LJN Newsletters

When it comes to social media, I tend to be an evangelist. But even I could not grasp why so many lawyers were all atwitter over Twitter. What value could there be in a microblogging tool that limits each post to 140 characters? So I strapped on some wings and gave it a try. In no time at all, Twitter turned me into a songbird ready to sing its praises.

Grip sites tell a business what some customers think, even though their opinions are not necessarily those that the business wants to hear ' and certainly not those that it would want other customers or potential customers to hear. They could serve as a warning system to companies that their products or services are not being well received and that they are suffering from bad word of mouth. Gripe sites also, theoretically, add to the public good as forums for discussion and create better-informed customers. But there are, or should be, many other and better ways to obtain this information, such as through a company's own Web site and toll-free customer service numbers.

False Endorsement/No Preemption
Song Copyright/Implied License
Video-Game Statutes/Unconstitutionality

Two courts in the Ninth Circuit have recently addressed how to differentiate between an 'owner' and a mere 'licensee' for purposes of rights under the Copyright Act, and have reached decisions that might surprise many practitioners.

The recording industry estimates that music piracy has cost it billions of dollars during the past 15 years. Facing the potential for an industry-wide collapse, the RIAA undertook its aggressive litigation campaign to protect itself and its constituents from copyright infringement by suing individual file sharers. After fighting a public relations battle over some of its tactics, the RIAA has chosen to temper its aggressiveness. The RIAA is instead forming relationships with ISPs that maintain the online accounts of the consumers.

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/RULE 12(b)(6) DISMISSAL
THEATRICAL OPTIONS/FUTURE ENFORCEABILITY

In January 2008, the California Supreme Court decided that the doctrine of severability of contracts could be applied to the state's Talent Agencies Act (TAA). Under the supreme court's ruling, a personal manager's activities as an unlicensed talent agent may be severed from the manager's legal activities, the latter still being commissionable from the artist by the manager.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York refused to grant a judgment as a matter of law or for a new trial for the former business manager of musician Yngwie Malmsteen in a suit by the musician over missing income.