Friday’s Endnotes – 05/06/16

Google Image Search and the Misappropriation of Copyrighted Images — In 2013, Google changed its image search function from displaying low resolution thumbnails in its results to offering full size, high resolution versions of the images. Last week, Getty Images filed a complaint in support of the EU’s ongoing investigation into Google’s anti-competitive behavior, saying “[b]ecause image consumption is immediate, once an image is displayed in high-resolution, large format, there is little impetus to view the image on the original source site.” Kevin Madigan has more on the issue.

What Do Superheroes Wear In Off-Hours? Captain America: Civil War’s Costume Designer Explains — Even the casual clothes in a film are carefully considered to add depth to the characters and story. Or, Robert Downey, Jr. is the Avengers’ dad.

Toronto author sends Anne Frank’s diary to German politician after copyright complaints — After German MEP Julia Reda publicly complained that copyright prevented her from reading Anne Frank’s Diary, Toronto author John Degen walked down the street from his office, bought a copy of the book, and mailed it to her. Carol Off of CBC Radio’s As It Happens interviewed Degen about what motivated him.

60 Lawmakers Voice Concerns to Wheeler About FCC Set-Top Box Proposal — The US House members write that the FCC’s proposal would “produce very few benefits for consumers, while potentially harming the viability of these providers.”

Can a Copyright Protect a Cheerleader Uniform? — Continuing its trend of picking very niche copyright cases, on Monday the Supreme Court granted cert in Varsity Brands v Star Athletica, concerning the copyrightability of cheerleader uniforms. Specifically, the Court will look at the idea of conceptual separability, the doctrine used by courts to distinguish between noncopyrightable functional aspects of useful articles and copyrightable creative features of those articles. The Court will hear the case next term, which begins in October.