Implications of 'Eldred' Ruling
August 24, 2003
The recent US Supreme Court decision upholding the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) ' which added 20 years to existing and future copyright terms ' has been hailed as an important victory for major studios and other entertainment copyright holders. Eldred v. Ashcroft, 123 S.Ct. 769 (Jan. 15). This is especially so given both the Court's clear deference to what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the majority, acknowledged was the 'unbroken congressional practice' of extending US copyright terms and the entertainment industry's strong lobbying presence in Washington, DC. But other critical copyright issues facing the entertainment industry may be impacted but not resolved by the Eldred ruling.
CAMEO CLIPS
August 24, 2003
Federal copyright law didn't preempt state law claims brought over a settlement agreement for use of a song, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California has decided. (Johnson v. Tuff-n-Rumble Management Inc.,) 02-1734 (Dec. 13). The district court had previously found that the plaintiffs in part transferred part ownership of the song 'It Ain't My Fault' to Tuff-n-Rumble, which then entered into a settlement agreement with No Limit Records to allow the latter to license the song to third parties. The plaintiffs later filed suit in the Civil District Court for the Parish of New Orleans seeking damages and to nullify the settlement agreement.
Decision of Note
August 24, 2003
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York has decided that the negative impact of the Napster free file-sharing software on the ability to sell sound recordings over the Internet didn't give rise to a frustration of purpose defense in a suit over failure to pay the full license fee for the right to sell Who recordings online. Profile Publishing v. Musicmaker.com Inc., 01-2886 (Jan. 24).
How to Handle Frivolous Lawsuits Alleging Song Copyright Infringement
August 24, 2003
No group of creative contributors to the entertainment business is more susceptible to frivolous lawsuits than songwriters. They are easy targets because of the burdens attendant to defending against claims of copyright infringement; and they are inviting targets because of the perception (not always justified) that there are 'deep pockets' associated with a successful song and by being a successful songwriter.
E-Commerce Rising
August 22, 2003
What does a cash-register ka-ching sound like online? It's the tune of $45.6 billion. That's the estimated e-commerce sales ring-up for 2002, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported in February. The activity represented an estimated increase in total e-commerce revenues from 2001 to 2002 of 3.1%.
The Reserved Use ' A Modern Approach To 'Use Restrictions'
August 18, 2003
Most modern leases contain one or more paragraphs addressing the use of the premises. Pursuant to these paragraphs the landlord and tenant agree, among other things, that the tenant is entitled to use the leased premises for one or more specified uses, an 'Allowable Use.' The parties may also agree that certain uses, 'Obnoxious or Prohibited Uses,' would be inappropriate for the tenant space or for any other space in the shopping center occupied by another tenant. In shopping centers where one or more tenants are acting as the initial anchor, that tenant will frequently require the landlord to agree not to let any other occupant have the right to use any portion of the center for a specified use (an 'Exclusive Use'). Sometimes the exclusive is coterminous with the anchor tenant's Allowable Use, but frequently it will be more narrowly drafted to include only a portion of the Allowable Use. In shopping centers where the initial anchor is a grocery store or other readily definable use and where the tenant has significant bargaining power, this process can be quite simple and, with the use of a well-drafted declaration of restrictions, can be applied with relative ease.
'Red Flags and Iceberg Tips'
August 18, 2003
Congress and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are driving home an important point: A company's central management is ultimately responsible for any criminal conduct by its business divisions and employees, and must therefore implement policies and procedures to ensure that it promptly discovers and corrects any potential violations.
How to Avert or Survive a Software Audit
August 15, 2003
<i>Ed. Note: One would expect law firms to consider it beneath them to deliberately have staff members ' or those of an ancillary business ' use illegal software copies. But the potentially high cost and embarrassment that can result from even tacitly permitting violations of software licenses should merit proactive attention by firm management.</i>
<b><i>Clause & Effect</b></i>Issues in Drafting Work-for-Hire Agreements
August 01, 2003
The common use of content created by freelance talent has made the signing of work-for-hire agreements a common requirement of entertainment production companies. But just how specific must the contract language be to make the work-for-hire provision binding on the content creator?
Bit Parts
August 01, 2003
Recent developments in entertainment law.
