Features

Copyright Claims Board: A New Stage for Copyright Infringement Claims
Copyright holders would be well advised to familiarize themselves with the Copyright Claims Board for resolving copyright infringement claims and to consider its benefits and potential downsides in bringing or defending copyright infringement actions.
Features

Conn. Fed. Court Distinguishes Funny Girl Lyrics Royalty Rights from Copyright
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut sided with the family of a production company executive in finding that the wife of late Broadway lyricist Bob Merrill had no right, under §304(c) of the U.S. Copyright Act, to cancel a more than 50-year-old royalty agreement between the executive and Merrill.
Features

A New Stage for Online Copyright Infringement Disputes
Copyright holders would be well advised to familiarize themselves with the Copyright Claims Board for resolving copyright infringement claims and to consider its benefits and potential downsides in bringing or defending copyright infringement actions.
Features

Second Circuit Addresses Significant Music Compulsory Licensing Issues In Bill Graham Archives Dispute
In 2015, a group of music publishers sued the purchaser of the Bill Graham Archives — a repository that includes live performances staged by the late, legendary concert promoter of an array of musical artists beginning in the 1960s. Now, the Second Circuit has handed down its appellate opinion in the litigation, addressing the important compulsory licensing concerns as well as some of the additional issues in the case.
Features

Fight Stream Distributor Can Pursue Claim Against TN Grill
In a matter of first impression, the Sixth Circuit sided with a third-party sporting events distributor by finding the distributor has standing to sue a Kingsport, TN, bar under the U.S. Copyright Act for livestreaming a 2017 boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor without the proper licensing.
Features

Copyright Attorney Fees Ruling in Friday the 13th Termination Case
The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut granted Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller partial attorney fees totaling more than $886,564, in his long-running fight against the 1980 horror film's production outfit Manny Co. over proceeds from the film.
Features

Report on Oral Arguments At Supreme Court In 'Warhol' Case
During the recent oral arguments before it, the U.S. Supreme Court sounded open to extending more fair use protection to an Andy Warhol painting of rock icon Prince than the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit did.
Features

Pondering AI Machine Learning and Copyright Fair Use
By feeding machine-learning models hundreds of copyrighted pictures to train them to identify and "read" certain concepts, companies could face violating copyright laws.
Features

Supreme Court Set to Hear Transformativeness Fair Use 'Warhol' Case
In the October 2022 Term, the Supreme Court is set to decide whether courts assessing transformativeness under the first fair-use factor of the Copyright Act may consider "the meaning of the accused work where it 'recognizably deriv[es] from' its source material." The case may profoundly affect the fair use analysis, and in turn, the scope of copyright protection for many works.
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Fresh Filings
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
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