Roughly speaking, the Fifth Circuit Court held that a copyright infringer has to “want” to engage in conduct that infringes. That is, plaintiff had to allege that defendant’s conduct was volitional. The U.S. Supreme Court denied review of the Fifth Circuit’s decision, effectively allowing that decision to stand. The BWP Media v T&S Software case involved an internet service…
The Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) was passed in 1990; but, to date, only around 15 artists have brought cases in attempts to enforce the rights it protects. That’s why it was notable when a jury ruled against the developer of 5 Pointz, a case we blogged about previously. Recently, another plaintiff suing under VARA was not…