Category Archives: Intellectual property

Hari Puttar update

September 24, 2008 – 10:35 am

I wrote a post earlier on the Harry Potter/Hari Puttar dispute between Warner Bros and Bollywood. Via cearta.ie, I see that the BBC reports that Warner Bros has failed in its case against the Hari Puttar filmmakers:
The makers of the blockbuster Harry Potter films said the title of the Indian movie was too similar.
The court [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Law, Popular culture | Comments (0)

Rowling wins copyright case

September 10, 2008 – 10:20 am

J.K. Rowling has succeeded at first instance in her copyright infringement case against RDR publishers and Stephen Vander Ark for their proposed Harry Potter Lexicon. I have mentioned this case earlier. Obviously the trial judge managed to get his head around the plotlines which he initially described as “gibberish”, as the judgment shows quite a [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Books, Law, Popular culture | Comments (12)

Harry Krishna?

August 26, 2008 – 9:17 pm

I’m fascinated by the Harry Potter industry. We’ve already seen Warner Bros and J.K. Rowling take on a New York librarian and lexicon author for copyright infringement. Now they are taking on the might of Bollywood… The Indian movie is called Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Terrors. The Hollywood Reporter tells us:

The case is [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Books, Law, Media, Popular culture | Comments (27)

A new way of policing “doof-doof”

June 17, 2008 – 8:20 pm

When my husband and I first moved in together, we lived in a set of terrace houses. We’d lived there about two years when new tenants moved in two doors down. The new tenants were Columbian exchange students, and I don’t think they took their studies seriously. What they did take seriously was partying hard [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in England, Fark!, Law, Media, Music, Personal liberty, Society | Comments (4)

Property and the body

July 10, 2007 – 11:27 pm

The thing I love about this blogging gig is coming across other interesting blogs and people. Can I recommend that you read this post over at Balneus by Dave Bath about property in body parts?
The EU generally prohibits sale for profit of body parts, and Dave queries if there should be an exception for the [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Fark!, Law, Technology | Comments (7)

The long arm of US law

May 8, 2007 – 5:28 pm

I’ve written a post earlier on the case of Hew Raymond Griffiths, an Australian resident who has been extradited to the US on charges of software piracy and conspiracy. I noticed today that this issue has come up in the news again.
Griffiths was born in the UK and remains a British citizen, but has lived [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Internet, Law, Technology | Comments (15)

USA says: You’re nicked, sonny…

February 19, 2007 – 9:55 am

Both skepticlawyer at Catallaxy and Shaun Cronin at LP have written posts on the case of Huw Griffiths (reported here).
Griffiths is a former internet software pirate who cracked and downloaded software and distributed it for free. He has been charged under US Copyright law, and charged by a US grand jury (equivalent of a committal [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Internet, Law | Comments (5)

Sharing mp3s on the Web

December 22, 2006 – 10:49 am

Just found this interesting blog post on the Full Federal Court’s recent decision in Cooper v Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd [2006] FCAFC 187. The decision concerned a website set up with links which allowed people to download mp3s. The Federal Court found that the website contravened Australian copyright law. The author of the post [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Internet, Law | Comments (0)