<b>Decision of Note</b> 'Jersey Boys' Case Focuses On Licensing of Underlying Rights
November 28, 2011
The safest approach to obtaining exclusive rights for uses of a copyrighted work is to procure those rights from all of the copyright's owners. Then how "exclusive" is a license that is obtained from one joint owner of a copyright? Litigation in Nevada federal court involving rights on which the highly successful musical Jersey Boys was allegedly based deals with this very question.
Bit Parts
October 28, 2011
Fox Film's Refusal to Return Initial Investment Isn't Breach of Co-Financing Agreement<br>Oklahoma Federal Court Finds Fraudulent Transfer of Songwriter's Assets<br>Trading Card Series Is Protected Speech<br>Video Game Developer's Counterclaim Seeking Milestone Payment Avoids Summary Judgment
Cameo Clips
October 28, 2011
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/GRAND RIGHTS IN PLAYS<br>DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION/SONG ROYALTIES
Copyright Restoration Arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court
October 28, 2011
No musicians played on the steps of the Supreme Court when inside the justices heard oral arguments in <i>Golan v. Holder</i>, which touched on a range of intellectual property issues and musical works from classical's Dmitri Shostakovich and Igor Stravinsky to classic rock's Jimi Hendrix. The impact of how the high court interprets Congress' 1994 amendments to the Copyright Act could affect the future use of possibly millions of pieces of works and may refine how U.S. law defines acceptable use versus infringing abuse in a global community.
Divorce Distribution Of Creative Assets
October 28, 2011
While it may be relatively clear-cut to determine the value of real property, financial accounts and even a professional practice when a Creative Spouse and his or her Supporting Spouse divorce, the question may arise as to how to distribute the value of the intellectual property or "celebrity status" the Creative Spouse created during the marriage. This article considers what rights, if any, a Supporting Spouse may have in the value of a Creative Asset.
Liberty Media Wins Approval Of Split Off
October 28, 2011
In affirming an April Chancery Court decision, the Delaware Supreme Court decided that a proposal by Liberty Media Corp. to split off some of its assets does not violate a successor obligation agreement with bondholders that prevents the media conglomerate from disposing "substantially all of its assets.
Limit on Assigning Right to Pursue Online Copyright Infringement
October 28, 2011
Can a business model be sustained for procuring the right from copyright owners to pursue alleged copyright infringements in the online world? In recent months, there has been a flurry of infringement litigation involving copyright troller Righthaven, which procured the right from publishers to file infringement suits over unauthorized online reproductions of the publishers' content.
Undressing .XXX: Sexier Than the Name Itself
October 28, 2011
Historically, big corporations with multi-million dollar brands and the adult-entertainment industry have been on opposite sides of the fence over brand protection, with owners of famous brands like Nike, Starbucks and Lexus claiming any association of their marks with adult entertainment constitutes dilution by tarnishment. The adult-entertainment industry has very often met such claims as unfounded attempts to stifle its First Amendment right of free speech. Ironically, but legally predictably as far as protecting e-commerce interests, since the introduction of .XXX, both camps are united in a battle with ICANN and ICM to protect their brands from misappropriation.
'I DIG IT' Divorce
October 25, 2011
The wonderful tax acronym IDIGT (pronounced: "I dig it") stands for an Intentionally Defective Irrevocable Grantor Trust. Rather than extol the benefits of this technique, here are some issues to consider when Junior gets divorced and Junior's Ex wants to Dig It too.
