A Primer on Insurance Coverage for Live Events
August 30, 2012
Even if a concert venue carries liability insurance to cover the scheduled performance, it is important for the musical group to carry its own liability and property insurance. And because cancellations, postponements, and the inability of the performer to take the stage also often occur due to unforeseen circumstances, those with a financial stake in the live event could also benefit greatly through the purchase of event cancellation and/or non-appearance insurance.
No Fair Use in Mag's Publication of Marriage Photos of Singer
August 30, 2012
To Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown, the appeal in copyright case <i>Monge v. Maya Magazines</i> read "like a telenovela, a Spanish soap opera." McKeown wrote that the Spanish-language gossip magazine <i>TVNotas</i> violated the copyright of Noelia Lorenzo Monge, a Puerto Rican pop singer known mostly by her first name, and her husband, Jorge Reynoso, a music producer, by publishing private wedding photographs that apparently had been stolen from them.
China Opportunities for U.S. Entertainment Industry Still Saddled with Government and 'Copycat' Hurdles
August 30, 2012
<i>Entertainment Law & Finance</i> Editor-in-Chief Stan Soocher traveled to China over the summer to teach the course 'American Music Goes to Court' at the International College of Beijing. He reports here, in a two-part series, on the state of entertainment industry issues in China, as U.S. companies try to expand their reach there. Part One covers the current state of copyright law in China and discusses TV and film concerns.
Website Accessibility Rules Are Still on Target
July 30, 2012
A recent federal court ruling, <i>National Association of the Deaf v. Netflix, Inc.</i>, held that California's state disability rights laws applied to a website, despite the absence of a bricks-and-mortar store nexus. Instead, the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) pursued the accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of a "website only" firm with no real-world presence ' Netflix.
Litigators Get (Anti-) Social in the Crusade For Brand Protection
July 30, 2012
As networkers blog about everything from the banal to the ridiculous, sifting through the social media landscape for brand protection intelligence can seem like a task of Herculean proportions. While some postings are retweeted like wildfire, garnering global exposure, others sit buried and largely unread. However, if brand owners get it right, they are sitting on a gold mine of information.
Bit Parts
July 30, 2012
Attorney Fees in Litigation over Three Production Agreements Reduced Proportionately<br>Judicial Arbitrator Finds Material Breach by Jimi Hendrix Estate in Documentary Production<br>William Morris Gets Out of Missouri <i>Santa Paws</i> Suit
<b><i>Commentary: </i>Keeping Copyright Preemption on Track</b>
July 30, 2012
The bedrock of the film industry is the protection afforded by the Copyright Act, as without it all is for naught ' no one would spend more than a few dollars to make a film if it could not be protected. It is thus necessary for us to jealously guard the proper application of the Copyright Act and we should have qualms when copyright cases go off track. One critical aspect of the Copyright Act is the degree to which it preempts state law.