Welcome one and all for the first iteration of copyright reads in 2026! In the Romanian calendar January is classed as gerar, meaning cold weather that generally comes with frost, and it has been frosty lately.

I can tell you that Copycat is not a fan of frost. Unless, frost and snow happens while Copycat is in a warm cottage in the Highlands with a roaring fire, some hot chocolate and curled up with a Agatha Christie mystery book.

However, Copycat has been hard at work, choosing interesting copyright reads, videos and events from around the world.

We start of with Copyright Lately’s count down of the worst copyright decisions of last year, the public domain, new and old court cases and of course AI mayhem.

Enjoy!

The 5 Worst Copyright Decisions of 2025

Copyright: Artworks entering the public domain in 2026

Royalty-Free vs Public Domain vs Creative Commons: What Creators Actually Need to Know

What happens when the copyright I own expires?

Fifth Circuit Expands Copyright Termination Beyond U.S. Borders

Two New Top Gun Rulings Map Copyright’s Danger Zone

Copyrights in Cyprus

The Public Value of Arts and Culture

Media and information literacy for all: closing the gaps: global analysis of the current state of play of media and information literacy

IP BASICS – IP made easy [YouTube videos]

GEORGE ORWELL rejection clarifies impact of copyright on EU trademark applications

Copyrightschool 2025: For one more year we bring copyright into the classroom [Greece]

AI and Copyright: Updates from the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 progress statement

The Question of AI and Copyright Infringement is Actually an Easy One

Why academics should do more consulting — and how to make it work

Will the Kat Von D Tattoo Case Kill “Total Concept and Feel”?

Generative AI and the Scope of EU Copyright Law: A Doctrinal Analysis in Light of the Referral in Like Company v. Google

AI, Authorship, Copyright, and Human Originality

Drawing as Structured Inquiry: A Comparison Between Artistic and Scientific Visualization IICAH 2026 [YouTube video]

Public Domain Day a big deal for Australia 

The Case of the Disappearing Copyright: Virtual Public Domain Day 2026 [Free Event]

South Korean creator, copyright groups oppose ‘use first, pay later’ stance in government AI plan

Lizzo sued over copyright for Sydney Sweeney song

Lizzo settles copyright infringement lawsuit over unreleased song

Fashion in TV shows: Emily in Paris’ outfits

Call for submissions to WIPO Magazine on Sports and IP

The 18th-century legal case that changed the face of music copyright law

We hope you enjoyed this selection of items from around the world. Hope to see you back next month, until then, stay warm but also enjoy the winter weather!

All images are from Adobe Stock.