Bit Parts
October 29, 2008
Book Publishing/Personal Jurisdiction<br>Copyrights/Wills and Estates<br>Film Tax Shelters/Disclosures to Investor
Cameo Clips
October 29, 2008
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/BANKRUPTCY DISCHARGE<br>COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/TV SHOW TREATMENT<br>COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/VENUE TRANSFER
License to Merge: Precautions for Preserving IP License Rights
October 29, 2008
Despite a long history of case law relating to mergers, one area remains unclear, especially in the entertainment industry: the effect of mergers on intellectual property licensing agreements. Recent case law contributes to this uncertainty and suggests that certain precautions may be necessary to preserve valuable IP licensing rights. Importantly, entertainment companies should anticipate these issues from the outset and careful consideration should be given when first negotiating a license agreement.
<i>Veoh</i> Ruling: Protecting Service Providers or Is It a Trap Door?
October 29, 2008
The recent ruling in <i>Io Group Inc. v. Veoh Networks Inc.</i> has been widely heralded as a win for online service providers in the legal maelstrom surrounding social media. Veoh is an Internet TV platform similar to YouTube that hosts user uploaded content. When clips from adult movies owned by Io Group appeared on Veoh's network, Io brought a copyright infringement suit, rather than issuing DMCA notices to Veoh requesting that its content be removed. Io lost its case.
New Jersey's Truth-in-Music Law Challenged
October 29, 2008
Vocal groups from the 1950s don't just fade away ' they splinter into separate acts that go on to fight over which is a true descendant of the original. In the U.S. and Canada, there are no fewer than 10 groups performing as The Drifters, or some minor variation. To help fans separate bona fide artists from pretenders, New Jersey and 26 other states have passed the "Truth in Music Act," forbidding performers to advertise themselves as affiliated with a recording group unless they demonstrate the connection by specified means.
U.S. Financial Bailout Brings New Amendment To Section 181 for the Deduction of Film Costs
October 29, 2008
The new $700 billion U.S. financial bailout bill included some tax zingers to buy off House of Representative votes. One such zinger was an extension and amendment to Internal Revenue Code Sec. 181, which now provides a deduction for the first $15 million of the cost of certain films produced in the U.S. This article summarizes Sec. 181, including the impact of the Amendment and the IRS Temporary Regulations issued last year.
County Sued over Internet 'Wall of Shame'
October 29, 2008
A Long Island, NY, attorney is suing Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi over his "Wall of Shame" initiative ' posting photos of suspected drunken drivers on the Web.
Think Twice Before Reading Employees' Text Messages
October 29, 2008
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has provided a loud wake-up call to employers who wish to monitor employee communications. In <i>Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating Co, Inc. et al.</i>, the court held that the City of Ontario, CA, violated the state and federal constitutional privacy rights of its police officers when it reviewed their personal text messages.
Music on the Web
October 29, 2008
Any attorney practicing Internet law probably has plenty of clients that offer music to their users ' from background music for a site feature or page to television and movie programming, advertising, Webcasting, play-on-demand music and music videos. Those clients may think that all they need to play music on their service is a license from the record company that released it. Those clients would be wrong.
