By Scott Cameron The Ninth Circuit just doesn’t like karaoke. At least, that’s what plaintiffs, manufacturers of karaoke machines, in two recent opinions involving copyright law would likely say. In both decisions, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district courts’ dismissal of the complaints without leave to amend. Both of these decisions discussed the various copyrights that are implicated… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Entertainment Law
Subscribe to Entertainment Law RSS FeedLights, Camera, IP Issues…
Posted in Copyright Law, Entertainment Law, Trademark LawBy Scott Hervey Last October I had the good fortune of being invited to attend my friend’s “man shower” in Las Vegas. What made this trip interesting was the fact that this all guy’s version of a baby shower would be the subject of an episode of the VH1 reality TV show “Scott Baio is 46… Continue Reading
Fantasy Sports League Hits It Out Of The Park In Challenging MLB’s Ownership Of Player Statistics
Posted in Cyberspace Law, Entertainment Law, Trademark LawBy Scott Hervey Just how valuable are baseball statistics? Apparently very valuable. In fact, baseball statistics are so valuable that CBC Distribution and Marketing, which has run the CDM Fantasy Sports leagues since 1992, sued Major League Baseball and challenged its ownership claim over player statistics. In a matter which rose all the way to the United… Continue Reading
BREAKING NEWS – Court Concludes No Performance in Music Download
Posted in Copyright Law, Cyberspace Law, Entertainment LawBy Scott Hervey The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York rules that the downloading of a digital music file embodying a particular song does not constitute a "public performance" of that song within the meaning of the Copyright Act. Thus, on-line music retailers need not negotiate a license with performance… Continue Reading
Should Ripping Your Purchased DVDs Onto Your iPod Be Illegal? The Motion Picture Association Says “Yes!”
Posted in Copyright Law, Entertainment LawBy W. Scott Cameron Last month, in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) companies[1] sued Load ‘N Go Video, a small company that loads customer purchased DVDs onto their personal iPods, for copyright infringement and violating the Digital Millennium… Continue Reading
Copyright Office Clears the way for more Ringtones
Posted in Copyright Law, Entertainment LawBy Scott Hervey On October 16 the Register of Copyrights issued an interpretation of Section 115 of the Copyright Act that will make it easier for record labels and cellular phone services to offer ringtones to consumers. The question, whether compositions used for ringtones [monophonic (single melody line) or polyphonic (melody and harmony)] or for master… Continue Reading
Viva la MP3
Posted in Cyberspace Law, Entertainment LawBy Scott Hervey Wired reports that the French judiciary has been issuing lenient sentences and penalties to individuals involved in criminal proceedings involving illegal file trading.#160 The president of the French magistrate union, Judge Dominique Barella, has openly taken the position that the harsh criminal penalties imposed under French copyright law are inappropriate under the… Continue Reading
U.S. Copyright Protection Still Available When Work Is In Public Domain Outside of U.S.
Posted in Copyright Law, Entertainment LawBy Scott Hervey If a sound recording produced before 1972 falls into the public domain in a foreign nation, is that sound recording still entitled to protection in the United States?#160 Recently, in Capitol Records, Inc. v. Naxos of America, the New York Court of Appeals (the State’s highest court) issued an opinion addressing this… Continue Reading
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