This is a weekly post on copyright and entertainment law updates.<\/p>\n
In celebrating the fictional restaurant from the universe of the blockbuster 1988 film \u201cComing to America\u201d, a pop-up restaurant chain \u2018JMC\u2019 inadvertently offended production house Paramount Pictures, who is now claiming infringement of its intellectual property before the Copyright Claims Board on 24 August 2022. Paramount alleged that JMC, in running the McDowell\u2019s Pop-Up restaurant, has copied several of the elements from its movies, without permission, including the menu, the names and likeness of the characters, and several other elements, including the recreation of the restaurant itself. JMC countered the claim, stating that it was simply a \u201ccreative celebration\u201d and did not damage Paramount\u2019s business, nor did it infringe any of their intellectual property rights.<\/p>\n
Delhi High Court in its recent judgement against Telegram FZ LLC, in the suit filed by KD Campus Pvt. Ltd., stated that the defences of free speech, or that of right to privacy, cannot be used an as excuse to escape from the liability of copyright infringement. Calling it a duty on part of Telegram under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, the High Court stated that any disclosure of details pursuant to Court Orders of details of persons involved in dissemination of the works infringing copyrights, cannot be \u201cshielded under the grounds of protection of privacy or freedom of speech and expression.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Videogame giant, Epic Games, successfully repelled another copyright infringement lawsuit filed by a professional choreographer, claiming that one of the dance emotes used in the popular video game, Fortnite, is based on dance routine created by the choreographer, Kyle Hanagami, for the popular song, \u201cHow Long\u201d, by Charlie Puth. Epic Games argued that the moves in the dance routine were \u201ctoo generic\u201d to be considered for copyright protection. The lawsuit was dismissed by the US District Court judge, stating that the dance routines did not contain sufficient \u201ccreative elements<\/em>\u201d to be considered infringement. Court stated in its 24 August 2022 judgment, that the steps of the plaintiff do not qualify for protection under copyright, when they are viewed out of the entire routine.<\/p>\n Authored and compiled by Varun Gopala Krishnan (Associate, BananaIP Counsels) and Tanmay Purohit (Intern, BananaIP Counsels).<\/p>\n This Copyright and Entertainment Law News Bulletin is brought to you by the\u00a0Copyright<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Trademark<\/a>\u00a0Division of BananaIP Counsels, a Top ranked IP Firm in India. BananaIP Counsels\u2019 trademark attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to\u00a0contact@bananaip.com<\/a>\u00a0with the subject: Copyright News.<\/p>\n The weekly intellectual property law news initiative is a part of their pro bono work and is aimed at spreading awareness about intellectual property and allied laws. You are free to share the news with appropriate attribution and link back to the source.<\/p>\nEpic Games Wins Copyright Infringement Lawsuit over Fortnite Dance Emotes<\/h2>\n
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