Pssst! If you stop and look very, very carefully, you might be able to see them. They silently hover over parts unknown. Only a few cases report their existence. And, like UFO spotters, their victims warn to avoid their crosshairs. If not, your art may be confiscated. Who are they? Vaguely written laws. To be specific, federal counterfeit laws.…
Saudi Arabian Band Forced Underground by Hellish Saudi Arabian Laws This past fourth of July I celebrated by floating on the Lake of the Ozarks, drinking beer, and listening to music. Most radio stations play classics for the Fourth; I had the Ipod blaring metal. Nothing too much, just some good old fashion Big Four. It got me thinking on how great…
Copyright infringement has become a hot topic of concern for Etsy users who display their artwork for all to see. Esty has become the go-to online platform for artists and crafters to display and sell their products. However, displaying your creation so pubically comes with its risks. It is very easy for members to become frustrated by those who simply…
There is a lawsuit brewing against Starbucks. Internationally regarded Brooklyn street artist and muralist Maya Hayuk is suing the coffee giant for stealing her brightly colored, kaleidoscopic artwork. And this isn’t the first time she is taking legal against a large corporation on fair use grounds. Maya Hayuk’s vibrant, geometric work allegedly caught Starbuck’s attention last fall. According to Hayuk’s…
What is a Copyright? Here on our law student blog we often talk about copyrights and intellectual property, and I thought it might help to write a quick summary of what a copyright actually is. A copyright exists when a band or any other artist creates a physical copy of their work. So when a band writes down their…
Donald Trump decided to run for president and his entrance was truly gaudy. As he rode the escalator down to speak at the podium, Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” played in the background. Neil Young immediately told Trump and media sources to quit rockin’ in the free world. Trump, unlike most politicians bought the necessary rights and paid…
Shepard Fairey was commissioned to paint an 18-story mural in Detroit but he may have left his mark on more buildings than the city bargained for and police are now investigating. Most know Shepard Fairey by his iconic “HOPE” campaign poster for President Obama. A warrant for the famous street artist’s arrest was filed in 36th District Court last Friday.…
Legal Issues for Using Music in Torture The United States’ use of “enhanced interrogations” has been in the news lately. Many Americans don’t know that music is an integral part of the governments torture protocol. A wide range of copyrighted songs have been used by the US Military, CIA, and other government groups including children’s theme songs, cat food themes,…
Voyeuristic photography is deemed as art, rather than an invasion of privacy. It sounds like good premise for a bad horror film: lurking in the shadows of his darkened apartment, a photographer holds a camera equipped with a telephoto lens, snapping unguarded shots of a couple and their young children through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the family’s loft, located just…
According to a 2013 study by The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, piracy has a positive effect of music sales. They concluded that the majority of individuals who illegally download music are more likely to purchase that music than if they had not downloaded it. Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research has said that, “The people who file-share are the ones…