« Apple vs. Real: The Debate Continues |
Main
| Hatch's Hit List #32 - Online Ad Publishers »
August 21, 2004
Rumor Mill: JibJab Settles Copyright Lawsuit - Complete Victory!
Posted by Ernest Miller
According to Mary Hodder on Napsterization, EFF has prevailed in the JibJab lawsuit over their parody of This Land is Your Land (Copyright Rumor Mill). Says Hodder,
I just heard that EFF has won its case representing the Jibjab guys. EFF contended that Woodie Gunthrie didn't renew copyright on "This Land is Your Land" back in the day when copyright terms had to be renewed. Suits were filed, but now, apparently, according to the copyright rumor mill, EFF and Jibjab have "settled," whatever that means. Apparently they got "everything they wanted" because it turns out nobody ever renewed the copyright on the song.
I figured that the actual copyright status of the music, and possibly the lyrics, would certainly be an issue.
I suspect that the settlement keeps Ludlow Music out of court, where the copyright status of This Land is Your Land would be decided once and for all. This way, Ludlow keeps getting royalties and doesn't risk losing the copyright entirely. Note that the actual complaint by EFF has not yet been made widely available, though EFF generally publishes all its legal documents right away. This may have been part of the negotiation strategy with Ludlow, allowing them to back out of their threats without completely demolishing their claimed copyright.
Will all now be revealed? We will see.
UPDATE 1945 PT
EFF will neither confirm nor deny the rumor.
For all my JibJab coverage: JibJab Archive.
Comments (2)
+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: JibJab
- RELATED ENTRIES
- › Kitchen Academy - Course II - Day 23
- › Kitchen Academy - Course II - Day 22
- › Kitchen Academy - Course II - Day 21
- › Kitchen Academy - The Hollywood Cookbook and Guest Chef Michael Montilla - March 18th
- › Kitchen Academy - Course II - Day 20
- › Kitchen Academy - Course II - Day 19
- › Kitchen Academy - Course II - Day 18
- › Salsa Verde
Ernest Miller pursues research and writing on cyberlaw, intellectual property, and First Amendment issues. Mr. Miller attended the U.S. Naval Academy before attending Yale Law School, where he was president and co-founder of the Law and Technology Society, and founded the technology law and policy news site LawMeme. He is a fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School.
Ernest Miller's blog postings can also be found @
1. Andrew Greenberg on August 21, 2004 05:59 AM writes...
this shouldn't be a deep question, if it is an issue at all. Whether they renewed or not would be a matter of public record.
Permalink to Comment2. Seth Finkelstein on August 21, 2004 08:59 AM writes...
Court records (PACER) don't show any updates of the status of the case as of Friday night.
Permalink to Comment