LJN Newsletters

A little bruised, Burst.com will live to fight another day in its dispute with Apple over patents it claims the company infringes on in its popular iPod and iTunes music store. Apple tried to invalidate parts of four of the tiny Santa Rosa, CA, company's patents related to compression; high-speed transmission; and sharing, editing and playing audio and video on computers in a summary judgment motion. In a ruling last month, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel invalidated 14 claims, leaving 22 claims remaining.

Online sweepstakes and contests are frequent devices used to promote companies and their products and services. While these tools of the online promotions and marketing trade offer the promise of a cost-efficient way to target interested consumers and create a great deal of buzz, they are hardly trouble-free and myriad traps await the unwary. The Attorney Generals of several states closely regulate and monitor sweepstakes and contests and failure to conduct the campaign properly can result in regulatory enforcement actions and consumer lawsuits.

At low cost and widening availability, VoIP is common in business, and might be used at a greater volume and frequency among tech and e-commerce companies, thus making it a technology and a commodity to watch. Unfortunately, for consumer and businessperson alike, a concealed cost of VoIP service might be a user's privacy. That's because traditional telephone privacy is strictly sheltered by existing case law and statute, while VoIP, it could be argued, is unprotected in many instances.

Arbitration/NFL Agent Contracts
Copyright Exemption/Subject-Matter Jurisdiction
Sampling/Copyright Infringement
Trademark Infringement/TV-Reality Series

COPYRIGHT DAMAGES/CLAIM PRECLUSION
LIVE PERFORMANCES/CLAIMS BY ARTIST

Hollywood had its eyes on the California Supreme Court last month when arguments were heard in a case that could shake up the way personal managers and their fame-hungry clients conduct business. The case has the entertainment world all atwitter because the outcome will have a major impact on the complex interplay between personal managers, talent agents and entertainers.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed state-law claims brought over the TV broadcast of a 37-second clip of plaintiff Jonathan E. Smith, an animal trainer, being attacked by orca whales at Sea World and a segment of Smith discussing the attack in a later interview.

The RIAA has filed thousands of legal actions since its campaign against unauthorized file sharers began in 2003. For the past two years, Holme Roberts & Owen (HRO), based in Denver, CO, has served as national coordinating counsel for these cases. HRO partner Richard L. Gabriel, the record industry's lead counsel in its national campaign, gave an update on the industry's legal efforts against file sharing in a discussion at his office with Entertainment Law & Finance Editor-in-Chief Stan Soocher.