Intellectual Property

Gone are the days when intellectual property was consigned only to the scientific inventors, artists, and advertising agencies of the world. Now, over thirty years have passed since the public was introduced to the world wide web, and the internet has permanently changed societal, cultural, commercial, and legal norms. Computer software and technology falls squarely under the vast umbrella of U.S. intellectual property (IP) law, but those laws affect far more than software developers and tech companies. Most businesses encounter numerous intellectual property concerns every day, and, yet many remain unaware of the benefits and pitfalls they face. Here are […]

The term “artificial intelligence” is no longer confined to the pages of science fiction or the runtime of Blade Runner. But don’t let that fool you. AI has been a part of our lives longer than you may realize. From email automations to voice command search tools like Alexa or Siri, AI has become a prevalent and useful facet of technology. Over the past five years however, the emergence of generative AI models like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and DALLE has begged new ethical and legal questions, and the intellectual property considerations of both AI programs and their outputs are reaching a […]

Article co-written by Andrew Gay, Jake Bryant, and Summer Associate Carter Leverette Today, social media is a powerful tool for marketing. Influencers, entrepreneurs, and businesses use social media platforms to promote ideas, products, and services in a way that attracts consumers on a personal level. Anyone with a phone or computer can create content that is instantly pushed out to millions of viewers. Consider this example: Bob Buyer hires Chris Carpenter to build a set of custom bookshelves for his den. Chris does not disappoint and delivers and installs a flawless set of custom bookshelves. Chris knows that client referrals […]

In recent years, the Supreme Court has taken a keen interest in harmonizing intellectual property and the free speech protections of the First Amendment.[1] In 2023, the Court held that artist Andy Warhol’s unauthorized use of a photograph of Prince to create a silk screen portrait of the artist was not a protected fair use under the Copyright Act.[2] In the copyright context, fair use carves out a line of demarcation between an author’s right to monopolize his creative expressions and free speech by allowing others to engage in non-infringing uses like critiques, commentary, new reporting, teaching, and research.[3] Fair […]