Decision of Note: <b>Copyright Ruling On Suit Time, Damages</b>
In a case with several notable aspects, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that under Sec. 507(b) of the Copyright Act of 1976, a plaintiff can file suit for alleged infringements that occur more than 3 years before the filing of the complaint, as long as the plaintiff didn't, or reasonably couldn't have, discovered the allegedly infringing activity within the Act's 3-year limitation period. <i>Polar Bear Productions Inc. v. Timex Corp.</i>
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Courthouse Steps
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
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<b><i>Commentary</b></i> Perspective On Anniversary Of RIAA File-Sharing Suits
Four thousand two hundred and eighty lawsuits and counting. That's how many lawsuits have been brought by the major record labels against music fans for using peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software (like KaZaA or Morpheus) to swap music over the Internet. The 1-year anniversary has just been reached in the recording industry's unprecedented litigation campaign against its own customers.
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Cash-Flow Insurance Is No Guarantee For Financing of Film Productions
Putting together a film financing package can often be risky. Artisan Entertainment learned that after it thought it had entered into an essentially risk-free financing deal to produce eight films. But after its cash-flow insurer refused to accept some of the films, Artisan found itself on the losing end of a lawsuit that offers insights into just how complex and tricky film financing can be.
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Sixth Circuit Gives Different Views On Infringement
Issuing two important copyright-infringement decisions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently offered different methods for dealing with different types of disputed works.
Badmouthing May Lose You Custody in Connecticut
Several judges in Connecticut have deprived mothers of custody due to their vitriolic comments about the father. A woman recently lost temporary custody of her sons because, according to Judge F. Herbert Gruendel, her "incessant and completely unjustified vilification" of the father placed their younger son "in a condition of intense psychological turmoil."
Pre-Nups: Estate Planning
When drafting and executing prenuptial agreements, the parties are generally concerned about protecting their assets and delineating their rights upon divorce. In addition to provisions in the event of divorce, however, careful attention also must be paid to the disposition of one's assets upon death. The provisions in the event of death may be particularly important where the assets to be protected were received from one's family or are comprised of a family business. Depending upon the circumstances, the death provisions of a prenuptial agreement may be used to negotiate more favorable divorce provisions for your client. Whether or not used in negotiation, any death provisions included in a prenuptial agreement require an understanding of complex federal tax issues, knowledge of state property law, and thoughtful drafting.
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