Brandy Karl's blog

CIS is now on Twitter! Follow our tweets @StanfordCIS! Read more about CIS is on Twitter

The Powder & the Glory, part of the Fair Use Project's Documentary Film Program, will have its broadcast premiere on PBS Monday March 23, 2009 at 10PM (check local listings) as part of Women's History Month.

The Powder & the Glory tells the story of two of the first highly successful women entrepreneurs in America, Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein. One hundred years ago these women immigrated to the United States and, starting with next to nothing, created what is today the $150 billion global health and beauty industry. They lived and worked only blocks apart but by design they never met. They were fierce rivals. Their competition drove them both to great creativity and success. Read more about The Powder & the Glory premieres on PBS

A New Hampshire District Court has ruled that two state IP law claims - a right of publicity claim and a false designation of origin claim - are not preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Read more about Preempting State IP claims

On January 4, the Supreme Court denied the petition for cert in Kahle v. Gonzales. On that same day, in a victory for CIS, the 10th Circuit refused the government's petition for rehearing in Golan v. Gonzales. Lessig Blog has more on this pair of decisions. Read more about Lessig on the Continuing Question of © and the First Amendment

CIS has petitioned for review of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Kahle v. Gonzalez, asking the Supreme Court to clarify the scope of the “traditional contours of copyright protection” referred to in Eldred, and to decide whether the change from an “opt-in” to an “opt-out” system of copyright a change in a traditional contour of copyright protection. Read more about CIS Petitions for Review in Kahle

After our win in Golan v. Gonzales, the government has petitioned the Tenth Circuit for a rehearing of the case, which decided that the Uruguay Round Agreements Act altered the "traditional contours" of copyright and therefore triggers First Amendment Review. The Attorney General's office seeks a standard - that First Amendment review is only triggered by changes in the idea/expression dichotomy or in fair use - that the Supreme Court has already rejected in Eldred. Our response to the petition for rehearing urges the Tenth Circuit adhere to its carefully reasoned opinion in this case. Read more about Government Seeks Rehearing in Golan

On October 12 we filed Floyd Webb's Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiff, in his motion, asked the court to enjoin Floyd Webb from using on his website or in his documentary film any copyrighted materials or trademarks the Plaintiff claims to own. The Opposition argues that Aguiar is not entitled to a preliminary injunction because he does not own much of the copyrights and trademarks he claims and because Webb's use of them constitutes both copyright and trademark fair use. Read more about Aguiar v. Webb: Webb Opposes Motion for Preliminary Injunction

Plaintiff William V. Aguiar III, sued documentary filmmaker Floyd Webb, alleging that Webb's promotional website and film trailer for his upcoming film infringe on copyrights and trademarks that Aguiar claims to own. Webb's film, "The Search for Count Dante," will chronicle the real-life odyssey of martial arts master John Keehan, a.k.a. Count Juan Raphael Dante -- "The Crown Prince of Death." Read more about Aguiar v. Webb: Documentary Film Program Defends Filmmaker's Fair Use and Free Speech Rights