As More Live Performances Are Cancelled, Limited In Size Or Postponed, Venues, Festival Organizers, Artists And Others Are Looking For Relief From The Financial Impact Caused By The Coronavirus Crisis....more
9/1/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Event Cancellation ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Music Industry ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Public Gatherings
Social media influencers have become the latest source of health information for many. This is especially true right now, amidst the ongoing and rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic....more
6/11/2020
/ Advertising ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Online Endorsements ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Social Media ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Websites
On March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state cannot be sued for copyright infringement because Congress lacked authority to abrogate the states’ immunity from copyright infringement suits when it enacted the...more
3/30/2020
/ Abrogation ,
Allen v Cooper ,
Authors ,
Certiorari ,
Congressional Intent ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Copyright Remedy Clarification Act ,
Eleventh Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity
Drake prevails again – this time at the Second Circuit. On February 3, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Drake, finding that his use of a...more
2/11/2020
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Digital Sampling ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Musical Sound Recordings ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
Summary Judgment
Sometimes the truth hurts – but what is the truth here?
On October 23, Melissa Jefferson, professionally known as Lizzo, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court in Los Angeles seeking a declaratory judgment...more
Kanye West and music publisher EMI have agreed on something (at least in theory) – to settle their legal battle. According to a court document filed on September 23, the parties reached an “agreement in principle” to settle...more
9/25/2019
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Associates ,
Business Litigation ,
Constructive Trusts ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
EMI Entertainment ,
Exclusive Dealing Agreements ,
Forum Shopping ,
Kanye West ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Music Industry ,
Personal Services ,
Restitution ,
Song Lyrics ,
Unjust Enrichment
Apogée or ApHogee: that is the question. Do those look or sound similar to you? Not to Louis Vuitton. But the Federal Circuit disagreed, and on July 5 ruled that the luxury brand could not register the word “Apogée” as a...more
7/15/2019
/ Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Personal Care Products ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
Is traditional advertising dying in the Digital Era? Not only is offline marketing facing a slow death (goodbye, classifieds!), but companies are realizing that traditional online advertising may be losing its power....more
7/1/2019
/ Brand ,
Copyright ,
Deceptive Intent ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Influencers ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Endorsements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right of Publicity ,
Social Media ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USPTO ,
Websites
“There’s still time to change the road you’re on,” Led Zeppelin says, hoping a 2016 jury verdict in its favor will be reinstated. On June 10, an 11-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit announced that it would rehear a copyright...more
ReDigi, an online platform that allows users to buy and sell pre-owned digital content directly from other consumers, is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling finding that its services were not protected by the...more
5/23/2019
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Digital Media ,
ebook ,
Fair Use ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
iTunes ,
Mobile Apps ,
Music Industry ,
Musical Sound Recordings ,
Online Videos ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
ReDigi Inc ,
Right of Reproduction ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Software ,
The Copyright Act ,
Video Games
“I feel glorious, glorious,” Macklemore is saying. On Tuesday, April 23, a Louisiana federal judge in the Fifth Circuit dismissed a 2017 lawsuit claiming that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis unlawfully sampled Paul Batiste’s sound...more
Counterfeiting is one of the biggest threats to the fashion industry, deceiving unwary consumers and diluting brands’ values and hard-earned reputations. Counterfeiting costs brands over $450 billion in lost sales each year,...more
4/1/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Chain of Distribution ,
Counterfeit Goods Regulation ,
Counterfeiting ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Luxury Goods ,
Manufacturers ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Supply Chain ,
Women in the Law
Spotify, the popular music streaming service, just launched its service in India– but without the support of Warner Music Group (WMG). ...more
By now, most of you have seen both or one of Netflix or Hulu’s documentaries detailing the ill-fated music festival that was supposed to take place on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas during the spring of 2017. ...more
1/31/2019
/ Arrangement and Promotion ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Fraud ,
Influencers ,
Liquidation ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Public Venues ,
Scams ,
Social Media ,
Third-Party ,
Wire Fraud
The year didn’t start on a high note for Ed Sheeran. Back in 2016, Sheeran was sued by the heirs of “Let’s Get It On” (LGO) co-writer, Ed Townsend, who accused Sheeran of copying several elements of LGO in his 2014 hit,...more
Have you ever considered investing your money with a robot? A new category of investment advisers known as robo-advisors are automated, low-cost services that provide investment advice via web or mobile platforms....more
1/1/2019
/ Automation Systems ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Suitability Requirements ,
Wealth Management ,
Women in the Law
In February 2014, Andrew Greene sued Paramount Pictures arguing that he was defamed in the blockbuster film, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Greene’s four-year battle is now over after a New York federal judge dismissed his...more
Taylor Swift just signed a new record deal that will likely influence the ways in which other artists negotiate with labels....more
Kanye West is trying to dodge class certification for a group of devout fans who claim he duped them into subscribing to music streaming service, Tidal. ...more
The fate of Coachella Music Festival and Filmchella is in the jury’s hands. On September 10, 2018, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, denied Coachella’s motion for partial summary judgment on its trademark claims against...more
In June, I reported on a copyright infringement case concerning Oscar-winning film, The Shape of Water. The suit was filed in February in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, on the same day that the Academy voters started...more
The Shape of Water, winner of four Oscars this year, is defending itself in a copyright infringement lawsuit which asserts the film copies a 1969 sci-fi play. The suit was filed on February 21, 2018, just one day after Oscar...more
HBO escaped a copyright lawsuit on Tuesday May 1, after a New York federal judge dismissed claims filed against the network by a graffiti artist. Last July, Itoffee R. Gayle, sued the television network for featuring his...more
5/11/2018
/ Cable Television Providers ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Fair Use ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
HBO ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Popular ,
Unfair Competition
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival owner Anschutz Entertainment Group Inc. (“AEG”) and its subsidiaries and affiliates were hit with a lawsuit for allegedly using anticompetitive practices such as prohibiting artists...more
Rapper Tyler, the Creator (“Tyler”), is facing a lawsuit for copyright infringement, which alleges he illegally sampled a 1971 soul song, “Why Can’t There Be Love,” in his 2015 hit, “Deathcamp.” ...more
4/3/2018
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Digital Sampling ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Sound Recording Copyrights ,
Statutory Damages