Work-for-hire debate remains heated over who is 'author' of art

Article Abstract:

The works-made-for-hire doctrine reverses traditional copyright law by stating that copyright ownership goes to the employer. The Copyright Act of 1976 developed a two-part definition of the concept treating works created by independent contractors and employees separately, stating that work for hire could arise within the traditional employment relationship or if the parties to a commissioned work have a written agreement that the work is 'made for hire.' Community for Creative Non-Violence v Reid ruled that due to the absence of such an agreement a free-lance artist was not an employee.

Analysis, Independent contractors, Works made for hire doctrine (Copyright)

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Federal Circuit holds its law applies to misuse; the court ruled that its law, not that of regional circuits, will govern antitrust counterclaims

Article Abstract:

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit established that Federal Circuit law rather than that of the circuit of the trial court will henceforth determine whether the patent-infringement plaintiff should lose immunity under the antitrust laws. Using a 33-year-old Supreme Court precedent, the court ruled that this immunity is lost when it is shown that the patent was obtained by fraud and the other elements of an antitrust violation can be established under the law of the regional circuit.

United States, Cases, Antitrust law, Patent law

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Recent decisions show rising risks of parody; intellectual property owners are gaining against parodists

Article Abstract:

Court decisions handed down in 1991 and 1992 show the growing risk of parodies of well-known copyrighted works, trademarks or people and the line the courts draw between permissible parody and intellectual property infringement. The parody defense is part of the fair-use doctrine codified in Section 107 of the Copyright Act and works when the courts deem the parody to be a comment or criticism on the original work. Freedom of speech concerns form the basis of the defense.

Freedom of speech, Trademarks, Parody

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