Need To Know/ Nice To Know

Authors, do you know how long your copyrights on your works last? For your lifetime, plus 70 years.  This has been the case for authors in the USA and in the EU for some time. Now, it applies to Canadian creators.

Thanks to the negotiators of the USMCA, copyright in Canada has been changed from "life of the author + 50 years" to "life of the author + 70 years".

Legal bloggers Mark K. Evans and David Schwartz writing for the law firm Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh explain "USMCA v NAFTA: What's changed, and what it means for IP in Canada."
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=b8e253be-0590-4d85-983d-13dc5f9b096e

It's a long and comprehensive article, but well worth bookmarking.

Authors should register their copyrights promptly, since, until the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rules, there is some disagreement in the courts about whether a work counts as "registered" as soon as registration is applied for and the fee paid, or if it is only "registered" when the certificate is issued by the Register of Copyrights... which latter can take over a year.

Writing for the law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP, legal blogger Samuel V. Eichner discusses why the Supreme Court Grants Certiorari....
https://www.finnegan.com/en/insights/blogs/incontestable/supreme-court-grants-certiorari-in-fourth-estate-to-resolve-circuit-split-on-copyright-registration-prerequisite-to-suit.html#page=1

US creators ought to support the CASE Act.
Gabrielle Carteris opines on the urgency for photographers, authors, songwriters, bloggers, YouTube artists and others to contact their congresspersons in support of giving creators a cost-effective means to enforce their copyrights.
 https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/408749-why-us-creators-urgently-need-congress-to-support-the-case-act

The Authors Guild is strongly in support of the small copyright claims act, also.
https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/revised-small-copyright-claims-bill-introduced-bipartisan-group-lawmakers/


Last word: if any of our readers are inspired by history, or planning a trip to Sherborne in the UK, my friend Cindy Chant does Sherborne Walks, and writes historical articles for the delightfully eclectic Sherborne Times. The Disastrous Ending is on pp 42-43 of 132.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry

Other People's Faces...and Stuff.

The most interesting copyright-law related blog of the week was penned by Kimberly Buffington of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.  The cautionary tale concerns a young lady who was photographed without her knowledge or consent while she was eating. A photographer emerged from hiding and asked her to sign a waiver, giving him permission to make use of her likeness, and she refused.

Six years later, the young lady started to see her unmistakable likeness on posters in franchise outlets of that same restaurant. What is more, some posters had been photoshopped to make it look like she was partying with alcohol and other people.

Curious? Follow this link for the skinny.
Link

And in case that did not work for you:
 http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=64d455f5-e1ba-4637-9b95-9235d395232b&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2017-01-23&utm_term=

I think the young lady has a point. What if her career depended on teetotalism? What if one of the other persons--and any of his apparent acquaintances--turns out to be of interest to the authorities?

Not only does this cautionary tale warn anyone who uses for commercial purposes the photographs they have taken, it also inspires my imagination with at least three stories. Which reminds me of The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde.  (Google Books cannot find reviews, but there are plenty on GoodReads.com).

It is not quite too late to submit your comments on the qualities and passions you'd like to see in the next Register of Copyrights.

Opine here. https://www.research.net/r/RegisterOfCopyrightsNR

One of the most important points to consider making (perhaps) is that additional weight ought to be given to the unique and thoughtful responses from creative persons who depend on copyright protections of their own work for their livelihood.

Finally, one can no longer rely on glaringly bad spelling and grammar to flag phishing attempts and spoof emails. Beware. This week, I've been bombarded with some clever ones purporting to tell me that I have purchased some very expensive sporting gear celebrating a certain Florida football team named after a large member of the cat family.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry

A Famous Artist Is Sued For Denying That An Alleged Namesake's Work Is His...

Allegedly!

Authors try very hard not to write under the same pen name as another author. Sharing a name tends to confuse and annoy readers.

How is an established artist to know if there is an obscure dabbler (no pejorative intended) somewhere who has the same name? Is it his legal responsibility to know?  If the established artist is asked to agree that a work signed with "his name" is authentic, and is threatened with a multi-million dollar lawsuit to force him to lie, what's he to do?

The legal blog of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton LLP tells a story every bit as intriguing as anything written by Jeffrey Archer (in my opinion).

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=698a4030-3edd-416b-a1e8-a3e9eae086f9&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2016-08-17&utm_term=

I do hope the jurors are fascinated!

The art law blog of Boodle Hatfield also discusses the same dilemma with some added details. I cannot help wondering why the established artist doesn't countersue for defamation.

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=cf755b74-7a2b-4a7d-b46b-9a183ce53e94

On the other hand, if there is consternation in the fine art world over this legal coercion of an artist to "authenticate" a work that he denies creating, it is unlikely that anyone will ever want to buy the daub in question.

My apologies for the short post!

All the best,

Rowena Cherry