Courthouse Steps
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
<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.
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>
Can the Sequel Make More Money Than the Original?
Talk about a balance of power. Debtors want to sell assets for maximum value. Bidders want to buy cheaply and with finality. While debtors want flexible auctions, if the rules are open-ended, bidders will stay home. So what happens to bidder confidence when, after the auction concludes, but before the sale is approved, a late bidder offers more money? Bankruptcy courts must weigh the potential benefits to the estate against the reasonable expectations of the auction participants and the impact of accepting a late bid on the integrity of bankruptcy auctions. Recently, the Seventh Circuit examined this tension in <i>Corporate Assets, Inc. v. Paloian</i>, 368 F.3d 761 (7th Cir. 2004) (<i>Paloian</i>) [as analysed in last month's issue].
Grokster Wins Peer-to-Peer Battle
In what is poised to spark a debate of significant economic impact for the entertainment industry in the United States Supreme Court, a unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals recently ruled that Grokster, Ltd. and StreamCast Networks, Inc. ' distributors of the Morpheus program ' will live another day, as they do not infringe film and music copyrights by facilitating file-sharing over the Internet.
<b><i>Commentary</b></i> The Strange Case Of Justice Breyer
After the U.S. Supreme Court came down with its last decision in June, <i>Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union</i>, PBS Newshour commentator Margaret Warner asked rhetorically: Why in the world was Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer in the dissent?
Upcoming Events
American Bar Association Annual Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. Los Angeles, October 8-9. Will cover recent case rulings as well…