Robert W. Clarida

May 16, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida write that three district courts have recently considered whether a work should be considered to be "derivative" within the meaning of �101 of the 1976 Copyright Act. Although in each case the issue was raised in the context of photographs of three dimensional objects, the determination of whether a work is "derivative" and the consequences of that determination are broadly applicable across the spectrum of copyrightable subject matter.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

16 minute read

January 17, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Robert Jay Bernstein, a practitioner in The Law Office of Robert J. Bernstein, and Robert W. Clarida, a partner at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, write that absent reconsideration, a number of thorny issues will await the parties in In Re: Literary Works Electronic Databases Copyright Litigation on remand, including whether freelancers may register their works now and then join a new class consisting only of registered copyright holders.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

16 minute read

January 15, 2010 | New York Law Journal

Robert J. Bernstein, a partner at The Law Office of Robert J. Bernstein, and Robert W. Clarida, a partner at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, discuss two recent Southern District cases which reluctantly held that dicta in the Supreme Court's holding in Quality King "required" rejection of the first sale doctrine when raised as a defense to the unauthorized importation of foreign-made goods; and a Ninth Circuit decision which embraced that interpretation as consistent with its own precedent and "not irreconcilable" with the Quality King dicta. A pending petition for certiorari in Omega may give the Supreme Court an opportunity to revisit its dicta in Quality King and to rule directly on the applicability of the first sale doctrine to goods manufactured abroad.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

11 minute read

March 17, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Robert J. Bernstein, an attorney, and Robert W. Clarida, a partner at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, write that the U.S. Copyright Office issued a Notice of Inquiry last year regarding the issue of "orphan works," copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or impossible to locate. As a result, the public is denied the benefit of access to these works, even though in the vast majority of cases there is no copyright owner who would object to their use.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

11 minute read

May 21, 2010 | New York Law Journal

In their Copyright Law column, Robert J. Bernstein of The Law Office of Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida, a partner at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, write that the obstacles facing a plaintiff seeking injunctive relief in fair use cases have not merely numerically doubled, with the decision in Salinger v. Colting calling for the application of a second four-factor test; they have been heightened by the Supreme Court's admonition against the application of any presumption of irreparable harm.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

14 minute read

September 19, 2008 | New York Law Journal

consider the different approaches taken by the courts in their common effort to implement the congressional intent in the Copyright Act of 1976 to provide authors and their heirs with new opportunities to exploit their works during extended renewal terms and summarize the statutory termination scheme and some relevant history of the renewal term.

By Robert Jay Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

19 minute read

November 21, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Robert J. Bernstein, a practitioner at The Law Office of Robert J. Bernstein, and Robert W. Clarida, a partner at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, after two years of arduous negotiations, groups of authors and publishers and Google issued a joint press release announcing a comprehensive settlement agreement regarding "Google Book Search." If finally approved, the Settlement may represent a sea change in the approach to resolving conflicts between copyright- and technology-based industries, wherein technology becomes a source of new revenue streams for content owners rather than a facilitator of infringement.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

13 minute read

May 18, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Practitioner Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida, a partner at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, analyze a recent case which demonstrates the degree to which copyright law has become truly international and multinational. Not only do the copyright regimes of other countries and the Berne Convention dramatically impact current U.S. copyright law and copyright exploitation strategy, they have also reached into and rewritten the history of our public domain.

By Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. Clarida

11 minute read

November 19, 2010 | New York Law Journal

In their Copyright Law column, Robert W. Clarida, a partner at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, and Robert J. Bernstein, of The Law Office of Robert J. Bernstein, write: Two recent cases from Texas prompt this month's column. One is so flatly, transparently, egregiously wrong that the reader can only marvel. The other is a perfectly reasonable decision that carefully applies Daubert to reject some really dubious litigation tactics, like offering expert testimony to show how the members of a particular profession interpret the Copyright Act.

By Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

12 minute read