3 ms·
For my own edification, wouldn't trademark law be more applicable?
by jedimastert 7y ago
For my own edification, wouldn't trademark law be more applicable?
- noizejoy 7y agoI deleted my own post to that effect, once I saw yours - so I also wonder about that. However I’m not sure if YT has a separate DMCA process for copyright vs. trademark, or if they or people writing about this are just too lazy or uninformed to make the distinction.
- Reelin 7y agoI'm quite puzzled as well. As far as I can tell (not a lawyer) copyright law shouldn't apply at all in this case. According to the article the actual works performed were an excerpt from Hamlet (public domain) and a song by Billy Joel (so someone likely has a valid copyright claim, but probably not Jay-Z). On the other hand, it seems like it might well be an infringement of his likeness (ie a trademark violation). I'm not sure about the nuances surrounding trademark law though - does it have to make money, do intentions matter, how obvious does it need to be that this is an impersonation, etc.