Illinois (IL) Copyright Law CLE Course Catalog

How well do you know the requirements for use of a work to qualify as “fair use” under copyright law? Experienced intellectual property litigator Peter Afrasiabi explains the rules in clear terms – for copyright aficionados and novices alike – while engaging in a lively discussion of key cases.

Join us to examine the convoluted litigation history that underlies this immensely popular, global motion picture franchise. Peter chronicles the key legal disputes that plagued the franchise for much of its storied history, and discusses the interesting and complex legal issues those disputes raised.

Did you know that authors have “moral rights” that allow them to exercise some measure of control over their works even after those works are sold? In the United States, moral rights are codified in the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (“VARA”) and subsequent case law. Experienced intellectual property litigator Peter Afrasiabi provides an introduction to moral rights while discussing key cases interpreting VARA in the context of various works of art including murals, sculptures, street graffiti, “living art” such as gardens, and other interesting examples.

These days, manufacturers of nearly every consumer product under the sun are catching false advertising claims. If you make a consumer-facing product, the odds are, litigation like this is not a matter of if but when, which means, false advertising litigation is just another business risk to be managed, mitigated, and optimized. This program takes a closer look at the landscape, and offers some practical advice and key considerations for how a business might implement some systems to manage this risk. Social media can be a powerful tool for companies to help build relationships with their customers and employees. However, with the benefits of this tool come corresponding risks. If your company distributes content on-line, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act can be your best friend -- and your worst enemy -- often at the same time. This program gives you the advice you need to prosecute or defend on-line copyright infringement claims.

Did the TV series “Battlestar Galactica” infringe on the copyrights owned by Lucasfilm in the movie “Star Wars”? Experienced intellectual property litigator Peter Afrasiabi reviews this famous case and several others where the copyright, trademark and right of publicity interests in “Star Wars” were litigated. Along the way, Peter provides an expert overview of copyright, trademark and right of publicity law that will be useful for all practitioners.

This program reviews how courts have applied the substantial similarity test for copyright infringement in the context of popular feature films and television series. The presenter also shares several important practice tips for litigating copyright infringement cases when feature films and television series are in issue.

Veteran intellectual property lawyer Peter Afrasiabi traces the origins of the right of publicity and explains how this right applies when recordings of mimicked human voices are used for commercial exploitation.