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Entertainment Law & Finance
The Other Recent Infringement Lawsuit Judgment Over Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’
Stan Soocher
The lion’s share of attention to copyright-infringement claims against Ed Sheeran over his 2016 Grammy-winning Song of the Year “Thinking Out Loud” recently focused on the trial in New York federal court. But in September 2022, a related infringement suit over the same songs’ matching chord progression and harmonic rhythm was allowed to proceed.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Current Landscape of NIL Contracts Under NCAA Policy
Phil Petrina
As we wait to see if Congress does indeed adopt a preemptive federal standard on NIL, the question becomes: What do business owners, interested investors and attorneys need to know prior to signing a college athlete to a NIL contract under the current landscape?
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Entertainment Law & Finance
IP Experts Discuss AI Art Copyright Litigation
Isha Marathe
IP experts weigh in on a case involving AI-created images based on an original work. The outcome of the case may have a significant impact on AI development and generative art.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
No Bad Faith Found In Tidal Streaming Service Investment
Ellen Bardash
Block Inc.’s board may have made a bad deal when it acquired music-streaming company Tidal, but that’s its right without evidence of bad faith.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
ELF Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Ticket Resellers’ State House Campaign Raises Resale Royalty, Securities Law and Money Laundering Issues
Chris Castle
Should resale royalties be paid to artists and venues when tickets are resold? Such a resale royalty might encourage artists or sports teams to permit transferability for some or all their tickets. It would also help to value that property right. So how would that work?
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Licensing AI Content
Jonathan Bick
The primary issue associated with securing a licensor’s consent for Internet AI intellectual property is that normally the licensor is a computer program, hence not a legal person.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
ELF Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
“Sister Sledge” Sibling’s Use of “Sister Sledge Sledgendary” Isn’t Trademark Infringement
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Upcoming Event
ELF Staff
New York State Bar Association Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section Annual Spring CLE Meeting
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Music Publishing and Recording Rates and Royalties 2023: Past, Present and Future
Jeff Brabec and Todd Brabec
Part Two of a Two-Part Article
In the United States and in most foreign countries, the “performance right” is one of the most important rights of copyright and, in many cases, the most lucrative. In the United States, there is no statutory license under the Copyright Act for this right. Songwriters, composers, lyricists (jointly “writers”) and music publishers join these organizations, which in turn negotiate licenses with the users of music, collect the license fees from those users and distribute the monies to writers and publishers based on surveys of performances, specific payment schedules and distribution rules, as well as other factors.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
What’s Happening With the Concerns Over How Event Tickets Are Sold Online?
Stan Soocher
The November 2022 tech meltdown of online access that slowed or barred consumers from buying tickets from Ticketmaster for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, her first since 2018 and the largest one-day ticket demand Ticketmaster had ever faced, generated worldwide coverage and outrage from her fans. But the incident also resulted in a sizzling convergence of many of the issues that have plagued online sales of live events for years.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
11th Circuit Joins Controversy Among Circuits on Copyright Damages Look Back
Michael A. Mora
The federal appellate court in Atlanta, GA, in a case of first impression “that has divided our sister courts” over the U.S. Copyright Act’s §507(b) statute of limitations on recovering damages beyond three years of a copyright lawsuit filing, just added to that division.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Lionsgate GC Who Resigned Without ‘Good Reason’ Got Severance Pay
Greg Andrews
Add another plot twist to the storyline surrounding Corii Berg, who unexpectedly quit as general counsel of the film studio Lionsgate in December, even though he was under contract through June 2023.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
ELF Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
Script Writer Newton’s Funding-Help Lawsuit Against Former NBCUniversal Vice-Chair Meyer Is Dismissed
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Music Rates and Royalties 2023: Past, Present and Future
Jeff Brabec and Todd Brabec
Part One of a Two Part Article
Analysis of 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.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Getty Images’ Suit Over AI Generator
Isha Marathe
The magical world of AI-generated art has become more mainstream over the past few months. There has also been some backlash against the industry, including brewing class action lawsuits alleging copyright violations and resistance from online artist communities. But until recently, a substantial legal threat was yet to emerge against the technology that underpins artificial-intelligence art.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Handling IP Ownership Issues In Remote Work
Sarah Schaedler and Jennifer T. Criss
Even with legal assumptions that certain intellectual property rights in works created by employees are owned by the employer, these should not be relied upon exclusively. A well-drafted employee-agreement form is increasingly essential in light of the explosive growth of remote and flexible work arrangements.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
ELF Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
Sixth Circuit Affirms Late Don Everly’s Sole Authorship Right to Everly Brothers’ 1960 Hit “Cathy’s Clown”
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Upcoming Event
ELF Staff
“Ripple Effect: The Taylor Swift Tour Ticket Debacle,” at SXSW Conference. Austin, TX, March 15.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
What Is the Difference Between ‘Covenant’ and ‘Condition Precedent’ In Song Administration Agreement?
Stan Soocher
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.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Tax Issues In Charitable NIL Collectives In College Sports
Todd Kesterson and Alyssa R. Wan
With a growing number of donor groups forming Name Image and Likeness collectives as not-for-profit entities, there are questions about whether or not these collectives truly qualify as charitable organizations for tax purposes.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
NY Court Strips Major Claims from Lil Wayne’s Suit Against Lawyer
Jason Grant
A New York State appellate court knocked out major claims from prominent rapper Lil Wayne’s $20 million lawsuit against Ronald Sweeney, his former attorney and representative of 13 years, including causes of action for fraudulent inducement, legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Online Extra: Live Nation Taps Prominent Antitrust Attorney Ahead of Congressional Showdown
Chris O’Malley
Girding itself for scrutiny by Congress and regulators over anti-competitive concerns, Live Nation Entertainment has retained prominent antitrust attorney-turned-lobbyist Seth Bloom.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
ELF Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
Breach-of-Contract Claim Can Continue Over Refusal to Exercise Option to Retain Anti-Vaccination Actress
California Court Rules on Intersection Between Anti-SLAPP Law and Movie Trailer
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Copyright Claims Board: Now Entering the “Active Phase"
Michelle Davis
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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Entertainment Law & Finance
The NFT Market and Fallout from the FTX Scandal
Mark Cianci, Charles Humphreville, Kelley Chandler and Ty Owen
The FTX bankruptcy scandal that has shaken the largely unregulated cryptocurrency world has slowed but isn’t likely to end the roll-out of celebrity-related, non-fungible digital token (NFT) offerings. But how might the FTX story impact a push for federal regulation of the NFT market?
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Affirmed for Cancellation of Tina Turner Musical
MTV Floribama Shore Overcomes Trademark Infringement Claim
New York Appellate Division Reinstates Lawsuit Alleging Misappropriation of Reality TV Concept
Ninth Circuit Affirms Film Clip In Talent Acting Reel Was Fair Use
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Entertainment Law & Finance
New Decisions In Disputes Over Titles Reinforce ‘High Bar’ In Proving Public Was ‘Explicitly Misled’
Stan Soocher
When it comes to expressive content, disputes over trademark rights in titles of creative works are commonly fought under the federal Lanham Act. Many of these battles play out in courts in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which has well-developed legal guidelines on the subject — many of them from lawsuits that have arisen in the entertainment industry.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Conn. Fed. Court Distinguishes Funny Girl Lyrics Royalty Rights from Copyright
Allison Dunn
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.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Texas App. Court’s Ruling in Suit By Band Member’s Lawyer
Adolfo Pesquera
A.B. Quintanilla III, founding member and leader of the Latin music group Kumbia Kings, prevailed on appeal in a dispute with a Texas attorney who claimed Quintanilla conspired to cut the lawyer out of his alleged share of a settlement.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Legal Malpractice Suit Involving Celebrity Memorabilia Can Proceed
Jason Grant
A New York appeals court rejected a Manhattan boutique law firm’s attempt to dismiss a malpractice action against it, finding that questions remained as to whether the statute of limitations for the claim was tolled and if the firm received sufficient notice about a bankruptcy that prevented its client from collecting a judgment.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Questions About Fox Corp. CLO Bar Licensing
Greg Andrews
The chief legal officer of Fox Corp. since 2018 didn’t become licensed in California until this summer, a delay one law professor described as a “big screw up” that might expose his communications with fellow Fox executives to public disclosure in the multibillion-dollar defamation litigation brought by two voting companies.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
Court Doesn’t Buy Pandora’s Antitrust Argument Against Comedy Content Licensor
Lawyer Sanctioned Under Rule 11 for Submitting Judicial Notice Request in Artist’s Infringement Suit
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Upcoming Event
Copyright Year in Review. Dec. 9, 2022
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Second Circuit Addresses Significant Music Compulsory Licensing Issues In Bill Graham Archives Dispute
Stan Soocher
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.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fight Stream Distributor Can Pursue Claim Against TN Grill
Allison Dunn
In a matter of first impression, the Sixth Circuit sided with a third-party sporting events distributor by finding the distributor has standing to sue a Kingsport, TN, bar under the U.S. Copyright Act for livestreaming a 2017 boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor without the proper licensing.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Copyright Attorney Fees Ruling in Friday the 13th Termination Case
Mason Lawlor
The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut granted Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller partial attorney fees totaling more than $886,564, in his long-running fight against the 1980 horror film’s production outfit Manny Co. over proceeds from the film.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Report on Oral Arguments At Supreme Court In 'Warhol' Case
Scott Graham
During the recent oral arguments before it, the U.S. Supreme Court sounded open to extending more fair use protection to an Andy Warhol painting of rock icon Prince than the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit did.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
