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e-Commerce Docket Sheet
Online Promo Music Resales
Fall under First Sale Doctrine
The Copyright Act's first sale doctrine allows an individual to resell promotional music CDs sent to industry insiders, despite the fact that the CDs bore labels with words that purportedly “license” use of the CD by the recipient. UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Augusto, No. 07-03106 (C.D. Cal. June 10, 2008). The court granted the defendant online reseller's motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff-record company's copyright-infringement claim, but denied the defendant's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) counterclaim for the plaintiff's alleged wrongful takedown notice previously sent to an online auction Web site. Looking to the economic realities of the transaction, the court found that the distribution of the promotional CD provided the recipients with many rights of ownership, including the right to perpetual possession and the freedom from obligations to the plaintiff, making such a distribution a gift or sale, not a license, and thus subject to the first sale doctrine. The court also concluded that, based on the uncertainty of the law in this area, the plaintiff possessed a subjective good-faith belief that its copyright was being infringed when it sent the takedown notice to the online auction site containing the defendant's listing, and was not liable under the DMCA.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
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
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.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
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
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.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
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?