The Curious Copyright Infringement Case of Sherlock Holmes in Enola Holmes
The Netflix movie Enola Holmes is based on a series of young adult novels by Nancy Springer, The Enola Holmes Mysteries, published between 2006-2010 by Penguin Random House. The series centers on Sherlock’s teenage sister Enola,...
DRM And Protecting E-Books
What is DRM? Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to various software technologies that control the unauthorized use, modification, and distribution of digital content like e-books, music, and films. DRM is a complicated...
The Case Of The Stolen Content
A friend of mine who is a real estate broker in Los Angeles contacted me in a swivet to complain about content theft. An article he wrote about a neighborhood hotspot had been copied verbatim and published without his permission...
Parody, Satire, and Fan Fiction: What’s the difference?
Parody, satire, and fan fiction are terms often confused and misused in the writing spheres. But when it comes to copyright law, these three forms of creative expression are treated quite differently. Understanding the...
Legal Challenges Of Writing Unauthorized Biographies
Biographies are grouped into two categories: biographies written with the subject’s permission and cooperation, aka authorized biographies, and biographies written without the subject’s permission and cooperation, aka...
Book Covers And Copyrights
A writer this week asked about using preexisting book covers to create a new cover for a book she was publishing. Book cover copyrights are a topic I’m questioned about often. Who owns the book cover art — the artist, the...
Pre-publication Legal Review Of Manuscripts — Six Things To Consider
One of the most essential steps an author must take prior to publication is to review their manuscript for risk of liability and legally sensitive material, otherwise know as “vetting” the manuscript. Not all books require...