In 2000, Metallica hired a consulting firm to track Napster accounts that were allegedly sharing the…
The YMCA sued the Village People…
The YMCA sued the Village People over their “YMCA” song for trademark infringement, but the two sides settled out of court and the YMCA later expressed pride towards the band for their song as a salute their organization. 00
The post The YMCA sued the Village People… appeared first on Crazy Facts.
Carl Sagan’s team wanted to include…
Carl Sagan’s team wanted to include the Beatles song “Here Comes the Sun” on the Voyager Golden Records (discs containing greetings in 60 languages, music and sounds from Earth aboard both Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977), but the record company EMI, which held the copyrights, declined.
In 1974 the 1946 movie…
In 1974 the 1946 movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” fell into public domain because the studio failed to renew it’s copyright. As a result, it was aired a lot, which explains why it became so popular even though it flopped in theaters. The studio got rights to the movie again in 1993.
Even though Benjamin Franklin…
Even though Benjamin Franklin is credited with many popular inventions, he never patented or copyrighted any of them. He believed that they should be given freely and that claiming ownership would only cause trouble and “sour one’s Temper and disturb one’s Quiet.”
In 2016, ‘Getty Images’ sold some…
In 2016, ‘Getty Images’ sold some of the 100,000+ photos that had been donated, royalty-free, to the Library of Congress by the original photographer and Getty Images then demanded payment from the photographer, for using the photos she owned. She sued them (unsuccessfully) for over $1 billion. 10
The people who falsely claimed the copyright…
The people who falsely claimed the copyright to “Happy Birthday to You” made $2M a year for decades until the song was ruled public domain. 00
UK prop designer Andrew Ainsworth…
UK prop designer Andrew Ainsworth, made the original Stormtrooper helmets, was sued by Lucasfilm for $20m for making and selling replicas, argued he did not hold the intellectual property rights, a point upheld by a US court. After spending £700,000 defending himself, Ainsworth won. 00
The trollface meme “(Problem?)” is copyrighted….
The trollface meme “(Problem?)” is copyrighted. At the meme’s height, when it was plastered on t-shirts the creator would would pull in between $10,000 and $15,000 every few months. 10
“Peter Pan” is the only UK copyright which has been extended in perpetuity…
“Peter Pan” is the only UK copyright which has been extended in perpetuity, meaning Great Ormond Street Hospital can receive royalties forever. This has earned it the name “The Copyright which never grows up”.