Over his highly successful career, comedian Lewis Black has certainly done his share of hard work writing jokes. He also has copyrighted them. Now he and a host of other famous comedians are seeking compensation for the use...more
Lewis Black is the latest comedian to sue the music streaming service Pandora for copyright infringement. Black is following on the heels of the Robin Williams and George Carlin estates, who sued the platform in February,...more
In the music world, performance rights organizations (“PROs”) serve an intermediary function between songwriters and music publishers and third parties who perform the protected works publicly. Among the largest PROs in the...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that the ASCAP and BMI antitrust consent decrees do not prohibit “fractional licensing” of songs. Fractional licensing means that if there are non-ASCAP or non-BMI...more
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that there would be no modifications to the 1941 ASCAP and BMI antitrust consent decrees. The main thrust of the DOJ decision was a confirmation that each consent decree...more
Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump is “Not Gonna Take It”. He recently received permission from Dee Snider to use Twisted Sister’s 1984 hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” in his campaign. Trump sought permission after...more
It’s that time of year: costumes and candy, haunted houses and hayrides. And all those tricks and treats add up to a $7.4 billion commercial industry around the holiday, a figure that exceeds the annual revenue of the...more
The "Dancing Baby" Case—Ninth Circuit Rules That "Fair Use" Must First Be Considered Before Sending Takedown Notices Under the DMCA - Why it matters: On September 14, 2015, the Ninth Circuit ruled in Lenz v. Universal...more