Download This PaperThe New Copyright Opportunist
67 Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A., Forthcoming
18 Pages Posted: 14 Nov 2019 Last revised: 3 Dec 2020
Date Written: November 4, 2019
Abstract
Delivered as the Copyright Society of the USA's 49th Annual Donald C. Brace Memorial Lecture (Nov. 4, 2019).
After defining copyright opportunism, I review three recent litigation case studies that meet this definition of opportunism: one involving basketball players’ tattoos depicted in a realistic videogame, another involving lawsuits against celebrities by paparazzi photographers for posting their photos of them on social media, and a third involving claims of infringement in popular songs by copyright owners of much more obscure songs. I then explore how courts might handle opportunistic lawsuits, particularly when the plaintiff is seeking to establish a new licensing market enabled by technological advances. I propose that opportunistic lawsuits can be resolved only at the intersection of copyright doctrine and policy, as informed by relevant economic and technological realities.
Keywords: copyright, opportunist, troll, tattoo, videogame, paparazzi, social media, music
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Jeanne C. Fromer (Contact Author)
New York University School of Law ( email )
40 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
United States
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