Managing Practice Group Profitability
May 28, 2008
Managers can no longer ignore the performance of individual practices, hoping problems will correct themselves. Firms everywhere are venturing into various types of reporting and 'profit center accounting,' typically based on the performance of individual practice groups and even specific clients. However, they take a variety of approaches to these analyses, and the differences can cause severely different analytic outcomes.
Bit Parts
May 28, 2008
Copyright Infringement/File Sharing<br>Copyright Infringement/Summary Judgment<<br>Royalty Suit/Right to Trial by Jury<br>Sampling Suits/Sound Recordings
Cameo Clips
May 28, 2008
BLANKET SONG LICENSES/INTERNET SERVICES<br>COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/SETTLEMENT OFFER
CA Supreme Court: Film/Book Consulting, Not Conflicts Mandating Recusal
May 28, 2008
It was prosecutor vindication time at the California Supreme Court in May. In unanimous rulings authored by Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, the state high court held that the Second District Court of Appeal erred when it ordered three deputy district attorneys removed from separate cases each was handling. The ruling chastised the Second District's Ventura branch for failing to grant appropriate deference to a trial court judge's decision that no disqualifying conflict existed for Santa Barbara County prosecutors Joyce Dudley and Ronald Zonen.
RIAA Counsel Appointed Appellate Judge
May 28, 2008
Richard L. Gabriel, the lead attorney for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in its copyright-infringement suits against individuals over the file-sharing of music, has been appointed to the Colorado Court of Appeals.
<b>Practice Notes:</b> Judge Denies Fees to Lawyers in Hip-Hop Bankruptcy
May 28, 2008
A bankruptcy judge slammed a New York law firm for putting its own desire to be paid above the interests of its hip-hop publishing client in a Chapter 11 proceeding. In a stinging 38-page decision, Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez denied Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf any compensation for its work on the bankruptcy of hip-hop media company Source Enterprises Inc.
'Purchaser' Didn't Include Disney Subsidiaries
May 28, 2008
The California Court of Appeal, Second District, decided that the term 'Purchaser' in an agreement for 'Walt Disney Productions' to purchase rights in the novel 'Who Censored Roger Rabbit?' and its characters didn't apply to Disney's subsidiaries.
Focusing on Issues In Artist/Label 360-Degree Deals
May 28, 2008
One could argue that the concept of the '360-degree deal' harkens back to the record business of the 1950s and 1960s. Then, labels would commonly provide integrated A&R, publishing, management and promotional services to their artists, as well as put them out on tours with their label mates. But today's 360 deals are substantially different. Generally, a 360 deal has a label participating in revenue streams outside of its traditional business of manufacturing and distributing recordings.
