Entertainment Law Update Episode 160 – August/September 2023
The National Football League must pay more than $4.7 billion in class-action damages for overcharging subscribers of its “Sunday Ticket” telecasts, a California federal jury said on Thursday....more
On May 20, the Federal Circuit held fees incurred in voluntary parallel IPR proceedings were not recoverable under 35 U.S.C. § 285. Dragon Intell. Prop. LLC v. DISH Network L.L.C., No. 2022-1621, slip op. at 8 (Fed. Cir. May...more
On December 20, 2023, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a Petition in state court alleging Sirius XM Radio’s autorenewal practices violated New York’s autorenewal law. In the lawsuit, New York alleges that Sirius...more
Franchise Tax - Apportionment - 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.591 (Margin: Apportionment)—The Comptroller adopted his amendments outlined in our previous post to implement the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in Sirius XM...more
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (the Comptroller) published proposed amendments to Texas’ franchise tax apportionment rule in the January 20 issue of the Texas Register, discarding the now-repudiated...more
On October 4, 2022, a Second Circuit panel affirmed the lower court’s decision that defendant Sirius XM Radio Inc.’s ads showcasing The Howard Stern Show do not violate plaintiff John Edward Melendez’s publicity rights. The...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 a recently issued taxpayer-favorable opinion, the Texas Supreme Court overturned the court of appeals’ decision holding that the state’s performance-based sourcing statute for service receipts essentially looks to customer...more
On March 25, the Texas Supreme Court issued a highly-anticipated decision concerning the proper test to source receipts from services for purposes of Texas franchise tax. By statute, receipts from a “service performed in this...more
Sirius XM Radio, Inv. v. Hegar (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts), No. 20-0462, __S.W.3D__ (Tex. March 25, 2022) Issue: Under Texas law, are Sirius XM’s monthly subscription fees from Texas users are receipts from a...more
The Texas Supreme Court issued a decision holding that service receipts are sourced to the physical location of the taxpayer’s personnel or equipment that performed the service for which the customer paid. The decision...more
In a much anticipated opinion addressing Texas franchise tax apportionment, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on 25 March 2022 in favor of the taxpayer, overturning a court of appeals decision that had upheld the Texas...more
Matt Hunsaker breaks down the latest state tax news including a discussion of tax arguments in a controversial civil war era statue removal case, the Texas Supreme Court's decision to hear Sirius XM's apportionment case, and...more
Calling it a “ball of confusion,” the Ninth Circuit recently considered a case involving the music of the Turtles, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and whether royalties are owed under California copyright law for music dating prior...more
Well, today is the big day. If you’re reading this week’s installment of the Spotlight, it means that you survived the long and arduous journey of the name, image and likeness (NIL) era in college sports. Indeed, with the...more
Lyft is letting go of its self-driving car unit, Level 5—reaching a deal with Toyota’s Woven Planet subsidiary for $200M, with an additional $350M in payments over the next 5 years. Lyft revealed that “unloading Level 5 would...more
Although a valid license can provide a complete defense to patent infringement, the tangled web created when the defense is predicated on a sublicensee’s rights following bankruptcy of the sublicensor may preclude resolution...more
Last week, the Federal Circuit revived a patent infringement suit brought by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der angewandten Forschung E.V. against Sirius XM Radio Inc. in the District of Delaware when it vacated the...more
Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have resigned over the direction of their app, which Facebook acquired in 2012. The pair has reportedly been frustrated of late by the increasing intervention of Facebook’s...more
Pinkus v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc., No. 16 C 10858, 2018 WL 3586186 (N.D. Ill. July 26, 2018) - Plaintiff filed suit, alleging Defendant violated the TCPA by, among other things, placing more than 100 calls to his cell phone...more
OMB official Kathleen Kraninger is likely to face serious questions as she takes to the Hill today to begin confirmation hearings for her surprise nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Why? Her lack of...more
In a unanimous October 26, 2017, decision, the Supreme Court of Florida concluded that Florida common law does not recognize an exclusive right of public performance in pre-1972 sound recordings. Thus, members of the band,...more
On December 20, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court) issued a landmark state copyright law decision, holding in response to a certified question from the Second Circuit in Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius...more
On December 20, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, held that no common law public performance right exists for pre-1972 sound recordings. The issue of whether a common law public performance...more
Answering a question certified to it by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the New York Court of Appeals held in Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc., that New York’s common law does not protect the right to publicly...more