Worldwide: Copyright

A federal court in Minnesota denied a sculpture park's motion to dismiss a Visual Artists Rights Act claim, finding factual disputes over whether a monumental 53-foot sculpture was a work-for-hire and whether it possessed recognized stature when destroyed. The case will proceed to trial to determine if VARA protections apply to the artwork's removal and destruction.

It is one of the most jarring moments in any M&A transaction: a buyer’s attorney asks to see IP assignment agreements for the core technology or brand assets, and the seller’s attorney realizes those agreements...

When a demand letter alleging copyright or trademark infringement arrives, businesses face critical decisions about how to respond. Patent attorney David Nocilly discusses strategies for assessing claim legitimacy, navigating music and image licensing complexities, and implementing proactive measures to reduce intellectual property risk through proper documentation and licensing practices.

A federal court ruling in a copyright lawsuit against Meta Platforms reveals how tech companies may be held accountable for allegedly using pirated content to train AI models. The case, brought by adult film producer Strike 3 Holdings, challenges Meta's data acquisition practices and establishes new precedents for how courts evaluate AI-related copyright claims at the pleading stage.

Anthony discusses how artificial intelligence streamlines restaurant operations while also introducing significant legal risks regarding intellectual property, data privacy, and hiring biases.

As AI companies increasingly rely on synthetic data for model training, M&A transactions involving these assets face novel legal uncertainties around ownership, provenance, and regulatory compliance. This analysis examines the critical due diligence considerations and contractual protections buyers need when synthetic datasets constitute a material component of deal value, from copyright ambiguities to inherited infringement risks and quality degradation concerns.

As artificial intelligence transforms creative and legal landscapes, fundamental questions emerge about authorship rights and copyright protection when AI systems generate content.

This quarterly installment examines critical legal challenges facing in-house counsel, from WD-40's trade secret protection strategy and copyright ownership complexities to the emerging risks attorneys face when integrating generative AI into their practice. The series also explores how trademark law intersects with AI-generated deepfakes and why relying on public AI tools for legal guidance may compromise privilege protections.

Nossaman's Intellectual Property and Media Practice Group delivers comprehensive legal services across trademark, copyright, trade secret, and patent matters.