Verdict No. 2 · Wednesday, November 4, 2026

The five rulings

What the courts decided.

What is chicken?

1Frigaliment Importing Co. v. B.N.S. International Sales Corp.US District Court, New York, 1960

2Frigaliment v. B.N.S. (1960): Judge Henry Friendly ruled for the seller. The buyer had the burden of showing the narrower meaning, and it failed.

Is a video game a movie?

1Stern Electronics, Inc. v. KaufmanUS Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 1982

2Stern Electronics v. Kaufman (1982): The court held a video game's sounds and images can be copyrighted as an audiovisual work, even though they change a little in each game.

Football isn't baseball

1Radovich v. National Football LeagueUS Supreme Court, 1957

2Radovich v. National Football League (1957): The Court held football falls under antitrust law, and limited baseball's exemption to baseball alone.

Windows vs. the Mac

1Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 1994

2Apple v. Microsoft (1994): The court ruled against Apple. Most of the elements were licensed or unprotectable, and Apple could not get patent-like protection for the idea of a graphical interface.

Rastafarian photos, repainted

1Cariou v. PrinceUS Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 2013

2Cariou v. Prince (2013): The appeals court reversed a total win for the photographer, finding 25 of the 30 works were fair use and sending the other five back. The parties then settled those.

Five new cases every day at midnight.

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