How Copyright Was Secured for Mark Twain Autobiography
Copyright lawyers are wondering how the Mark Twain Foundation is claiming a copyright on the first volume of Mark Twain's newly released autobiography despite its publication a century after the author's death, far outside the normal protection window for an unpublished work.
Arbitration Clause Doesn't Cover Dispute Over Movie Payments
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided that a suit, alleging a distributor of made-for-TV-movies failed to pay amounts owed the films' producer, wasn't subject to an arbitration clause in the parties' distribution agreement.
Sugarland Suit Offers Look at Dynamics of Litigating Intra-Band Disputes
Fresh off their November 2010 win for Vocal Duo of the Year at the Country Music Awards in Nashville, Sugarland faced a far different contest in a federal courtroom in Atlanta, GA, in a fight stemming from a 2005 split with the band's founder and former member, Kristen Hall. The trial, if held following more than two years of litigation, could easily have been billed as the anatomy of a band breakup. Though fact-specific to Sugarland, Hall's suit raises issues that are relevant to all-too-common litigations over intra-band disputes.
My Agent Did What?
This article examines the risks presented by the use of third parties when doing business internationally, with a focus on the potential for liability under the United States' Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA").
Upcoming Events
Harvard Law School Fall 2010 Entertainment Symposium<br>Nashville Bar Association Annual Entertainment Law in Review
Bit Parts
Evidentiary Restrictions on Proving Copyright Substantial Similarity<br>Profits Accounting for Use of Band Name Is Nondischargeable Debt<br>Third Amended Complaint Allowed in Karaoke Case
<B><i>Practice Notes:</b></i> DMX General Counsel
When Christopher S. Harrison first joined DMX Inc. in 2005 as vice president of business affairs, he says the new-employee paperwork required by the company was a good omen. He says he signed a waiver that he would not complain about offensive lyrics in the music playing in the office. "I knew I had made the right decision," says Harrison, now general counsel of DMX, an Austin, TX-based music provider to retailers, restaurants, hotels and other businesses. "We have music, different kinds of music, playing in pretty much everybody's office all the time," says Harrison, a fan of hip-hop and classic rock.
