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Content Rights Rulings on Presumptive Evidentiary Weight and on Burden of Proof
Two recent court rulings involving the entertainment industry considered evidentiary roles in disputes over enforcing rights from underlying copyrights. In one case, the estate of pianist Oscar Peterson and New York City Birdland club owner John Valenti sued Valenti's former live-in companion Hilary Kole, who worked as a singer at Birdland. The plaintiffs claim Kole infringed their copyrights in recordings made by Peterson and Kole that Kole permitted an Internet radio site to stream. The estate filed copyright registrations for the final studio mixes, while Kole claims copyrights in the unedited studio recordings. Section 410(c) of the Copyright Act gives prima facie proof of ownership to copyright registrations made within five years of publication. Sending the case to trial, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York noted: “Given that the two registrations were obtained just five weeks apart and in clear contemplation of this litigation, the Court concludes that any evidentiary weight that might be due one registration is counterbalanced by the other, leaving no presumption on either side.” Peterson v. Kolodin, 13 Civ. 793. In the other case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sent to trial a dispute over the validity of licensing rights to early Bob Marley recordings. Rock River Communications, which obtained a non-exclusive license from San Juan Music Group, sued Universal Music Group (UMG), which claims an exclusive license in the recordings. The cause of action at issue against UMG alleges intentional interference with Rock River's prospective economic advantage. The appeals court decided that defendant UMG must prove Rock River's license from San Juan Music is invalid. The court noted: “UMG cannot obtain summary judgment based on the holes in Rock River's claim to a valid license when the validity of UMG's own licensing rights is equally spotty.” Rock River Communications Inc. v. Universal Music Group, 11-57168
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
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.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.