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Monkey in the Middle: Who Owns the Monkey “Selfie”?

Pressing the shutter on a camera is more mechanical than artistic. It’s so simple, even a monkey can do it. And that’s exactly what happened with the case of the “monkey selfie” that went viral. The photographer says he owns the copyright. After all, it was his camera. Wikimedia says no one owns the copyright. The monkey took the picture and the monkey would be the copyright claimant, if a monkey could own a copyright. Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., examines the competing theories behind who owns the “monkey selfie.”

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Copyright Piracy and the Entertainment Industries: Is the Effect Massive or Negligible?

In 1996, global music sales were close to $40 billion. In 2013, global music sales were a mere $15 billion, a decrease of 62%. Who’s to blame? Well, if you ask the recording industry, they’ll say internet file sharing. Yet a number of people, including a few economists in peer reviewed studies, say that file sharing has no effect. Who is right? Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, takes you through the statistics and the studies to find out.

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Marching Bravely Into the Quagmire: The Complete Mess that the “Transformative” Test Has Made of Fair Use

The Supreme Court is the last word on the law of copyright. But when their last words are unclear as to intent, trouble starts brewing immediately. Such is the case with so called “transformative” uses. This single reference has created more confusion amongst the court than any copyright decision in recent memory. Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., takes you through how “transformative” has turned the murky waters of “fair use” into a quagmire of conflicting rulings and questionable logic.

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Taking the Raging Bull by the Horns: A Statute of Limitations That Never Expires?

You would think that waiting for 16 years to file a lawsuit would mean that the relevant Statute of Limitations would prevent you from proceeding. Yet the Supreme Court has recently ruled that in copyright cases, the Statute of Limitations may never run out. Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., takes you through the decision in Petrella v. MGM and what it means for the entertainment industry.

An artistic perspective of startups hard at work.

DMCA “Takedown” Notices: Why “Takedown” Should Become “Take Down and Stay Down” and Why It’s Good for Everyone

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires websites and search engines to remove infringing material upon a request by the copyright owner. Yet, in one week, Google receives well over 6 million DMCA “takedown” requests. Is the system working or drowning? Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., takes a look at the competing arguments, and suggests how the system can be improved for everyone.

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