Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Bit Parts

Album Funding/Loan or Investment. The Court of Appeals of Georgia ruled that a triable issue exists as to whether money given an artist to make and promote an album was a loan or an investment. Marcum v. Gardner, A06A2184. Funder Rob Marcum sued for return of $50,000 after he was unable to reach a final agreement with musician Don Gardner for a total of $150,000 to fund Gardner's album. Reversing the lower court, the court of appeals explained; 'Neither the trial court nor the defendants provide any insight as to why the defendants were entitled to retain the $50,000 as a matter of law ' Moreover, [Gardner's personal manager Dennis] Kurtz, who conducted all negotiations with Marcum, understood that 'Gardner would have to return Marcum's $50,000 if no agreement was reached.” ' Bands/ Partnerships Claims. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found sufficient evidence to establish an issue of triable fact as to whether Alejandro Lopez, former drummer for Los Huracanes del Norte, was a partner in the band. Lopez v. Musinorte Entertainment Corp., 05-15486. In its unpublished opinion, the appeals court noted: '[A] 1992 Artist Recording Agreement and 1994 extension of that agreement established the band members' intent to jointly own certain of the recordings and to share jointly in the profits of the new Unico recordings. These facts support a finding of the existence of a partnership [under Arizona law] ' Moreover, the trademark application ' asserted that the band was a partnership and that Lopez was a general partner.' The appeals court also found a triable issue on Lopez's claim that he was a joint author of the band's master recordings, in part because 'Lopez came forward with evidence that he made an independently copyrightable creative contribution to the sound recordings on par with the other musicians when he developed and performed the rhythmic and percussion elements during the master recordings.' Also, that 'the parties agreed that the band members were equally billed in recordings and performances for the 20 years that Lopez played as a drummer in the band.' … Documentaries/ Defamation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed that Michael Moore's film documentary 'Bowling for Columbine' didn't defame the brother of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols. Nichols v. Moore, 05-2075. The appeals court noted: '[E]ach sentence of Moore's narration regarding [plaintiff] James Nichols in Bowling for Columbine is substantially true. Though it is possible that a viewer of the movie could erroneously conclude that James Nichols made practice bombs in preparation for Oklahoma City, and was arrested and charged in the Oklahoma City bombing, the court finds that plaintiff's evidence cannot meet the high hurdle presented by a defamation by implication claim.' ' Film Distribution/Taxes. The Court of Appeals of Michigan decided that Buena Vista Home Entertainment is a 'film distributor' under the state's Single Business Tax Act (SBT). Buena Vista Home Entertainment Inc. v. Department of Treasury, 263536. The SBT allows a film distributor to exclude from its tax based the royalties the distributor paid film producers after July 1993. The state appeals court noted in its unpublished opinion that Buena Vista 'is a film distributor principally engaged in distributing copyrighted motion pictures for home entertainment using the medium of videocassettes.' The court then rejected the treasury department's argument that the SBT applied instead to distributors of movie theaters.


Upcoming Event

Entertainment Law: The Year in Review, sponsored by the District of Columbia Bar. In Washington, DC, April 17. For further information: 202-626-3464; www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/events/search_results.cfm.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs Image

A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.

Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.

Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits Image

In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.