The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Western Division, decided that right of publicity and misappropriation claims by an individual hired to be a fictional character were preempted by federal copyright law. Stanford v. Caesars Entertainment Inc.
I have a lot of trouble accepting something that makes no sense simply because an attorney trying to make a point in a deal says: 'It's always done that way,' or 'Everyone does it like this.' Attorneys preparing a film contract often use this 'irrational' rationale. I am referring to the reversion clause in a contract to acquire rights in a basic work, such as a novel for a film.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed that the inclusion, without a license, of thumbnail-size reproductions of concert posters of the Grateful Dead in a book on the band's history constituted copyright fair use. Bill Graham Archives (BGA) v. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. (DK).
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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.
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.
In-depth commentary on important cases.
Everything contained in this issue, in an easy-to-read-format.
