The economic impact of the copyright industries translates to trillions of dollars for the United States. According to a 2014 report by the International Intellectual Property Alliance, copyright contributed more than $1.1 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2013. But the Copyright Office hasn't been updated since the 1970's. In the article "Time Is Now to Modernize the Copyright Office" the author suggests that "fixing" the Copyright Office may be as simple as updating its IT systems to enable the office to utilize a digitized system for record-keeping so that "willing buyers and sellers can find each other, thereby facilitating marketplace transactions and incentivizing more creativity, innovation and jobs." Currently, the agency still employs a paper-based record-keeping system.
Another article that we bring to you this week, "Photographer Who Got $1.2M Copyright Verdict against AFP Won't Get Legal Fees," reports that Daniel Morel, a photojournalist covering the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, will not be awarded attorney's fees, even though he was the prevailing party in his counterclaim for infringement in the lawsuit Agence France Presse v. Daniel Morel. Morel's photographs were widely distributed, without permission, by news agencies after he put them on Twitter.
Section 505 of the Copyright Act provides that the court, "in its discretion may allow the recovery of full costs [and] may also award a reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party as part of the costs." The plain text of the statute makes clear that an award of attorney's fees and costs is not automatic but rather lies within the sole and broad discretion of the Court. The Court's Opinion states that "the courts, academics and practitioners are [all] coming to terms with the implications of social media and traditional copyright law," and the resolution of this case "has only chipped away at the number of questions social media poses for copyright law." In denying attorney's fees, the Court ruled: "the goals of the Copyright Act would not be further served by awarding [Morel] attorney's fees and costs, particularly in light of the relatively novel issues at stake in this case." Click HERE to read the order.
The Intellectual Property Brain Trust - April 2nd, 2015
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