Law of the Geek

Is this fanfic fair use? I. Welcome to Part II of our Fair Use Episode series. Today we use last week’s groundwork and tackle two pieces of geeky listener mail related to fair use. Remember kids, none of this is legal advice. II. From Tony Mast at Back Seat Producers: May a media reviewer review fan fiction or other unlicensed copyright-protected media without liability? A. A little about fanfic, just in case you’re a non-geek lawyer listening to this. Melina also educates Geoff about “slashfic.” B. Fanfic against the four fair use factors. C. The Cases: The courts have touched Twin Peaks, Star Trek, and Harry Potter, and it hasn’t ended well for the fanfic writers. D. Geoff asks the audience to help him out with a piece of Twin Peaks trivia. E. Movie reviews of fanfiction against the fair use factors. III. From @Tresi: What kinds of format shifting are allowed under US law, and is there any interesting case law or history regarding the state of fair use for digital media? A. A little about format shifting, just in case you’re a non-techie listening to this. B. The seminal (and hopefully not too boring) statutes. IV. Catch Melina at Visioncon (http://www.visioncon.net/) this weekend, Friday, February 17th and Saturday, February 18th! V. Happy Valentine's Day a.k.a. Happy Love a Lawyer Day! Flowers and scotch welcome. Geoff thinks every day is Friday the 13th. VI. Our Super Bowl picks! And catch us both in two weeks for another great episode!

Is this fair use? I. Part One of a two-part episode all about Fair Use! Instead of doing what we normally do and focusing the majority of the episode taking a deep dive into a single topic or case, we’ll be going through what fair use is, how it works, the seminal cases, how creators have gotten it right, and how creators have gotten it wrong. How exciting! II. Fair Use Dissected! A. Section 107 of the Copyright Act and the Four Fair Use factors. 1. The purpose and character of the use, and commercial use versus educational use. 2. The nature of the copyrighted work. 3. The amount of the copyrighted work used. 4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for the copyrighted work. B. Campbell v. Acuff-Rose, Inc. as a seminal fair use case – “Oh Pretty Woman” the rock ballad v. “Pretty Woman” the rap song. C. Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises as another seminal fair use case, but this one is kind of boring so we’ll talk about it quickly. D. How to get it right: Leibovitz v. Paramount Pictures Corp – Vanity Fair’s Demi Moore photograph versus Paramount’s Leslie Nielsen photograph (posted above). A 1. Melina's loves Fievel Mousekewitz. She also cannot pronouce "Demi" Moore. E. How to get it wrong: Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. Penguin Books USA, Inc. – The Cat in the Hat versus The Cat NOT in the Hat – an O.J. Simpson parody. III. Now that we've discussed the basics of the law, in the next episode, stay tuned for Part Two of our Fair Use episode: Two pieces of Listener Mail will be discussed: A. Tony Mast at Back Seat Producers wants to know whether a media reviewer may review fan fiction or other unlicensed copyright-protected media without liability. B. @Tresi wants to know what kinds of format shifting are allowed under US law and if there’s any interesting case law or history regarding the state of fair use for digital media. IV. We end on a terribly morose note. Melina really hates flying. She hopes to return to do Part Two of the podcast in 2 weeks!

Are readers likely to think these come from the same source? I. Today we'll be doing a mashup! Zombie "parody" novels, followed by a SOPA update! II. Thank Yous! Catch an all new episode of Jennisodes, interviewing Law of the Geek! III. Diary of a Wimpy Kid v. Diary of a Zombie Kid - we just had to talk about zombies again and this is a great excuse! A. Wimpy Kid, Inc. v. Antarctic Press, 11-CV-12265 B. A little about the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series. C. A little about the Diary of a Zombie Kid Series. D. @Notch should take a lesson from Joe Dunn. E. The temporary restraining order and its implications. F. The legal stuff. 1. Trademark Infringement and the related claims - looking at the title and the jacket style for likelihood of confusion. 2. Copyright Infringement - looking at the jacket and substantial similarities. G. Other Zombie Parody Novels, and how they’ve avoided the courtroom. 1. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies....and Alice/Dorothy/Wendy porno? 2. Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid 3. Night of the Living Trekkie 4. We throw in some vampires, slayers, and sea monsters just for variety. IV. Breaking News! A Law of the Geek SOPA Update A. What has happened in the last month? (Geoff's backpedaling truly creates a mashup episode!) B. An 11 hour hearing abruptly halted. C. Scheduled markup and postponement. D. The Go Daddy Debacle. E. Will the “Nuclear Option” happen? The looming internet blackout. F. Next Key Date: January 18th. Bring in the Nerds!! V. Thanks again for listening! Keep submitting topics, and catch us in 2 weeks! VI: BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Stay tuned after the regular episode for Melina's post-recording SOPA update regarding the latest news - the White House's official statement on SOPA!

I. Happy New Year! Ring in 2012 with Law of the Geek! II. Today we'll be talking about the "out of this world" Cowboys and Aliens lawsuit, and then we have more Listener Mail! III. Cowboys and Aliens v. Cowboys and Aliens v. Cowboys and Aliens. Really? A. We play movie reviewers for a few minutes. B. Busti v. Platinum Studios, Inc. et al. 11-cv-01029. C. More rampant speculation, as always! Oh, and Melina has a signed copy of the original comic! D. Judge Sam Sparks - Judge by day, Superhero by night? E. A little about the Plaintiff and Defendants. F. The original 1995 comic versus the 2006 graphic novel and the 2011 movie. G. Let's go on a journey through time together! The factual timeline. We may need the help of the TARDIS. H. Melina is super jealous that Geoff has been to Comic-Con and she hasn't. I. The legal stuff. 1. Why copying the title "Cowboys and Aliens" doesn't cut it. 2. Idea versus Expression: Can aliens set in the wild west ever be protectable? 3. Substantial Similarities: Parsing out the similarities and differences. J. Looking into the Crystal Ball: How might this suit play out? IV. Listener Mail Segment! Who will the lucky listener be? A. @williampall wants to know some specifics about MTV Networks v. White Wolf, Inc., et al. 1:97-cv-07947. Great Question! B. A little about Aeon Flux, the animated series, from Melina. C. A little about Trinity (formerly Aeon), the RPG, from Geoff. D. How the suit ended quickly. E. How the differences in the media types (animated series v. RPG) could have played into the analysis. V. Good luck with those New Year's Resolutions! We're excited about ours: Geoff is waiting to discover he's the last son of Krypton and Melina is waiting for her August brown recluse bite powers to manifest. VI. We'll back in 2 weeks!

I. An episode about the status of some of your favorite holiday characters, with a few superheroes and a Playboy playmate tossed in the mix! II. Sweeping Generalizations! III. Thank Yous! @pedr on Twitter for a stimulating discussion after our SOPA episode. IV. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. A. Rudolph's coloring book birth, and Geoff reminds Melina that he's not THAT old. B. The rightsholders to Rudolph. C. Geoff thwarts Melina's grand scheme regarding the "other" reindeer. D. Geoff and Melina argue over who is going to sing the song. E. The Claymation television special - Spoiler Alert! F. The "Legal Stuff" - How characters are protected. G. 14 Minutes in, the Geekiness begins! - Singing telegrams from "Super Stud" and "Wonder Wench"! 1. DC Comics, Inc. v. Unlimited Monkey Business, Inc. 2. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2473265100776679658&q=DC+COMICS+INC.+v.+UNLIMITED+MONKEY+BUS.+-+October+11,+1984.&hl=en&as_sdt=2,26 3. Superman v. Super Stud: The seven similar costume components. 4. Animated shoe re-creation: The cosplayer's nightmare. H. Does a red nosed reindeer have seven protectable elements or one? I. Genericide. J. Geoff assumes Melina can name all the Playmates of the Year, by year. K. Rudolph's Reserve Beer and Rudolph tableware legal disputes. V. Frosty, The Grinch, and we can't forget about Santa! A. The amazing Mad Monster Party, and more blatantly ignored edit requests! B. Does Coke own Santa Claus? VI. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanza! Happy Winter Solstice! Happy Saturnalia! Or, Happy Just Another Week! VII. Catch us in 2 weeks, for an "out of this world" episode, as well as another listener mail segment!

I. Arrrgh, matey! Geoff suggests an interactive piracy episode. We thought Melina was the pro-cosplaying host? II. This is not our typical episode structure. If this is your first time with us, we recommend you go back and start with Episode 1, 2, or 3, and then come back! III. Breaking down SOPA into an easily digestible "soup" so you have a discussion topic at your holiday party! Also, Melina has a minor in Spanish. IV. Thank Yous! The Podge Cast interviewed us on Episode 167, Geeky Law! V. The Stop Online Piracy Act A. SOPA's purported purpose. B. Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society. Melina loves Red Dwarf. Geoff is more of a Harry Potter guy. C. SOPA hate should be fully informed. Time to debunk. D. Did you know SOPA also covers counterfeit goods and pharmaceuticals? E. The House's "Four Track Process" to protect IP. F. What does SOPA really do? Breaking down the sections of the proposed act. 1. Section 102 - Attorney General's methods of criminal enforcement. 2. Section 103 - Enforcement method for IP rightsholders. 3. Sections 104-105 - Immunity to third party sites for voluntarily taking action. 4. Section 201 - Increased penalties for streaming. YouTube much? a. Geoff outs Melina's flash mob participation for the sake of illustration. 5. Other sections in Title II - Increased penalties regarding counterfeit goods and pharmaceuticals. G. Notable supporters and opponents. H. Controversial aspects of SOPA. I. Will the bad jokes never cease? J. What's next for SOPA? Time for some soup. K. Geoff's "lawyer answer." VI. We love getting your topics. Look for another listener mail segment soon! VII. Catch us in two weeks for a Very Merry Christmas with Law of the Geek!

I. We Love Games! This episode has a different format - half topical and half Listener Mail! II. Thank Yous! Rob Justice. III. Scrolls v. Scrolls - Bethesda (The Elder Scrolls) faces off against Mojang (Scrolls)! A. Geoff's a natural at Swedish. B. A little about The Elder Scrolls games (Skyrim just released) and Scrolls (soon to be released by the makers of Minecraft). C. We've got nothing legitimate here. This means less legal mumbo jumbo and lots of rampant speculation! D. The Cease and Desist Letter, and Notch's "

Confused? Listen to Episode 2 to find out more. I. These are a few of our favorite things! Vampires and Wine. II. Thank Yous! Especially to our special guest host "Drum Guy." Appearing intermittently throughout the show. James Gabrielsen Chris Engler A. David Pinilla III. TI Beverage Group, Ltd. V. Omni Consumer Products, LLC, et al., and TI Beverage Group, Ltd. v. Hot Topic, Inc. et al. A. The family of vampire-y trademarks and origin of the Vampire Vineyards wines. B. Romantic Vampires. What does this have to do with the law? No one knows. C. The IP attorney/front man for the secret circle of wine-making vampires, who's name we cannot pronounce. D. Further pronunciation outtakes. (No offense Google, We love you, really). E. Hope "Trueblood" Goldie and the Origin of Trueblood wine. F. The Southern Vampire Mysteries, True Blood the HBO show, and Tru Blood orange carbonated drink. G. Geoff's amazing recap of the important dates, from memory. H. Arguments in the complaint and counterclaim. I. A little about trademark dilution, and how this differs from trademark infringement. J. Trademark Infringement - Likelihood of Confusion K. Of Condoms and Stealth Bombers: The Ninth Circuit's 8 Factors. L. How this suit may have played out. IV. Thanks for all the topics submitted so far! Look for your topics in upcoming episodes, and keep 'em coming! V. Catch us in two weeks!

This side by side comparison was analyzed by a Federal District Court and will be discussed in this episode. I. Happy Halloween! Let's discuss everyone’s favorite Halloween shambler – zombies! II. Dead Rising (Video Game) v. Dawn of the Dead (Romero film) aka Capcom Co., Ltd, v. MKR Group, Inc. A. A little about the video game and the movie from Melina. Yes, she's a cosplayer. B. A little about copyright infringement from Geoff. C. Allegations in the complaint - 10 points of similarities. D. Melina knows way too much about the judge. E. Judge Seeborg's 8 points of differences. F. Twister, E.T. the Extraterrestrial, and some truly terrible zombie jokes to get us back on track. G. Wrapping it all up with Trademark Law III. Night of the Living Dead (Romero film) A. Voodoo that you do? Geoff's amazing transition. B. We lose all geek cred. C. Com.pen.di.um. n. "a concise but comprehensive summary of a larger work." Whatever, Geoff. It was a big compendium. D. Night of the FLESHEATERS? E. Why Night of the Living Dead is in the public domain, and how that affects you. IV. Have a geeky legal topic you want us to discuss on the podcast? Post here! V. Join us again in 2 weeks for more geeky legal goodness! Note: Throughout the episode, we refer to Dawn of the Dead as the "1979" version. This is how Capcom Co., Ltd, v. MKR Group, Inc. and Judge Seeborg refer to the film. Please note that the film was actually released in 1978. Hey, we're attorneys, not filmographers.

I. Welcome to the show! II. Introductions of your attorney-hosts, Geoff and Melina. III. A bi-weekly podcast about legal topics in the geek world and geeky topics in the legal world. IV. Let's get interactive! V. Catch Episode One, releasing concurrently with this episode!