Define Frivolous Copyrights
It is true that many of the most commonly used products were once an idea in the mind of some innovator. However, being a commonality does not make a copyright frivolous.
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Frivolous in Law
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In legal terms, frivolous is a title given to any lawsuit or claim made without regard to the law. Instead, the lawsuit or claim is brought as a result of someone's personal feelings against another person.
In Copyrights
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A frivolous copyright is one claimed in order to prevent another person from using certain intellectual material, such as a song. Another such copyright claim could be made to simply harass those already using the property.
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Example
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One frivolous copyright case was decided in 2009. In the case, the company Banzai wanted to sue another T-shirt company, Broder Bros. Company, for making tie-dyed T-shirts. The court ruled that the Banzai tie-dye design was too common, and therefore uncreative to be copyrighted as proprietary (and original).
Features
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As seen in the tie-dye T-shirt case, a frivolous copyright is also one that tries to lay claim to a song, text or other piece of intellectual property that is not original or created by the claimant.
Misconceptions
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A copyright can be legally bought and sold. In addition, a copyrighted material can become as common as the "Happy Birthday Song" (copyrighted by the Hill Sisters in 1934) and still have a valid claim.
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