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Venable LLP

New York District Court Confirms Limits of Copyright Protection Regarding Historical Events

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On March 6, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed that historical events are not subject to copyright protection....more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Yes, Copyright Can Protect Monstrous Mountains

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Typically, Godzilla and other kaiju (Japanese for “strange beast” and also referring to a genre of fiction involving giant monsters) use their armored skin, massive size, and superpowers to protect themselves against almost...more

Mintz - Trademark & Copyright Viewpoints

Second Circuit Declines to Decide if Human Skin Can Be a Tangible Medium of Expression under Copyright Law and Affirms Dismissal...

In a recent decision from the Second Circuit, Judges Parker, Chin, and Carney side-stepped a novel question: whether human skin can be the kind of "tangible medium of expression" required for copyright protection. Instead,...more

Sunstein LLP

Supreme Court Denies Copyright Enforcement to State Legislature

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In Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, decided by the Supreme Court on April 27, the principle at stake was whether, under the copyright law, a state legislature can have the rights of an “author” in publishing an annotated...more

WilmerHale

Supreme Court Expands the Government Edicts Doctrine to Legislators

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The law – judicial opinions, statutes, and regulations – cannot be copyrighted. In Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., No.18-1150 (April 21, 2020), the US Supreme Court was presented with the question whether annotations,...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Georgia On Our Minds: Annotations Authored by Legislators Not Eligible for Copyright Protection

On April 27, the Supreme Court took us on a stroll down memory lane in its decision in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., referring us back to its very first copyright case and revisiting the government edicts doctrine for...more

Snell & Wilmer

If No One Owns the Law, Who Owns the Statutory Annotations?

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Last week, the Supreme Court held in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., that legislators cannot copyright any works that they created in the course of their official duties. Though the holding may appear straightforward...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

SCOTUS Holds that Annotations to Georgia Code Are Not Copyrightable

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On April 27, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held that annotations in the State of Georgia’s official codes are not eligible for copyright protection. The 5-4 decision marked the first time in over a century that the...more

Jones Day

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Georgia’s Copyright in Annotated Statutory Codes - The holding will impact states and publishing...

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Revisiting the government edicts doctrine for the first time in more than a century, the U.S. Supreme Court in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., No. 18–1150, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), split 5-4 to hold that annotations to...more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

States Cannot Copyright Annotated Versions of Legal Codes

On April 27, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held, in Georgia et al. v. Public.Resource.Org., Inc., in a 5-4 decision, that copyright law does not protect annotations contained in the official annotated compilation of...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

Georgia’s Loss is the Public’s Gain: Supreme Court Says States May Not Copyright Legal Codes

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The US Supreme Court ruled that state governments may not copyright annotated versions of their state’s legal code, saying that as a government edict, such information must be freely available to the public. The Court’s 5-4...more

BakerHostetler

‘No One Can Own the Law’: Supreme Court Holds Annotations to State Statutes Are Not Protected by Copyright

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The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on April 27, 2020, in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, upholding the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling that the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) is not entitled to copyright protection....more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Official Statute Annotations Are Not Copyrightable

In a split decision, the Supreme Court of the United States in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. affirmed a previous ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and held that annotations to the Official Code of...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Supreme Court Rules Georgia Cannot Copyright Explanatory Annotations to Legislative Materials

On April 27, 2020,  the U.S. Supreme Court extended limits on the states’ ability to claim copyright protection over legislative materials and, specifically, over explanatory annotations added to legislative materials. The...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

US Supreme Court Rejects Attempt To Copyright Annotated Version of State Laws

On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., 590 U.S. ____, that pursuant to the “government edicts” doctrine, annotations to Georgia’s state code could not be...more

Cooley LLP

Alert: High Court Rules Works Authored by Legislators in Their Legislative Capacity Ineligible for Copyright Protection

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A divided Supreme Court has held that works authored by legislatures or legislators in their legislative capacity are ineligible for copyright protection (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.). The Copyright Act protects...more

Mintz - Intellectual Property Viewpoints

Supreme Court Holds that States Cannot Copyright Annotated Versions of Their Statutes

On April 27, 2020, the Supreme Court held that annotations to legislative text, even if created by a private contracted party, are not copyrightable materials under 17 U.S.C. §101. Invoking the government edicts doctrine, the...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Not So Peachy in Georgia: Supreme Court Holds Annotated Code Not Eligible for Copyright Protection

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In a 5-4 decision with the majority opinion delivered by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court held that copyright protection does not extend to annotations in Georgia’s official annotated code. The Code Revision Committee...more

K&L Gates LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Georgia’S Official Annotated Code Outside the Scope of Copyright Protection Under “Government Edicts”...

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On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts that copyright protection does not extend to the annotations in Georgia’s official annotated code. In the case, Georgia v....more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Supreme Court rejects Georgia copyright claim on annotated codes

GEORGIA ET AL. V. PUBLIC.RESOURCE.ORG, INC., CASE NO. 18-1150 (S. CT.), 590 U.S. ______ (APRIL 27, 2020). The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected the State of Georgia’s attempt to assert copyright in the Official Code of...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Supreme Court Decides Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.

On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., holding that the annotations to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated are not eligible for copyright protection because the annotations...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

That’s Bananas: Third Circuit Examines Copyright Protection Under Star Athletica

McDermott Will & Schulte on

Applying the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2017 decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands regarding the copyrightability of non-utilitarian sculptural design features (IP Update, Vol. 20, No. 4), the US Court of...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Star Athletica and the Expansion of Useful Article Protection: Copyright Office Permits Registration of Automotive Floor Liner

The Supreme Court’s decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands established a new and simplified test for determining whether useful articles can obtain copyright protection. Many have wondered, in the year since it was...more

Downey Brand LLP

Copyright Protection for Tattoos: Are Tattoos Copies?

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Abstract - This Note argues that, although “flash art” and other drawings upon which a tattoo may be based are likely copyrightable subject matter under the Copyright Act of 1976 (Copyright Act), the policy implications...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Practice Tips for Copyright Owners in the Wake of Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands

After considering almost a year’s worth of substantive briefing (including fifteen separate amicus briefs), oral argument, at least ten distinct tests employed in courts throughout the country, as well as numerous novel tests...more

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