Happy Birthday to You: Megahit Song May Enter Public Domain

Celebrating a birthday and singing “Happy Birthday to You” go together like, well, cake and ice cream – or, perhaps more accurately, copyright and money. This quintessential song of celebration receives somewhere around $2 million per year in usage fees, making it one of the most lucrative pieces of music ever written. Alas, all good…

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The Copyright Trap: Navigating Intellectual Property and Freelance Work

In the past year, 53 million Americans – 34 percent of the U.S. workforce – have engaged in freelance work. From the project-based graphic designer to the moonlighting ride-share driver, the freelance economy is changing the face of work. Indeed many marketing departments rely on this freelance economy for original creative materials and content without…

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Copyright Law and Madison’s Mifflin Street Block Party

On September 15, 2014, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin handed down a decision in a copyright infringement case involving t-shirts created by supporters of Madison’s Mifflin Street Block Party. The annual Mifflin Street Block Party has been a tradition in Madison since 1968, when the first gathering was held…

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