IMPORTANT NEW COPYRIGHT DECISION: Actors do not have independent copyright in their performances.

Under the Copyright law, it has always been accepted and understood that the work product of actors in films and television do not have a copyright in their performances. That changed in a highly unusual case in 2014 when the federal appeals court in California (the 9th Circuit) held that a film actress owned the copyright in her performance. The situation was highly unusual – she thought she was appearing in a minor role in an adventure film only to find out that her performance was included in a very anti-Islamic film. Death threats followed and she demanded that Google remove the film from YouTube. Google refused and she sued, and ultimately the 9th Circuit held that she had a copyright interest and was entitled to an order requiring Google to take the film down.