Litigation

The proliferation of Internet access and mobile devices has led to an exponential explosion of content on the Web, creating a vast repository of "publicly available" information. This has made it far easier for third parties to extract this data for commercial sale and use ' and to do so for free and without authorization. This data extraction, commonly referred to as "scraping," "crawling," or "spidering" (collectively "scraping"), creates legal issues and concerns for both sides of this issue.

Not as much public domain material is recorded in comparison with original material, but if such a song becomes a hit or is on a successful album, the public performance royalties can be substantial provided the writer/arranger (who is many times the recording artist or record producer) holds the copyright in his or her version and registered it with the performance right society (PRO) with which the writer is affiliated.

Advice-of-Counsel Affirmative Counterclaim Defense to Remain in Case Brought over Use of "Twilight" Marks
Former Litigation Attorney's Handling of Case Doesn't Relieve Film Company of Liability for Judgment
Motion to Disqualify Counsel Is Denied in Suit Involving Process for Selling Concert Recordings

e-Discovery is a much more robust field than when it started, and that expansion can be seen in the growth in the number of different tools, ways they can be combined and options that can be used throughout each stage. It's a burgeoning field, but the pool of talent has not always kept up with expansion, and it remains a difficult industry to enter without experience.

The power of big data was dramatically illustrated in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. Within 24 hours, investigators had compiled more than 10 terabytes of data related to the incident. By meticulously combing through it all, they were able to identify suspects in relatively short order.

Attorneys for Viacom International Inc. told the Delaware Supreme Court in oral arguments in July that their client did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when it failed to renegotiate an agreement with Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) to distribute the video game Rock Band, thereby reducing the earn-out payments to shareholders of the game's developer, Harmonix Music Systems Inc., which merged with the Viacom entertainment conglomerate in 2006.

The Federal Circuit's en banc decision in CLS Bank Int'l v. Alice Corp. was roundly criticized as a "nightmare," further cementing the impression that the court was confused and in conflict over the requirements of patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C '101.

Supreme Court Ruling Makes It More Difficult To Arbitrate Claims