Counsel Concerns
January 28, 2009
Client's RICO Claim Against Lawyer Is Dismissed<br>Malpractice Suit Lacks Proximate Cause
Activision/Blizzard Merger Shows Video Game Industry Challenges
January 28, 2009
In late 2007, Activision CEO Robert Kotick, the jolly-looking entrepreneur known as one of the smartest and toughest in the business, approached Vivendi Games, which published World of Warcraft through its subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment Inc. Kotick made an offer for Blizzard, but Vivendi countered by suggesting that the two companies merge ' with Kotick at the helm. The merger, which was completed in July 2008, created a publicly traded company, Activision Blizzard Inc., that is the most impressive video game business in the world ' running neck-and-neck in revenues with longtime leader Electronic Arts Inc. ' and surpassing it in profits.
Court Rules in Suit over Stones Blackberry License
January 28, 2009
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided that The Rolling Stones' tour management company didn't breach the exclusivity terms of an agreement for use of Stones intellectual properties in conjunction with the planned development of a limited-edition Blackberry smartphone
The Phonorecord Compulsory License Statute and the Unresolved 'Arrangement Privilege'
January 28, 2009
The Copyright Act of 1976 reflects a balance of the competing interests of copyright holders and those wishing to build on their existing works. As to composers of music, on one hand it secures to copyright holders the exclusive rights of exploitation in the manners prescribed by Sec. 106. On the other hand, the Act recognizes that new creation is often rooted in existing works, and therefore allows a new artist to borrow from existing works in appropriate circumstances without fear of being labeled an infringer. For over a century, one such "carve-out" from the exclusive rights secured to copyright owners has been the compulsory license in and to musical works, codified at 17 U.S.C. Sec. 115. Yet certain of Sec. 115's parameters have never been clearly defined.
The Struggle over Net Neutrality
January 28, 2009
In impassioned language more appropriate to international conflict, political debate or, at the very least, the cosmic struggles of comic-book superheroes and villains, a debate about "net neutrality" continues to rage in legal and business publications, on the Internet and in blogs throughout the world.
Networking and e-Commerce: Get To It and Stay at It
December 29, 2008
Especially for e-commerce attorneys ' who have quickly adapted to doing all of their business chained to a computer monitor ' in-person networking is becoming a lost art. Even if you may very well be doing the right thing in attending networking events, you may not be doing the thing right well.
Bit Parts
December 22, 2008
Copyright Infringement/File Sharing<br>Copyright Licenses/Notice of Ownership<br>Copyright Ownership/Films
Upcoming Event
December 22, 2008
11th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Scholarship Luncheon
<b>Cameo Clips</b> Controversial Ruling On Copyright Protection for Foreign Works
December 22, 2008
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a copyright infringement verdict against the great-grandson of artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in a fight over the right to reproduce sculptures created by the French impressionist. The appeals court noted that stare decisis required it to follow its controversial 1996 precedent regarding Walt Disney's copyright for Bambi. Although that ruling "can be, and has been, criticized, it is still binding in this circuit. We are thus bound to follow it," the court said.
Protecting Interests If Another Company Files for Bankruptcy
December 22, 2008
As the Boy Scouts say: "Be Prepared." And in today's economic climate, that means prepare in advance ' when a contract is entered into ' to protect yourself in case the other entertainment-industry party declares bankruptcy. This requires a basic understanding of the extraordinary protections and rights that are afforded to debtors in a bankruptcy, particularly the right to void unperfected security interests and to terminate executory contracts. So forewarned is forearmed.
