IP for Content Creators

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In today’s digital economy, subscription-based content platforms like OnlyFans, JustforFans, Vimeo, Patreon, and YouTube have created unprecedented opportunities for creators to monetize their work directly to the consuming public. However, these opportunities come with complex intellectual property (IP) considerations that content creators must understand to protect their rights and avoid potential legal issues. Copyright Fundamentals …

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Understanding Genericide of Color Marks

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Color Marks: The Basics Color marks represent one of the more challenging types of non-traditional trademarks. Since the landmark Supreme Court decision in Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co., single colors can serve as trademarks when they identify the source of goods or services. However, obtaining trademark protection for a color presents unique hurdles: Last …

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Understanding the Selection-and-Arrangement Theory in Copyright Law

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Introduction In copyright infringement cases, courts must determine whether one work impermissibly copies another’s protected expression. While the widely used “extrinsic test” focuses on comparing specific elements between works, the selection-and-arrangement theory offers a different analytical framework that recognizes that creativity often lies in how creators select, coordinate, and arrange elements—even when the individual components …

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Note on the Useful Articles Doctrine in Copyright

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Copyright law broadly protects creative works and the human endeavors required to create an original work of authorship. However, creativity should not be confused with utility. A dictionary definition for “creativity” is “ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new.” A definition for “utility” is “the quality or state of being useful.” A …

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AI Works Not Eligible for Copyright Registration

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Consistency in intellectual property regimes is essential for a uniform practice of those intellectual property laws. Case in point is Thaler v. Perlmutter, a copyright case holding that works created by artificial intelligence software is not a human author for purposes of the Copyright Act of 1976 (See 17 U.S.C. §102(a) (“Copyright protection subsists . …

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Notes on Copyright Registration of AI-Assisted Works

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On January 31, 2025, the U.S. Copyright Office issued examination guidelines related to registration of works either assisted or generated by artificial intelligence tools. This blog discussed these guidelines in an earlier post. While there has been much angst as to the guidelines’ impact on creative endeavors involving AI-assisted works, it appears there are some …

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