The NYT’s well-drafted copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft has survived the defendants’ motions to dismiss and the primary claims will go to trial. Filed in the New York’s Southern District, the order was granted by Judge Sidney Stein, who did grant with prejudice a motion to dismiss unfair competition by misappropriation claims, while also striking other modest claims from various related lawsuits. Judge Stein’s brief order indicated he “will issue an Opinion setting forth the reasons for this ruling expeditiously,” with a schedule for proceedings to come thereafter.
Archives for March 2025
Judge Blocks Iowa Book Ban Law, Again
U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher reinstated an injunction against Senate File 496, the Iowa state law that removes books with LGBTQ themes and references to sex acts from school libraries, after an Iowa Eighth Circuit panel reversed the original injunction in December 2023. Locher wrote that the law is unconstitutional, and “makes no attempt to evaluate a book’s literary, political, artistic, or scientific value before requiring the book’s removal from a school library and thus comes nowhere close to applying the ‘obscenity’ standard that is typically used to determine the constitutionality of statewide book restrictions. The result is the forced […]
Union Square Licenses 10 More Years of Mo Willems Content
Mo Willems’ company, Hidden Pigeon, has announced a new 10-year licensing agreement with Union Square & Co. for books and products featuring Willems’ characters. Union Square will launch 15-20 new titles per year, including “color and activity books, storybooks, readers, board books, workbooks, novelty formats, and more.” The deal, apparently struck earlier and announced now ahead of the Bologna Book Fair, began with Don’t Let The Pigeon Color This Book! published in October 2024 and includes more books scheduled for fall 2025, including a board book, The Pigeon WON’T Count to 10!. The Knock Knock imprint will also release gift and […]