During the 2008 presidential campaign, you could barely go anywhere without seeing the Obama “Hope” image on a poster, t-shirt or bumper sticker.  Since then, the iconic image has become the focus of an intense debate about fair use in copyright law.  Critics of artist Shepard Fairey’s work call it mere theft, while supporters commend [...]

The ringing in of the New Year marked not only the end of a decade, but also the end of an era for New York landmark Tavern on the Green. January 1st marked the expiration of the operating license for the Leroy family, who had operated the restaurant since the 1970s, and had successfully maintained [...]

The Fairness Doctrine was originally implemented by the Federal Communications Commission in 1949 in order to ensure a balanced presentation of issues of public importance on broadcast news programs. According to author Kay Mills: The FCC had laid out the doctrine in 1949 in its “Report on Editorializing by Broadcasting Licensees” to clarify confusion that [...]

The New York Metro Transit Authority (MTA), facing a budget gap of $400 million,1 has begun to go after copyright and trademark infringers who use or display any of the MTA’s protected symbols.2 Among these protected symbols are the train numbers and letters, maps of the NY subway system, photos of Grand Central Terminal and [...]