GrayZone, Author at GrayZone, Inc.

Neiman Marcus Sued by Nonprofit for Copyright Infringement

Native nonprofit Sealaska Heritage Institute filed a lawsuit against Neiman Marcus, the luxury department store chain. In their lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court, the nonprofit claimed copyright infringement and unlawful use of the term “Ravenstail.” They allege that the garment sold by Neiman Marcus looks like a traditional Alaskan Ravenstail robe, […]

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Videographer Loses Blackbeard Pirate Ship Copyright Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of states’ rights and against a videographer who claimed copyright infringement, after spending 20 years documenting an infamous vessel’s salvaging operation. The ship in question was a French slave ship that Blackbeard, the notorious pirate, captured in 1717 and renamed The Queen Anne’s Revenge. For this copyright

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Katy Perry $2.8M Copyright Infringement Verdict Overturned

The verdict against Katy Perry, in the Dark Horse copyright infringement lawsuit, has been overturned in the California federal court by Judge Christina A. Snyder. This good news for Perry follows Led Zeppelin’s legal victory in the Stairway to Heaven case. Last year, a Los Angeles jury found Perry’s Dark Horse single in violation of

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Feathers Flying Over Phillie Phanatic Licensing Battle

The fight over who owns the Philadelphia Phillies’ mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, has highlighted a provision in the copyright law that allows the original creator to reclaim rights decades after they’ve signed them away. The team is in a copyright licensing battle with Harrison/Erickson Inc., a design and marketing company that sold the rights to

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Miley Cyrus Settles $300 Million Copyright Infringement Case

Miley Cyrus has reached a settlement for a copyright infringement claim that was asking for $300 million in compensation. Reuters reported that the singer-songwriter’s label and legal team and Jamaican songwriter Michael May (a.k.a. Flourgon) reached this agreement after May claimed that her 2013 single, “We Can’t Stop,” sounded surprisingly like his 1988 track, “We

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