of copyrighted web pages on
their own desktop computers. When the U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in favor of our
client, the judge's opinion adopted much of the reasoning
of our brief.
- Representing a satellite resale carrier in landmark
litigation that established the cable industry's right
to deliver superstation programming to millions of cable
subscribers. Eastern Microwave, Inc. v. Doubleday
Sports, Inc., 691 F. 2d 125 (2nd Cir. 1982)
- Representing authors in negotiating and enforcing publishing
agreements and in challenging infringements of their works.
- Resolving complex multiparty copyright ownership issues
and drafting creative licensing agreements for a video photographer.
- Obtaining a settlement for a client whose copyrighted poster
was used on the set of a popular television program without
its permission.
- Obtaining a settlement for a noted sculptor in a lawsuit
alleging infringement of her works by an art and antique
distributor.
- Producing an in-depth analysis of problems and proposed
solutions in making works created by or with funding from
the Federal Government - particularly informational works
in the fields of medicine and science - available on an
open access basis to researchers and the public at large.
- Providing opinions on the "fair use" of works by musicians,
filmmakers and educators.
- Filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf
of economics professors in the file-sharing case MGM v. Grokster.
- Representing a USA Today freelance photographer in copyright infringement claims.
- Managing a successful claim in Italian courts for violation of a legendary U.S. filmmaker’s moral
rights when a colorized version of his classic black-and-white film was aired on Italian television.
- Securing registration for an outdoor sculptural work and encrypted code after initial Copyright Office refusal.
- Representing a consortium of video distributors in resolving a dispute with a BOCES over the use and control of proprietary DVDs
by the New York State Union Catalog system.
- Developing and presenting a distance learning course for University of Maryland University College on online service provider liability
under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
- Producing a 10-part video series for educators
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