A Lawyer's Guide to the Galaxy Podcast

After more than year of pandemic-impose separation , Ben and Kirk reunite to cover COVID-19 IP waivers, the recent anti-trust ruling against the NCAA by the US Supreme Court, and, of course, Star Wars and Star Trek.

Ben and Kirk break down the long-awaited Supreme Court opinion in the Google v. Oracle case, and speculate wildly about the potential consequences.

Catching up on new developments in the law from 2020, Ben and Kirk follow-up on their prior 3-part series on character copyright. SHOW NOTE: Towards the end of the program, we reference the potential of an upcoming decision in the Google v. Oracle case. After we recorded this but before release, the Supreme Court did indeed issue an opinion in that case. We will be publishing a new episode coverin...

Bonus Material - In a cut from S04E03, Kirk challenges Ben to guess whether radiation-producing medical devices are regulated primarily by the Food and Drug Administration or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

At long last, LGG dives into the background and history of the net neutrality debate to discuss common carriers how Internet services have been historically regulated, and Ben finally explains his remarks from prior episodes about why the sinking of the Titanic teaches us important lessons about net neutrality.

Celebrating Public Domain Day 2021, Ben and Kirk go over some classic literature that is now in the public mean, and just what exactly that means (and doesn't mean). They also discuss the curious copyright status of one of history's most odious literary works, and end with a discussion of some recent personnel changes in the federal government, PHOTO ATTRIBUTION "happy public domain" by Laurel L....

Ben and Kirk kick off Season 4 of LGGPodast by covering the new IP provisions enacted via the recent COVID-19 stimulus package, and they close out with thoughts on season 2 of the Mandalorian.

Wrapping up the 2020 season, Ben and Kirk resume the tradition of the annual Star Wars-themed Holiday Special, going through all of the recently-announced new Star Wars content. Sleigh bell sound effect by GowlerMusic, available at https://freesound.org/people/GowlerMusic/sounds/265458/, and licensed under CC BY 3.0, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode.

In this second-to-last of the edamame episodes, Kirk and Ben freewheel about the Baby Yoda phenomenon and the legal implications of the unlicensed products that initially flooded the market, and also discuss knock-offs that blend other IP. "Hard Rock Cafe Guitar in Black & White" by Javcon117* is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses...

One of your beloved hosts binged watch Picard and is here to share his thoughts on the series (there will probably be spoilers). Your other beloved host got COVID-19.

Back together for the first time in a long time, Ben and Kirk talk about how they've been passing the time during the on-going pandemic and offer suggestions for board games, television programming, and preview upcoming legal topics.

Ben talks about key 1990s-era laws that made the Internet what it is today, and the technological challenges they face in 2020, notably the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, whose "notice-and-takedown" safe harbor provisions remain controversial.

Kirk and Ben talk about the appeal of complexity in video games as Kirk grapples with the nuances of Civilization VI.

In an LGG Podcast first, Ben and Kirk are forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to provide their predictions for a new Star Wars story without first spending hours hypothesizing and bouncing ideas off each other. Tune in to get our predictions for Season 2 of the Mandalorian.

Kirk descends deeper into the bottomless pit of Pokémon and discusses the legal protections and complications around the idea of a "universe" or fictional canon.

Ben and Kirk each give their thoughts on what they would have done differently with the Star Wars sequels. Note: part of Ben's segment was recorded in a vehicle, so there is some background noise. Show Notes: How Star Wars was Saved in Editing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFMyMxMYDNk

Kirk discusses an interesting piece of newly proposed legislation that could radically alter the patent system for decades.

Ben provides a 30-thousand foot review of patent eligibility and the Supreme Court's 2014 decision refining this body of law, through the lens of a recent Federal Circuit case finding that Ubisoft's patent on a mobile device application for self-guided guitar lessons is not eligible for patent protection.

Ben goes over the 9th Circuit decision in Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin and then provides a brief lesson in how rock and roll music is written to explain why apparently similar songs are nevertheless found not to infringe. Resources references this episode include: 1, The Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven appellate decision, Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin, No. 16-56057 (9th Cir., March 9, 2020) https://cdn.ca9...

In our second "edamame" episode (it's not quite a full pod, you see, just one bean), Kirk talks about one of his all-time favorite sci-fi films, Aliens. "FEAR" by Kevin B 3 is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

In the first of our collection of bite-sized episodes, Kirk discusses goings-on at the USPTO pertaining to COVID-19 and related inventions.

Ben and Kirk each spent a few minutes sharing ideas for things to watch or do while we wait for this storm to pass.

May the 4th be with you! Ben and Kirk take a little time to talk about nostalgia, how we remember Star Wars, and why we keep watching it. "May The Fourth Be With You" by Michel Curi is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Kirk provides a quick update on goings-on at the USPTO.

Ben and Kirk talk about copyright fair use and how courts might look at the fair use factors in retrospect after the COVID-19 outbreak is behind us. Will they interpret the factors more generously for infringers who were just trying to get by during these unprecedented times? Production Note: We had some network latency interruptions and there is a crackling sound during the first 15 minutes or so...