Part One of a Two Part Article A look at the most important music rate and royalty areas, both past, present and future and how and by whom they are set or determined as well as the effect that legislation, litigation, the Copyright Royalty Board and the Department of Justice have had on the process.
A question of law arose for a District Judge when a songwriter sued YouTube, claiming she never approved licensing her works to YouTube — whether the administration agreement's notice-and-consent clause was a condition precedent to the administrator's ability to license the songwriter's songs.
The change in character of social media, from purely social communication to a mixture of the social and commercial, has had knock-on effects for courts applying traditional legal principles, notably, the application of copyright law.
A question of law arose for a District Judge when a songwriter sued YouTube, claiming she never approved licensing her works to YouTube — whether the administration agreement's notice-and-consent clause was a condition precedent to the administrator's ability to license the songwriter's songs.
2023 is shaping up to be a big year for small claims. Since making its debut in June of 2022, the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) has received over 250 claims, and at least 11 have made it to the "active phase," with more on the way. Active phase means a respondent was served, failed to "opt out," and now the esteemed three-member tribunal of copyright experts may finally get a chance to make some rulings.
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Copyright holders would be well advised to familiarize themselves with the Copyright Claims Board for resolving copyright infringement claims and to consider its benefits and potential downsides in bringing or defending copyright infringement actions.
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut sided with the family of a production company executive in finding that the wife of late Broadway lyricist Bob Merrill had no right, under §304(c) of the U.S. Copyright Act, to cancel a more than 50-year-old royalty agreement between the executive and Merrill.
Copyright holders would be well advised to familiarize themselves with the Copyright Claims Board for resolving copyright infringement claims and to consider its benefits and potential downsides in bringing or defending copyright infringement actions.
In 2015, a group of music publishers sued the purchaser of the Bill Graham Archives — a repository that includes live performances staged by the late, legendary concert promoter of an array of musical artists beginning in the 1960s. Now, the Second Circuit has handed down its appellate opinion in the litigation, addressing the important compulsory licensing concerns as well as some of the additional issues in the case.
