Examining 'Harmless Errors' Provision For Copyright Termination Notices
January 29, 2010
Part One of this article, last month, introduced the dispute between the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and Warner Bros. and discussed the "harmless errors" clause itself. Part Two discusses the Register of Copyrights' regulations and delves into the Siegel heirs and Warner Bros. Entertainment arguments, as well as related court rulings
Personal Jurisdiction Determined in Suit for Legal Services
January 29, 2010
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California determined, in a case transferred to it from a New York federal court, that the New York court properly exercised jurisdiction over California defendants, who had hired the plaintiff, a New York lawyer, for entertainment matters.
The New Realities of Financing Film Productions
January 29, 2010
Reduced sales of DVDs and increased piracy of filmed entertainment are affecting the profits of studios and other financiers of motion pictures. To lessen this impact, changes are being made in deal terms offered to creative talent ' such as actors and creative producers ' and new relationships are emerging among such talent, financiers and distributors of theatrical motion pictures.
Money Laundering: A Changing Paradigm
January 26, 2010
Over the past several months there has been a slew of public pronouncements that should put financial institutions on edge. Enhanced enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is now migrating into the financial sector and linking up with anti-money laundering (AML) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) compliance requirements.
Bit Parts
December 21, 2009
Country Artist's Bankruptcy Filing Not in Bad Faith<br>Permanent Injunction Against File-Sharer Tenenbaum Is Limited, But Judge Details Criticism of Fair Use Defense
Practice Notes
December 21, 2009
Vivendi Counsel on Merger Between NBCU and Comcast<br>General Counsel for Live Nation Describes Team
Counsel Concerns
December 21, 2009
Knowledge of Royalty Settlement Starts Malpractice Limitations Period
Interpreting FTC's New Endorsement Guidelines
December 21, 2009
This series examines changes to the Federal Trade Commission guidelines for product endorsements and testimonials. The revised new guidelines took effect Dec. 1, 2009.
No Tolling for Filing of Copyright Counterclaim
December 21, 2009
The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico ruled that statute-of-limitations tolling available for "compulsory" counterclaims didn't apply to a copyright co-ownership counterclaim that failed to arise out of the same operative facts as the plaintiff's copyright co-ownership suit. The counterclaim thus was time-barred.
Examining the 'Harmless Errors' Provision for Copyright Termination Notices
December 21, 2009
Record labels fear the ticking clock that will allow recording artists to terminate post-1977 sound-recording assignments beginning in 2013. That's because '203 of the U.S. Copyright Act provides for a grantor's recapture of assigned copyrights during a five-year period beginning 35 years after publication or 40 years from the assigning of a work. The termination right applies beyond sound-recording copyrights. Pre-1978 copyright assignments may be recaptured under 17 U.S.C. '304(c) during a five-year period that begins 56 years after the copyright in an assigned work was initially procured
