Bit Parts

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a district court ruling that Sec, 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URRA) ' which restored copyrights to works in the public domain in the United States but still under copyright in their home country ' is constitutional. Luck's Music Library Inc. v. Gonzales, 04-5240.

Film Production/ Employment Discrimination

The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Five, ruled against Anne Trop in her suit alleging that she was fired from her job as assistant to movie producer/director Betty Thomas due to sexual discrimination and wrongful termination. Trop v. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., B174101. The court of appeal found: “Trop failed to raise a triable issue that her termination was based on pregnancy. Plaintiff produced no evidence to rebut defendants' showing that: 1) Thomas made the decision to fire Trop before Trop learned she was pregnant; 2) Trop's job performance was unsatisfactory for Thomas's needs; and (3) Thomas did not know of Trop's pregnancy until after the firing.”

Music Sampling/Certiorari Denied

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari to review a music-sampling ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Newton v. Diamond, 04-1219. The appeals court held that the Beastie Boys' use of a sampling loop of a 6-second, three-note segment in their recording “Pass the Mic” from a musical composition by flutist James Newton was de minimis and thus not copyright infringement.

Music Sampling/Rehearing Ruling

In a ruling after rehearing, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reconfirmed its view that sampling of any portion of a pre-existing sound recording constitutes copyright infringement, even if the sampled recording is digitally altered. Bridgeport Music Inc. v. Dimension Films, 02-6521. According to the appeals court: “The music industry, as well as the courts, are best served if something approximating a bright-line test can be established. Not necessarily a 'one size fits all' test, but one that, at least, adds clarity to what constitutes actionable infringement with regard to the digital sampling of copyrighted sound recordings.” The court nevertheless left in its comment from its earlier ruling granting the petition for rehearing that a fair use defense may be considered on remand.

Satellite TV/Piracy

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, granted maximum statutory damages against a defaulting copyright defendant who illegally distributed software to circumvent satellite-TV company DIRECTV's signal encryption technology. DIRECTV v. Hughes, 5:03-CV-148. The district court awarded DIRECTV a $100,000 statutory penalty for one violation of the Federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended 47 U.S.C. Sec. 605. The court noted: “The evidence shows that [defendant] Hughes violated Sec. 605(e)(4) and that he did so knowingly. Moreover, although there is no evidence regarding the number of violations, it is reasonable to conclude, based upon the number of hits on the [defendant's] Web site, that there were numerous violations. Finally, an award of maximum statutory damages is appropriate because DIRECTV has presented evidence showing that it incurs significant expense and employs significant resources in order to combat piracy, and Hughes' conduct contributed to this expense.” The court also assessed statutory damages of $2,500 for violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

TV Series/Trademarks

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided that the advertising and marketing logo of the TV reality show “Survivor” didn't infringe on the plaintiff's “Survivor” trademarks for Hawaiian-beach-style products like sunscreen, t-shirts and surfboards. Surfvivor Media Inc. v. Survivor Productions, 02-17064. The appeals court found, among other things: “In this case, although both parties portray an outdoor theme, there is no material evidence in the record that customers are likely to associate the two products or conclude that the products come from the same source. In fact, the evidence indicates that only one retailer and one customer may have concluded that the products had a common source.”

BOOK RELEASE

“The Future of the Music Business: How to Succeed With the New Digital Technologies” by Steve Gordon. (Gordon is a member of the Entertainment Law & Finance Board of Editors.) Published by Backbeat Books. Includes chapters on downloading and interactive streaming, webcasting, licensing for new media, online record stores and online financing. For further information: www.backbeatbooks.com or 415-947-6876.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a district court ruling that Sec, 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URRA) ' which restored copyrights to works in the public domain in the United States but still under copyright in their home country ' is constitutional. Luck's Music Library Inc. v. Gonzales, 04-5240.

Film Production/ Employment Discrimination

The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Five, ruled against Anne Trop in her suit alleging that she was fired from her job as assistant to movie producer/director Betty Thomas due to sexual discrimination and wrongful termination. Trop v. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., B174101. The court of appeal found: “Trop failed to raise a triable issue that her termination was based on pregnancy. Plaintiff produced no evidence to rebut defendants' showing that: 1) Thomas made the decision to fire Trop before Trop learned she was pregnant; 2) Trop's job performance was unsatisfactory for Thomas's needs; and (3) Thomas did not know of Trop's pregnancy until after the firing.”

Music Sampling/Certiorari Denied

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari to review a music-sampling ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Newton v. Diamond, 04-1219. The appeals court held that the Beastie Boys' use of a sampling loop of a 6-second, three-note segment in their recording “Pass the Mic” from a musical composition by flutist James Newton was de minimis and thus not copyright infringement.

Music Sampling/Rehearing Ruling

In a ruling after rehearing, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reconfirmed its view that sampling of any portion of a pre-existing sound recording constitutes copyright infringement, even if the sampled recording is digitally altered. Bridgeport Music Inc. v. Dimension Films, 02-6521. According to the appeals court: “The music industry, as well as the courts, are best served if something approximating a bright-line test can be established. Not necessarily a 'one size fits all' test, but one that, at least, adds clarity to what constitutes actionable infringement with regard to the digital sampling of copyrighted sound recordings.” The court nevertheless left in its comment from its earlier ruling granting the petition for rehearing that a fair use defense may be considered on remand.

Satellite TV/Piracy

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, granted maximum statutory damages against a defaulting copyright defendant who illegally distributed software to circumvent satellite-TV company DIRECTV's signal encryption technology. DIRECTV v. Hughes, 5:03-CV-148. The district court awarded DIRECTV a $100,000 statutory penalty for one violation of the Federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended 47 U.S.C. Sec. 605. The court noted: “The evidence shows that [defendant] Hughes violated Sec. 605(e)(4) and that he did so knowingly. Moreover, although there is no evidence regarding the number of violations, it is reasonable to conclude, based upon the number of hits on the [defendant's] Web site, that there were numerous violations. Finally, an award of maximum statutory damages is appropriate because DIRECTV has presented evidence showing that it incurs significant expense and employs significant resources in order to combat piracy, and Hughes' conduct contributed to this expense.” The court also assessed statutory damages of $2,500 for violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

TV Series/Trademarks

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided that the advertising and marketing logo of the TV reality show “Survivor” didn't infringe on the plaintiff's “Survivor” trademarks for Hawaiian-beach-style products like sunscreen, t-shirts and surfboards. Surfvivor Media Inc. v. Survivor Productions, 02-17064. The appeals court found, among other things: “In this case, although both parties portray an outdoor theme, there is no material evidence in the record that customers are likely to associate the two products or conclude that the products come from the same source. In fact, the evidence indicates that only one retailer and one customer may have concluded that the products had a common source.”

BOOK RELEASE

“The Future of the Music Business: How to Succeed With the New Digital Technologies” by Steve Gordon. (Gordon is a member of the Entertainment Law & Finance Board of Editors.) Published by Backbeat Books. Includes chapters on downloading and interactive streaming, webcasting, licensing for new media, online record stores and online financing. For further information: www.backbeatbooks.com or 415-947-6876.