Understanding the Originality Requirement in Copyright Law

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Copyright law protects original works of authorship, but the definition of “originality” often creates layers of confusion among creators and authors (referred to as “authors”). At its core, the originality requirement establishes a threshold of creativity that must be met before a work qualifies for copyright protection. The Baseline for Originality Originality is the “bedrock …

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Why Did Trump Fire the Register of Copyrights?

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The Controversy In late May 2025, President Trump fired Shira Perlmutter, who led the U.S. Copyright Office. This was just days after he also dismissing the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. The timing of Perlmutter’s termination sparked significant controversy due to her firing in proximity to the Copyright Office’s release of a major report on …

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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 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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Copyright Office’s Registration AI Guidance

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The U.S. Copyright Office issued its second report on issues related to registration of works using artificial intelligence (AI). The second report, issued on January 29, 2025, discusses copyrightability and application-related issues. The Copyright Office’s analysis of the legal framework is not surprising given the fairly well-settled nature of the case law landscape. The constitutional …

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No Fair Use for Internet Archive’s Digital Library

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On September 4, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Hachette Book Group, Inc. v. Internet Archive, denying the online digital repository’s ability to copy and distribute copyright-protected works for free, and without permission, to the general public. Internet Archive creates digital copies of print works for posting on its site, making …

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