Early in Van Halen’s career, Neil Zlozower shot photos of the music group at Sunset Sound Studios with Eddie holding his famous "Frankenstein" guitar. Years later, Zlozower sued the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, alleging copyright infringement after the institution included two of his Van Halen photos, unlicensed from and uncredited to Zlozower, in exhibits at the museum.
The VPPA may be nearly four-decades old and video-rental stores largely a thing of the past, but the rise of online content, streaming services and ancillary activities has brought with it frequent litigation based on the VPPA. The key challenge in these litigations is how to interpret the VPPA’s 1980s terms in light of today’s digital advances.
It isn’t unusual for talent managers and artists they manage to cofound and operate businesses together. Sometimes, though, the talent manager may claim the artist has violated the manager’s rights via the joint-business entity.
Sports leagues and competitions’ market clout and the increasing consolidation of sports content-streaming companies have recently spawned several civil antitrust actions aimed at reining in these market powers.
What happens when a business manager gets involved in a dispute with one of the artist’s other advisers? A recent example is the litigation between the longtime business manager for rapper Nelly and a longtime consultant who has provided a range of services to the artist that include marketing and promotion, managing Nelly’s touring business, and seeking endorsement deals.
Most of the federal circuit courts that have addressed what qualifies either as a "compilation" or as a single creative work apply an "independent economic value" analysis that looks at the market worth of the single creation as of the time when an infringement occurs. But in a recent ruling of first impression, the Fifth Circuit rejected the "independent economic value" test in determining which individual sound recordings are eligible for their own statutory awards and which are part of compilation.
As for the Truth-in-Music-Advertising law in this case of first impression, band-name rights holders will have to wait for state counsel to act in order to seek remedies provided by the statute.
When artists take action over political-campaign settings, it's usually in the form of a cease-and-desist letter sent to a candidate's representatives. In some instances, artists file lawsuits, but to date there's been just a smattering of notable court decisions. This article provides a refresher on these rulings as well as a look at the recent lawsuit by the estate of Isaac Hayes over the Trump campaign's use of the classic soul song "Hold On, I'm Coming."
With a view toward injecting some modicum of clarity into the volatile arena of NIL, a plethora of legislation has been enacted at the state level and proposed at the federal level.
Can the settlement of a lawsuit by one profit participant in a TV production be used to increase the contingent compensation provisions of other profit participants in the show?
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