Features
Second Circuit Interprets 'Executed By the Author' In Copyright Act's §203 Grant Termination Provision
Composers of pre-1978 works often assigned both the initial and renewal copyright terms in their works when signing songwriter agreements with music publishers. But what happens when a grant of the copyright renewal term of a pre-1978 work has been made post-1977?
Features
Components of Legal Work On NFTs
With a significant amount of NFT activity arising from the entertainment and sports industries comes an inevitable need for legal services. But taking advantage of this economic growth is no simple matter for entertainment, media and sports lawyers. It requires an understanding not just of NFT transactions, but also of data security, intellectual property, public policy, and a whole raft of regulatory and compliance issues.
Features
A Primer on Landlord Exculpatory Provisions In Leases
Keystone Specialty Services Co. v. Ebaugh Practitioners should take note that depending on the jurisdiction, a well-drafted exculpatory clause may afford additional protections to a commercial landlord, even from its own negligent acts.
Features
Trademark Oppositions and Coexistence Agreements
There are frequent battles over trademark rights in the entertainment industry. Trademark publication can be an anxious part of the federal application process, with fear of aggressive opposition and costly proceedings looming in the background. But many trademark oppositions, whether they are only threatened or actually filed, afford the applicant a discussion with an opposer that can ultimately be helpful in nonobvious ways.
Features
'Executed By the Author' In Copyright Act's §203 Grant Termination Provision Interpreted By Second Circuit
Composers of pre-1978 works often assigned both the initial and renewal copyright terms in their works when signing songwriter agreements with music publishers. But what happens when a grant of the copyright renewal term of a pre-1978 work has been made post-1977?
Features
Preferred Equity In Peril?
Two Recent Cases Shed Light on Potential Risks to Preferred Equity Holders in Chapter 11 Preferred equity is a varied and flexible instrument, but, in practice, it typically has a limited number of common features. One feature is that it is entitled to a "liquidation preference" ahead of common stock. Whether the liquidation preference of preferred equity entitles preferred shareholders to priority over common shareholders in a Chapter 11 reorganization is a question that figured prominently in two recent high profile cases.
Features
Seventh Circuit Bars Bad Faith Asset Buyer Protection
"Good-faith purchasers enjoy strong protection under [Bankruptcy Code] §363(m)," but the silent asset buyer ("B") with "actual and constructive knowledge of a competing interest" lacks "good faith," held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Features
Supreme Court Addresses Municipal Sign Regulations, Again
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court applied strict scrutiny to a sign regulation as it related to directional signs placed by a local congregation that held services at different locations each week. The Court took another look at the issue of strict scrutiny relating to "off-premises" signs in the case of City of Austin, Texas v. Reagan National Advertising , in which the majority concluded that strict scrutiny should not apply to determining whether the off-premises sign regulations at issue violated the First Amendment.
Columns & Departments
Players On the Move
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Features
The Stenography Shortage Is Impacting Client Service: What's the Future of Court Reporting?
In the court reporting market, technology has matured to match or exceed stenography's stronghold on speed and accuracy and, as such, is poised to disrupt the market.
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