How Consumers Are Shoplifting from the Comfort of Their Own Homes
October 02, 2015
Online retail has completely transformed the way the world goes shopping. It is projected that consumers worldwide will spend nearly $1,700 billion in online sales this year. Consumers are leaving the physical swiping of cards and exchange of cash behind for the ease and convenience of a card-not-present transaction. But more important than the effect on brick-and-mortar, this paradigm shift is reshaping the way consumers think.
How Effective Has VARA Been?
October 02, 2015
The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) was enacted as an amendment to copyright law for the United States to really get on board with the Berne Convention. Finally, hardworking American authors of original works of fine art would be granted a few "moral rights." That was the promise. But where are we, 25 years in? What artists are granted these rights, and what stands in the way of exercising them?
The Interplay of Bankruptcy, Copyrights and Security Interests in Film Properties
October 02, 2015
The U.S. Bankruptcy Code is written so perversely in favor of a bankrupt party that a bankruptcy can upset all reasonable expectations of anyone doing business with that party. In the film industry, rights can be lost, payment obligations cancelled and other contractual obligations left in limbo for years.
Peering Into Copyright Office's Report on Orphan Works
October 02, 2015
What happens when a party wants to use a photograph, image, writing or other work that may be subject to copyright protection, but cannot identify or locate the original author to secure permission? The dilemma these "orphan works" poses was the subject of a recent 106-page report by the U.S. Copyright Office. The report has left the creative world abuzz and, in many cases, aghast at the implications of proposed legislation some believe would effectively overhaul the U.S. Copyright Act.
Bit Parts
October 02, 2015
Attorney Fees Award to Victor Willis in Song Termination-Rights Litigation<br>New York Federal Court Supports Descendibility of Lanham Act False Endorsement Claims
New York City Adult-Use Zoning Held Unconstitutional
October 02, 2015
Litigation over New York City's adult use zoning regulations has been ongoing since the city's first effort ' in 1995 ' to use its zoning power to restrict adult uses. In the latest chapter in the long-running saga, the First Department, has declared unconstitutional the city's most recent amendments of its adult-use regulations.
Book Release
September 02, 2015
<i>The Future of the Music Business 4th Edition,</i> by Steve Gordon.
Analyzing Second Circuit's Ruling on Internships
September 02, 2015
This summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided <i>Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures,</i> an important decision concerning whether Fox's unpaid interns were "employees" under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law and, therefore, entitled to recover minimum wage, plus time-and-a-half for overtime, for the periods they worked at Fox.
