Commercial Law

The recording industry estimates that music piracy has cost it billions of dollars during the past 15 years. Facing the potential for an industry-wide collapse, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) undertook its aggressive litigation campaign to protect itself and its constituents from copyright infringement by suing individual file sharers. After fighting a public relations battle over some of its tactics, the RIAA has chosen to temper its aggressiveness. The RIAA is instead forming relationships with ISPs that maintain the online accounts of the consumers.

Malpractice Suit Continues over Manilow Musical
Malpractice Suit/Lack of Specificity

A roundup of noteworthy entertainment law firm and attorney movement and news.

Valuation of a sponsorship opportunity is much more art than science and it is important that a lawyer involved in the negotiation of a sponsorship agreement understand how the various factors interrelate. While this article focuses on the factors affecting the valuation of a sponsorship opportunity with a NASCAR race team, most of the factors can be applied to sponsorship opportunities in other sports as well.

Rock-solid numbers on economic activity are tough to come by, but if the U.S. Census Bureau's preliminary estimates of retail e-commerce sales can be considered the closest thing to rock-solid numbers, then the nation's economy may be starting the long recovery economists said would come.

Most contracts are the result of a give-and-take negotiation, as each side tries to have it its own way. Bricks-and-mortar businesses, for example, will often try to negotiate virtually every clause of every contract, or at least those worth the cost of the negotiation. the only persons who don't get to negotiate each clause, generally, are consumers and small-business customers ' and e-commerce buyers.

Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.

In Parktown Imports, Inc. v. Audi of Amer., Inc., the Missouri Supreme Court "fixed" an appellate court decision that could have set a precedent with potentially serious implications for automobile manufacturers and other franchisors or distributors because it would have allowed actions to block network changes on a mere claim of "bad faith," even when there is no standing to bring suit under a specific provision governing network changes.