A Californian Judge, Gail J Standish, recently dismissed a copyright lawsuit where it was alleged that Taylor Swift had copied lyrics for her popular song "Shake It Off". Taylor Swift is in fact an avid fan of enforcing her own copyright, was facing a $42 million damages claim.   Jesse Graham filed the lawsuit claiming that Taylor Swift had stolen the lyrics "haters gonna hate" from a song he wrote in 2013 following a refusal of an original writing credit and a selfie with the star. The Court ruled that the plaintiff did not provide enough factual evidence and that the …

Continue Reading Swift Shakes Off Copyright Claim

In its ongoing effort to raise awareness of individuals’ privacy rights, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has published a press release on their website on the "Electoral Register and ‘Opting Out’ of the Edited Register".

Every year, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government encourages individuals to register to vote or to check that their details are up to date on the Electoral Register in advance of the 25 November deadline. In line with publicising such rights, the ODPC wishes to draw attention to the Edited Electoral Register and how it relates to direct marketing. Continue Reading ODPC Raises Awareness of Right to Opt-Out of the Edited Electoral Register

The US Court of Appeals (the Court) recently gave judgment on whether a type of yoga would fall within the remit of copyright in the case of Bikram Yoga College of India v. Evolution Yoga, LLC, 2015 WL 5845415.  The case concerned Bikram yoga – a popular style of yoga developed by Bikram Choudry (the plaintiff in the present case) over 20 years ago which consists of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercise, designed to systematically work every part of the body, and is performed in a hot room.Continue Reading Can copyright stretch to cover yoga?!

As promised, the European Commission has issued guidance on the alternative tools available for EU-US data transfers following the Schrems’ ruling. The Commission highlighted that it has intensified talks with the US government on a new arrangement for transatlantic data transfers to ensure it complies with the standard set by the CJEU in Schrems.Continue Reading European Commission issues guidance on EU-US data transfers

The UPC Preparatory Committee has adopted and published the Rules and Procedure of the Unified Patent Court. The 18th draft of the agreed Rules is subject to change only with respect to the court fees that may be applicable.   The 1st draft, published in 2009, was progressed through stages of expert meetings and technical and public consultation and sets out the specific framework and functioning of the Unified Patent Court.
Continue Reading UPC publishes agreed Rules of Procedure- 18th Draft

The Supreme Court, in Nowak v The Data Protection Commissioner [2015] IESCDET 49, has granted Mr Nowak leave to appeal an ex tempore decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on 24 April 2015

The Court of Appeal upheld a decision of High Court, which in turn confirmed a decision of the Circuit Court, that there is no jurisdiction to appeal a determination by the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) not to investigate a complaint. The DPC had determined that the appellant’s exam script was not personal data and his complaint was frivolous or vexatious.Continue Reading Supreme Court grants leave to appeal in Nowak case

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recently held that personal data cannot be transferred between two public bodies, and subject to further processing, without the data subjects concerned having been informed in advance (Smaranda Bara and Others v Președintele Casei Naționale de Asigurări de Sănătate, Casa Naţională de Asigurări de Sănătate, Agenţia Naţională de Administrare Fiscală (ANAF), Case C‑201/14).
Continue Reading Prior notice of personal data sharing between public authorities

At a recent conference in Amsterdam, the US Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC), Julie Brill, stated that the Schrems decision “cystallizes what has been clear, or should have been clear, for a long time about privacy in Europe: it is a fundamental right that Europeans and their Court take very seriously”.
Continue Reading FTC warns of loss of transparency in EU-US data flows by invalidation of Safe Harbour

The US House of Representatives have passed the Judicial Redress Bill, which will allow EU citizens to enforce their data privacy rights in US courts. As mentioned in a previous blog, the conclusion of the EU/US Umbrella Agreement (which facilitates EU/US data transfers for law enforcement purposes) is subject to adoption of the Judicial Redress Bill by the US.

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, who introduced the Judicial Redress Bill, said: “The sudden termination of the Safe Harbor framework strikes a blow to US businesses by complicating commercial data flows. If we fail to pass the Judicial Redress Act, we risk similar disruption to the sharing of law enforcement information.”Continue Reading Judicial Redress Bill due at Senate

The Data Protection Commissioner has been given the green light to investigate Max Schrems’ complaint against Facebook. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) had initially refused to investigate the complaint based on a view that Commission Decision 2000/520/EC (the Safe Harbour Decision) was both valid and binding on the ODPC. Continue Reading Data Protection Commissioner to investigate Schrems complaint