Bloomberg BNA’s Patrent, Trademark & Copyright Journal quoted Jordan Sigale in a May 22, 2015, article on copyrights and copyrightability, “En Banc ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Ruling Says Actor Didn’t Hold Copyright in Film.”

In Garcia v. Google, Inc., 9th Cir., No. 12-57302, 5/18/15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, ruled 10-1 that the actor (allegedly tricked into appearing in an anti-Muslim firm) didn’t hold a copyright interest in her performance separate from the work as a whole.  The court reversed a ruling by a prior judicial panel, saying that the YouTube posting ,which had led to death threats, was protected by the First Amendment.  “The 2014 ruling by Judge Alex Kozinski had been widely criticized both by free speech advocates and by the motion picture industry,” noted Bloomberg, further observing that many copyright scholars and practitioners had predicted that Kozinski’s ruling would not survive.  But Bloomberg said some practitioners were surprised by the scope of the en banc ruling.

Sigale noted that the recent court’s ruling was a surprise in terms of scope, and was quoted as saying, “The Ninth Circuit did not need to reach the merits of the copyright claim.”  Sigale referred to a concurring opinion in the matter and noted that the court could have ruled based on the requirements for granting an injunction.  “Kozinski’s prior ruling was immediately dissolved by the en banc panel’s ruling.  However, Judge Kozinski and the unfortunate issues created by the majority opinion on copyright authorship are not going away…..Copyright law in the Ninth Circuit has been weakened by this decision.  I hope with the passage of time, litigants will see this opinion as being limited to its specific facts and move past it.”

With regard, however, to Kozinski’s point that a musician is not required to record his own music in order to hold rights in it, Sigale agreed and said, “Moreover, copyright law recognizes the separate performance rights in the various members of a band (e.g. vocalists, guitarists, drummer) as well as the producer of the sound recording….Similar concerns can and should be raised by choreographers and the like, whose contributions to larger works had long been recognized.  This opinion calls all of that into question.”

Dunlap Codding Shareholder Doug Sorocco was quoted in a May 18, 2015, article by Juliette Fairley in MainStreet, “Dispute Over Posting of Hemp Test Results Leads to $100 Million Lawsuit By MJNA.”  The article explains that “MJNA, a publicly traded company, is seeking damages for comments about significant levels of toxic solvents that reportedly harmed its reputation and stock price.”  Sorocco is quoted as noting that, “A significant portion of hemp oil available in the market is obtained from industrial manufacturing and there is a concern in the industry that the industrial processes may introduce an unacceptable level of heavy metals into hemp oil.” 

Dunlap Codding associate Elizabeth Lauderback was quoted in the Oklahoma Gazette in an article by Ben Felder, “IgniteOKC offers 13 presenters 6 minutes each to share rapid-fire, TED-like talks,” May 20, 2015.  Elizabeth is the chair of Ignite OKC 8. 

Elizabeth was quoted as saying, “There is a lot of breathing room here for a lot of average people who have a passion and want to do something creative….We are a growing city, but we are not saturated…so you can be the movement here as opposed to just being part of it….IgniteOKC is all about igniting a community, and OKC is in a state of ignition and growth right now, so it is very timely.”

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA—May 19, 2015—Dunlap Codding is pleased to be ranked in Band 1 (the top band) for intellectual property by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The publication is widely regarded as the most reliable and intensively researched of all lawyer rating directories. Chambers USA began ranking Oklahoma Intellectual Property firms in 2010. Dunlap Codding has been a top-ranked firm since the inaugural coverage of the state’s intellectual property practitioners, and is again ranked in Band 1 for 2015.

Chambers quotes sources as saying, “A fantastic team – and the first set of lawyers we’ve used with a cooperative, problem-solving attitude,” and, “Their real strong point is thinking outside the box to get the goal accomplished…..”

Chambers described the firm as a “Heavy-hitting boutique servicing the full range of copyright, patent and trademark concerns for clients at every level, from local startup to foreign multinational. Noted for its litigation capability and its strong focus on life sciences, healthcare, electrical engineering and computer technology. Significant clients [include] Ashland, DePuy Synthes, DuPont/EKC Technology, Quibids, and Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.” 

Chambers said, “Managing director Nicholas Rouse attracts client praise for his knowledge of mechanical engineering issues. He acts most frequently on patent and trademark prosecution and portfolio management.” 

Chambers also said, “Marc Brockhaus heads the electrical engineering and systems group and recently advised consumer electronics retailer Petra Industries on its involvement in a patent infringement action. Sources testify to his winning combination of technical and technological know-how and keen commercial awareness.” 

Finally, Chambers wrote, “Douglas Sorocco leads the practice and is appreciated by clients, not only for his “very valuable skill set” and determination “to work out a way of making sure problems get solved,” but also because “he’s really concerned about how we feel about things.” He is notably active in life sciences and technology, and recently counseled titanium dioxide product manufacturer Cristal USA on the creation of a Swiss holding company, associated licensing agreements and ongoing patent portfolio matters.” 

Dunlap Codding, with offices in Austin, Chicago, Oklahoma City, and Washington, D.C., serves sophisticated international, national, and regional clients.  Established in 1957 as Oklahoma’s original intellectual property firm, Dunlap Codding remains the region’s largest and most versatile IP boutique providing counsel in the areas of patent, trademark, copyright, and entertainment law as well as related litigation and licensing services. 

Emily Campbell was quoted extensively in an April 28, 2015, Bloomberg BNA article published by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., written by Anandashankar Mazumdar.  The article summary stated, “The Copyright Office is reviewing how certain visual works, particularly photographs, graphic artworks, and illustrations, are monetized, enforced, and registered under the Copyright Act.”

The Federal Register, on April 24, had published the Office’s call for public comments on obstacles facing creators of visual works in monetizing their creations.  Emily was quoted as saying that the process seemed “like medicine, where we are trying to take preventative steps to maintaining our health.  It seems like the Copyright Office is trying to take preventative measures to protect rights with regard to digital images.”  Typically, those holding copyright interest in visual works have had only reactive measures to turn to, such as relying on “copyright enforcement groups out there enforcing rights of third parties.”  Emily commented that the initiative was a good start in prompting thinking about how to protect rights from the beginning.

The article noted that, according to the notice, “Even when creators of visual works successfully license use of their works, the resulting uses can result in their credit information and other embedded copyright management data being stripped away.”

Emily explained that copyright holders, their lawyers and potential users or licensees of visual works do not currently have access to a comprehensive, centralized database of visual works. 

“Currently there’s a database that’s in place, but copyright law has always had a challenge of chasing technology,” Campbell said. “So we face these issues of trying to conduct a search on the Library of Congress site and we face a limitation in that we can’t view the works.”

Emily suggested that something akin to the Creative Commons database would be helpful in overcoming some of the obstacles faced.