Robert W. Clarida

November 17, 2022 | New York Law Journal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently adjudicated a fair use claim involving photographs of hundreds of works by perhaps the only 20th century artist even more famous than Warhol: Pablo Picasso.

By Robert W. Clarida and Thomas Kjellberg

8 minute read

September 28, 2022 | New York Law Journal

The question before the court was whether the alleged "sameness" was substantial enough to amount to copyright infringement.

By Thomas Kjellberg and Robert W. Clarida

8 minute read

July 14, 2022 | New York Law Journal

The precedential value of the 'Morford' decision will probably be slim to none.

By Robert W. Clarida and Thomas Kjellberg

9 minute read

May 19, 2022 | New York Law Journal

The decision articulates the current state of Ninth Circuit law regarding the threshold of protectable originality in music infringement cases, and because so many music cases are brought in the Ninth Circuit the ruling will likely be significant to music litigators nationwide.

By Robert W. Clarida and Thomas Kjellberg

9 minute read

March 17, 2022 | New York Law Journal

In dual lawsuits filed on Feb. 7, 2022, the estates of Robin Williams and George Carlin accuse Pandora Media of willfully infringing the legendary comedians' registered copyrights in their "spoken word compositions"—their standup routines—by streaming the sound recordings that embody those routines without a license for the spoken word works.

By Thomas Kjellberg and Robert W. Clarida

8 minute read

January 20, 2022 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of their Copyright Law column, Robert W. Clarida and Thomas Kjellberg describe some of the major issues the court addressed in oral argument in 'Unicolors v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz'—presently before the U.S. Supreme Court—and will identify some questions that are likely to remain open no matter the outcome.

By Robert W. Clarida and Thomas Kjellberg

8 minute read

November 18, 2021 | New York Law Journal

A Ninth Circuit opinion resolves an eight-year, multi-Circuit class action brought by owners of pre-1972 recordings against satellite radio provider Sirius XM, with plaintiffs asserting—ultimately without success—a right to be paid royalties for defendant's past digital transmissions of their pre-1972 recordings.

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

7 minute read

October 13, 2021 | New York Law Journal

The court held that the oft-cited concept of de minimis copying is not a separate defense to copyright infringement, but instead is subsumed within the determination of "substantial similarity."

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

8 minute read

July 21, 2021 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of their Copyright Law column, Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein discuss 'Unicolors v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz', in which the Supreme Court will address whether the Ninth Circuit erred in holding "that 17 U.S.C. §411 requires referral to the Copyright Office where there is no indicia of fraud or material error as to the work at issue in the subject copyright registration?" An affirmance could make the Copyright Office a more significant player in copyright infringement litigation, by requiring the Register to weigh in more often on the validity of registrations.

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

7 minute read

May 20, 2021 | New York Law Journal

The Second Circuit recently issued a decision on fair use in 'Warhol', which was followed shortly later by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 'Google'. The plaintiff in the 'Warhol' decision now contends that the two decisions do not reconcile. In this edition of their Copyright Law column, Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida discuss the decisions and write that due to the strictly limited basis on which 'Google' was decided, they do not foresee that it would significantly impact the resolution of 'Warhol'.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

11 minute read