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How Will the Music Modernization Act's Mechanical Licensing Collective Work?
The four-part "Orrin G. Hatch — Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act" (MMA) passed by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, was recently signed into law by the President.
This article focuses on managing change for clients affected by the MMA's government-mandated mechanical licensing collective, often referred to as the "MLC" or in the statute as "the collective." In my view, far from putting songwriters on a trajectory away from the government regulation that has oppressed them for generations, the collective imposes an entirely new bureaucracy with potentially significant costs that are not readily apparent.
For full disclosure, I have been critical of the MLC over the last year. While a few of my concerns were addressed in the legislation, I fear there are still loose ends that may bedevil practitioners. Like any other major change in the law, compliance may be expensive and those compliance costs will not be covered by anyone but the songwriter or publisher.
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Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?