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Two highly successful rock groups from the 1970s and '80s recently commenced a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against their former record company, claiming a larger share of revenue derived from paid digital downloads of their recordings. <br>The essence of the plaintiffs' claim is that Sony is calculating the artists' shares of revenue from digital download sales through services such as iTunes, in the same manner that the label calculates royalties for physical sales of CDs through traditional retail outlets. The plaintiffs claim that these are not physical sales, but are instead sales of digital copies of recordings that have been licensed to music download providers by Sony, and the royalty rate payable for licensing income, which is much higher than for physical sales, should apply.
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Everything contained in this issue, in an easy-to-read-format.
When a property owner fails to pay real estate taxes, due process requires that the state make reasonable efforts to notify the owner of the resulting foreclosure proceeding. State and local statutory schemes often require the state to notify the owner by regular or certified mail. But if the notification is returned unclaimed or undeliverable, must the state make additional efforts to notify the owner? In <i>Jones v. Flowers</i>, 2006 U.S. Lexis 3451, the Supreme Court recently addressed this question, and held that when notice of a tax sale, sent certified mail, is returned to the state unclaimed, the due process clause requires the State to take 'additional reasonable steps' to provide notice to the property owner prior to the sale. The language of the Jones opinion casts doubt on the validity of the leading New York case on this issue, <i>Kennedy v. Mossafa</i>, 100 N.Y.2d 1.
Features
The right of publicity ' the right of individuals to protect the commercial uses of their names and images ' is now a familiar concept. Given the recently reported $50 million purchase of rights to Muhammad Ali's name or the $100 million acquisition of Elvis Presley's publicity rights (hardly for a song), there can be no question that the right not only can have great value, but has achieved a certain settled status. And yet, the metes and bounds of the right remain elusive at best.
Features
In a recent decision involving a trademark settlement agreement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in <i>Liberto v. D.F. Stauffer Biscuit Co., Inc.</i>, found that a final judgment in a trademark infringement action did not preclude a further action involving claims of trademark infringement, breach of contract, and the defense of incontestability. 441 F.3d 318 (5th Cir. 2006). The case highlights the significance of including certain important terms in a settlement agreement involving a trademark license.
Your client spends considerable time, money, and energy pursuing an individual who is infringing his patent. Just when your client is about to have his day in court, the culprit files a petition for bankruptcy, triggering the automatic stay and stopping the infringement action in its tracks. Has the infringer escaped liability for his infringement, particularly when the bankruptcy court grants him a discharge? Not necessarily.
