Bit Parts
Recent developments in entertainment law.
<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.
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.
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>
e-Discovery Cost Burdens Are In Flux
Companies can easily incur millions of dollars to recover and search backup computer tapes, and other computer media, to respond to an e-discovery request. A responding company can try to shift these costs onto the requesting party, but that has become harder. The trend of court rulings over the last few years has been to require the producing party to pay the lion's share of the e-discovery costs. <br>A recent federal court ruling bucks that trend. The decision by a federal magistrate judge in Chicago shows how a producing party can, under certain circumstances, shift most of the burden of paying for e-discovery to the requesting party.
Better Late Than Never
In response to the pervasive discovery of electronic information, and at the urging of the bar and the bench, the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure recently published for comment several proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP). <br>This welcome proposal has been a long time coming. For years, litigants have struggled with discovering and producing electronic information. Many organizations have undertaken monumental efforts and incurred significant costs trying to meet unclear discovery obligations. Others settle merely to avoid the complex issue altogether. The lack of clear or consistent guidance in the FRCP and in well-developed case law exacerbates the issue, especially for large and medium companies that operate and litigate in multiple jurisdictions.
