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Zoning Board Bound By Prior Determination<br>Planning Board Had Rational Basis to Require Church to Record an Easement<br>Special Permit Denial Overturned<br>Restrictive Zoning Ordinance Sustained Against Multiple Challenges
Perfecting Film Financiers' Liens in Copyrights
The law on how to perfect a lien in a copyright application is foggy at best. This article sketches out pitfalls of the current process for perfecting a lien on a copyright application, and potential steps that a financier may take to help perfect and protect a film investment.
Decision of Note: 6th Cir. Says No 'Magic Words' to 'Elect' Copyright Statutory Damages
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided that §504 of the U.S. Copyright Act doesn't require any “magic words incantation” for a copyright infringement plaintiff to choose a statutory damages award, that “[t]he word 'elect' does not by itself require formal procedures.”
No Secondary Liability Seen Yet, By Band's Reps, for Sexual Assault
A federal judge in Camden, NJ decided that a Christian rock band's management, talent agent and lead singer weren't vicariously liable for the sexual assault of a teenage fan committed by a member of the band.
11th Circuit Says Anti-SLAPP Law Doesn't Belong in Federal Court
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an appeal by CNN to dismiss a libel case over the cable network's 2015 investigation of infant deaths at a Florida hospital.
SCOTUS Hears Arguments on Copyright Registration Approvals
While hearing January 2019 oral arguments before it, the U.S. Supreme Court sounded inclined to resolve a circuit courts' split over copyright registration procedures against copyright holders.
L.A. Sees Many Moves Among Entertainment Law Firms
Entertainment practices with well-known clients are in high demand in the Los Angeles legal market, leading to a spate of lateral hires among American Lawyer 200 firms in the latter part of 2018.
Bit Parts
Actor's Negligence Claim over Film Set Injury Preempted by California's Workers' Compensation Act<br>Nashville Federal Court Decides Record Producer Didn't Abandon Master Recordings of 1970s George Jones Album
Book Releases
The Essential Guide to Entertainment Law: Intellectual Property<br>The Essential Guide to Entertainment Law: Dealmaking
Common-Area Risk Abatement: Who is Responsible?
When customers, employees and others invited to or simply passing by a leased commercial property are injured, and want compensation, who will be on the hook for the costs of bodily injury and property damage — the landlord, the tenant, the maintenance and security contractor hired by them, or some combination of these?

MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • The 'Sophisticated Insured' Defense
    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
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  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
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