The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that a songwriter's suit over the James Brown hit "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" was barred by the 3-year statute of limitations of the Copyright Act.
Taking an artist's act on the road involves a variety of situations giving rise to potential liability distinct from those associated with general music business activity. Overland vehicle travel ' the norm for all but a handful of prominent national touring acts ' is only the most obvious example. The range of activities that take place in presenting a live show, even at the club level, offers a host of others. Thus, an artist's representative should ensure the following types of insurance policies are in place before a tour begins.
Last October, President Bush signed into law the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. This 2004 Tax Act amended nearly 600 sections of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), thereby making far-reaching changes to many areas of tax law. While the major focus of the 2004 Act was to provide tax relief for U.S. corporations repatriating earnings back to the United States, this new legislation also provided numerous revenue-raising provisions and tax cuts that affected corporate and individual taxpayers and special interest groups, from film producers to owners of sports teams.
Successful and interesting presentations are a challenge, but they are not impossible to achieve. They require a lot of planning and forethought, but the rewards (an educated, entertained, persuaded and engaged audience) make it well worth the effort. One of the most effective and powerful tools available for effective presentations is Microsoft's PowerPoint.
Protecting essential business information in the event of a terrorist attack or other unexpected threat is a priority that tops most business agendas today ' not just in the legal industry but across all business sectors. The uncertainties that exist in this precarious security environment are forcing technology executive to develop innovative approaches to protecting systems and data to ensure that their business can not only continue in the event of a wide-scale disruption, but also thrive.
At Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP, our answer to this overriding business concern is our proprietary information management and protection solution.
During the American Bar Association GP/Solo Section meeting in Beverly Hills this past October, I happened to be talking to a colleague who was busy on his laptop. When I asked him what he was working on, he told me he was in the process of updating his Web site. I knew he was not a "techie" by any stretch so I became intrigued. I asked him how he was able to work on his Web site at all, let alone make updates while away from the office. He then showed me a solution he found that allowed him to choose and launch a custom Web site in minutes, and then update it from anywhere he could connect to the Internet.
Legal and corporate governance processes all have one thing in common: They generate large volumes of documents. Teams of professionals must produce most of these documents. The teams may be in multiple locations, and the members may have diverse responsibilities and skills. All of them must provide their input in a timely way, often influenced by one another's contributions. Someone must pull all of the input together to complete the document under strict deadline pressure. And there frequently are multiple approval steps; final approval cannot be given until all input is provided, comments considered, and several round of changes made and signed off on.
In other words, the success of the team generating the document depends on the ability of its members to collaborate quickly and effectively. The burden of all this administrative give and take is enormous. But the issue of collaboration is more visible now that the pressure to document compliance with complex regulations has been extended across all industries by way of Sarbanes-Oxley. Now it's everyone's problem.
Electronic communication has been a productivity boon in nearly every industry. E-mail, voice-mail, and the latest favorite, instant messaging (IM), enable workers to communicate at the pace and level of interaction they need. Unfortunately, the more digital messages workers exchange, the more risk companies face from electronic information that could prove damaging during litigation.
