Robert J Bernstein

March 19, 2020 | New York Law Journal

For the past five years, the copyright bar and the music industry have carefully followed the many twists and turns of 'Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin', a potentially monumental infringement case. On March 9, 2020, a unanimous en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit resolved some thorny issues involving substantial similarity and copyright scope that will be important for future litigants. In their Copyright Law column, Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein review some of the main takeaways from decision.

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

9 minute read

January 29, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In their Copyright Law column, Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida discuss infringement litigation stemming from the "Fearless Girl" statue, specifically that a replica and photographs of the statue were being used in Australia for purposes explicitly prohibited by the copyright license agreement.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

7 minute read

December 03, 2019 | New York Law Journal

It's a common fact pattern: A songwriter alleges that another songwriter has infringed the lyrics of Song A by using a similar short phrase, frequently a current slang phrase, in the lyrics of Song B. With this context, Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein discuss the recent Ninth Circuit decision in 'Hall v. Swift' in this month's edition of their Copyright Law column.

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

9 minute read

September 19, 2019 | New York Law Journal

On July 1, 2019, the U.S. District Court Judge John Koetl for the Southern District of New York held that a series of silkscreen paintings and prints by Andy Warhol based on a photograph of the rock star Prince taken by Lynn Goldsmith constituted a transformative and fair use. In their Copyright Law column, Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida discuss the decision, which will be appealed to the Second Circuit.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

11 minute read

May 24, 2019 | The Recorder

In Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. ComicMix, the Southern District of California granted summary judgment to defendants, affirming its prior findings that a ComicMix illustrated book combining elements of several Seuss children's books with characters, themes and other features of the popular sci-fi series Star Trek was a non-infringing fair use of the Seuss material from which it had admittedly been “slavishly” copied.

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

8 minute read

May 24, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In their Copyright Law column, Robert Clarida and Robert Bernstein discuss Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. ComicMix, where the Southern District of California granted summary judgment to defendants, affirming its prior findings that a ComicMix illustrated book combining elements of several Seuss children's books with characters, themes and other features of the popular sci-fi series Star Trek was a non-infringing fair use of the Seuss material from which it had admittedly been “slavishly” copied.

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

8 minute read

March 14, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Copyright Law columnists Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida discuss 'Fourth Estate Public Benefit v. Wall-Street.com, et al.', one of two recent, unanimous Supreme Court opinions construing provisions of the Copyright Act relating to procedural requirements for commencing infringement actions and interpreting the term “full costs” in awarding them to the prevailing party.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

8 minute read

January 30, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Copyright Law columnists Robert Clarida and Robert Bernstein discuss the Second Circuit's long-awaited ruling in 'Capitol Records v. ReDigi,' a case that raised issues of first impression concerning first sale and fair use in the age of digital music distribution.

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

7 minute read

November 29, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Copyright Law columnists Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida write: The journey to final judgment has gotten decidedly longer for the rock group Led Zeppelin. On Sept. 28, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the district court judgment dismissing a claim of infringement against the band's iconic hit “Stairway to Heaven," following a jury verdict in the band's favor based on the jury's finding that the similarities between the songs did not concern copyrightable material.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

10 minute read

September 20, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Copyright Law columnists Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein write: On July 20, the Southern District of New York resolved a question that neither the Southern District nor the Second Circuit had ever squarely faced: Can the lawful owner of an art object create and post a photograph of that object in connection with the sale of the object through an online platform such as eBay, without the permission of the owner of copyright in the object?

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

8 minute read