Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Circuits Split over Whether Recording Sample Is Infringement or Is De Minimis OK
In June 2016, in VMG Salsoul v. Ciccone, 13-57104, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a 0.23 second sample from a sound recording of three horns simultaneously playing the notes of a chord wasn't copyright infringement. In a 2005 decision, Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films, 383 F.3d 390 (6th Cir. 2004), amended on rehearing, 410 F.3d 792 (6th Cir. 2005), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the sampling of any sound from a sound recording, no matter how brief, trivial or minimal, infringed the copyright in the sound recording. In the ensuing decade since Bridgeport Music, although commentators and a number of district courts outside the Sixth Circuit criticized the decision, its holding had not been considered by any other circuit ' until Salsoul.
In Salsoul, the Ninth Circuit rejected Bridgeport Music's reasoning, thereby creating what it characterized as a regrettable but necessary circuit split, leaving record producers and artists in limbo between strict liability for any sampling if a claim is brought in Nashville, which is in the Sixth Circuit, but subject to a “substantial taking” standard for a sampling claim made in Los Angeles, which is in the Ninth Circuit.
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.
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.
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.