Stephen M. Kramarsky

May 26, 2005 | Law.com

Cleaning up movies is nothing new, of course. Feature films have been appearing in edited form on television for years. But now third parties are getting into the act, creating edited versions without the authorization -- or creative input -- of the filmmakers or copyright holders. The editing companies call it freedom, the filmmakers call it censorship and the studios, at least in some cases, call it copyright infringement. Not surprisingly, litigation has ensued, says Stephen M. Kramarsky.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

12 minute read

January 17, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Intellectual Property column, Stephen M. Kramarsky of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky reviews a recent Eastern District decision where the court denied plaintiffs' application for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the continued publication of harmful reviews by defendants, even though it found some aspects of defendants' web-based business "troubling and perhaps unethical."

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

12 minute read

May 21, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In his Intellectual Property column, Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, writes: Internet marketing has long been a double-edged sword. A successful viral advertisement can rocket a brand to social media stardom, but those same tools enable unhappy customers to share their bad experiences with a wider audience than ever before. Smart companies use social media to address customer concerns directly and publicly, but the courts remain full of litigants who do not seem to have gotten the message.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

12 minute read

September 17, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In his E-Discovery column, Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, writes: Even if it turns out that some ESI is beyond the scope of discovery, that does not mean it can be disposed of before that determination has been made, and while the cost of preserving all this information can certainly be high, the costs of improperly destroying it may be far higher. A recent decision serves as a reminder of how the process can go wrong.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

12 minute read

July 17, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his E-discovery column, Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, writes that almost all email traffic is run through this kind of filter at least once before delivery, and many users don't even know that a substantial portion of the email directed at their inbox never makes it there.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

13 minute read

January 23, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, writes that the interplay between copyright law and contract law is a complex one. Copyright law establishes the exclusive rights and obligations of creators in their works; some of these can be altered by a contract or license and others cannot. The question of how far a contract can go in modifying the copyright bargain is central to a debate currently underway in the open source (or "free") software world.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

14 minute read

September 25, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, writes that in Nymex, the majority of a Second Circuit panel repeatedly stressed the point that market prices "feel" like facts, not creative works, and made clear that settlement prices do not meet the required creativity standard. Because the court found the settlement prices un-copyrightable under the merger doctrine, the entire discussion of creativity is dicta and technically unnecessary.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

12 minute read

January 18, 2011 | New York Law Journal

In his Intellectual Property column, Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, writes that when users "share" content on a social networking site, the terms of service generally state that the user grants the site a license (typically with right to sublicense) to use, alter and distribute the content.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

12 minute read

May 23, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, writes that "mix tape" is no longer a mere expression of adolescent angst. With the arrival of MP3 technology, home-produced CDs can contain dozens or even hundreds of songs and sell for a few dollars. Of course, no royalties are paid on these unauthorized compilations to the copyright owners.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

12 minute read

May 22, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, writes that streamed media is designed to be played by the recipient simultaneously with its transmission, while downloaded content, on the other hand, is designed to be stored by the user until some future time and played back at the user's option, perhaps multiple times.

By Stephen M. Kramarsky

13 minute read