Features
UMG v. Grande Communications: Another Victory for the Music Industry in Its Battle to Hold ISPs Liable for Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
Since the advent of the Internet, the music industry has been in a pitched battle to combat online piracy. Initially, the industry focused on shutting down services that offered peer-to-peer or other similar platforms, such as Napster, Aimster and Grokster. For a time, the industry also focused on filing claims against individual infringers to dissuade others from engaging similar conduct. In recent years, the industry seems to have shifted focus toward Internet Service Providers.
Columns & Departments
IP News
Kapoor v. National Rifle Association of America
Features
Perfecting Film Financiers' Liens in Copyrights
The law on how to perfect a lien in a copyright application is foggy at best. This article sketches out pitfalls of the current process for perfecting a lien on a copyright application, and potential steps that a financier may take to help perfect and protect a film investment.
Features
Decision of Note: 6th Cir. Says No 'Magic Words' to 'Elect' Copyright Statutory Damages
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided that §504 of the U.S. Copyright Act doesn't require any “magic words incantation” for a copyright infringement plaintiff to choose a statutory damages award, that “[t]he word 'elect' does not by itself require formal procedures.”
Features
SCOTUS Hears Arguments on Copyright Registration Approvals
While hearing January 2019 oral arguments before it, the U.S. Supreme Court sounded inclined to resolve a circuit courts' split over copyright registration procedures against copyright holders.
Features
Making Sense of YouTube's Monetization Policies
This article delves into YouTube's policies for channel monetization, explores the different streams of revenue an artist or creator may be entitled to receive for their works, and offer suggestions to indie creators and more established creators, so they can meet these new thresholds.
Features
How Will the Music Modernization Act's Mechanical Licensing Collective Work?
This article focuses on managing change for clients affected by the MMA's government-mandated mechanical licensing collective. In my view, far from putting songwriters on a trajectory away from the government regulation that has oppressed them for generations, the collective imposes an entirely new bureaucracy with potentially significant costs that are not readily apparent.
Features
Abandonment Defense Stays in Copyright Suit on Filesharing
Malibu Media LLC is by now well-known as a frequent filer of copyright infringement lawsuits nationwide against Web users alleged to have illegally downloaded and shared the company's adult films. But a federal judge in Pennsylvania recently said it should be up to a jury to decide whether the company is entitled to stake a claim to those copyrights in the first place.
Features
DMCA Filmmakers Exemption Expanded
Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemptions aren't just for documentary filmmakers anymore. The U.S. Copyright Office and Library of Congress has broadened a DMCA exemption to now allow more filmmakers to circumvent anti-copying technology and rip short video clips for purposes of commentary and criticism.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Phil Everly's Family Time-Barred From Claiming Co-Ownership of “Cathy's Clown” Song Copyright With Brother Don<br>Newsworthiness and Public Interest Exceptions in Indiana's Right-of-Publicity Statute Apply to Fantasy Sports
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe 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.Read More ›
- Delaware Chancery Court Takes Fresh Look At Zone of InsolvencyOver a decade ago, a Delaware Chancery Court's footnote in <i>Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland, N.V. v. Pathe Communications</i>, 1991 WL 277613 (Del. Ch. 1991), established the "zone of insolvency" as something to be feared by directors and officers and served as a catalyst for countless creditor lawsuits. Claims by creditors committee and trustees against directors and officers for breach of fiduciary duties owed to creditors have since become commonplace. But in a decision that may have equally great repercussion both in the Boardroom and in bankruptcy cases, the Delaware Chancery Court has revisited zone-of-insolvency case law and limited this ever-expanding legal theory.Read More ›
- Compliance Officers: Recent Regulatory Guidance and Enforcement Actions and Mitigating the Risk of Personal LiabilityThis article explores legal developments over the past year that may impact compliance officer personal liability.Read More ›
- How Far Can You Reach? The Territorial Limits of Lanham Act Infringement and False Designation of Origin ClaimsOn June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court set new geographic limits for infringement and false designation of origin claims raised under Sections 1114 and 1125(a) of the Lanham Act. Given the global nature of business today, the decision highlights the need for trademark owners to continually reassess and, perhaps, expand their international trademark registration strategy as product lines and brands become more international in scope.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis 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.Read More ›
