The latest on: NFL Anti-Trust decision; Record Labels Sue Over Generative AI; Copyright Office clarifies Termination Rights, Royalties, Transfers, Disputes, and the MMA.
The Briefing: Not Terminated - Cher Still Entitled to Her Share of Music Royalties
The Briefing: Not Terminated - Cher Still Entitled to Her Share of Music Royalties (Podcast)
The Briefing: Supreme Court Holds Copyright Damages Can Go Beyond 3 Years (Podcast)
Taylor's Version: El Derecho de Artistas en la Industria Musical
The Briefing: Brandy Melville Doubles Down Against Redbubble
AI Update: ELVIS Act Passes, SAG-AFTRA Agree with Record Labels. FTC Non-compete Ban Analyzed By Gordon Firemark and Tamera Bennett.
The Briefing: Tennessee’s ELVIS Act Isn’t What You Think (Podcast)
The Briefing: Tennessee’s ELVIS Act Isn’t What You Think
(Podcast) The Briefing: Nirvana Stuck in Lawsuit Over “Nevermind” Album Cover
The Briefing: Nirvana Stuck in Lawsuit Over “Nevermind” Album Cover
(Podcast) The Briefing: Merry Litigation – All I Want for Christmas is a Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
The Briefing: Merry Litigation – All I Want for Christmas is a Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
(Podcast) The Briefing: Jingle Brawl – The Battle for ‘Queen of Christmas’
The Briefing: Jingle Brawl – The Battle for ‘Queen of Christmas’
Writer's Strike Ends, Actor's Strike Continues, Ed Sheeran, The MLC, NIL and more in Episode 161-Entertainment Law Update Podcast
The Briefing: Judge Finds Lyrics and Themes “Guns, Money, and Jewelry” Too Commonplace for Copyright Protection
Emerging Technology Issues in the Music Industry with Aarash Darroodi, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Fender Musical Instruments
Entertainment Law Update Episode 160 – August/September 2023
Podcast: The Briefing - Deepfakes vs Right of Publicity: Navigating the Intersection Between Free Speech and Protected Rights
On May 9, 2024, the Supreme Court in Warner Chappell, Music Inc. v. Nealy settled a longstanding circuit split and ruled 6-3 that the Copyright Act entitles a copyright owner to recover damages for any timely claim, no matter...more
Thank you for reading the February 2024 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the advertising rights of luxury resellers and important updates to the Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy...more
On February 21, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. et al. v. Nealy et al. The case involves whether plaintiff music producer Sherman Nealy may recover damages for...more
On September 29, 2023, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, a case that should resolve a split among the U.S. Courts of Appeal relating to the scope of damages available to copyright...more
Top artists have been making headlines for striking music rights deals with deep-pocketed investors who acquire their music publishing and recording rights. Within the last two years, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Bob...more
Copyright Law is derived from the enumerated grant of power for Congress “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective...more
Calling it a “ball of confusion,” the Ninth Circuit recently considered a case involving the music of the Turtles, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and whether royalties are owed under California copyright law for music dating prior...more
On September 16, 2020, California federal judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled that Nicki Minaj’s use of Tracy Chapman’s copyrighted work in the creation of Minaj’s song “Sorry” was fair use. “Sorry” interpolated Chapman’s...more
Affirming a summary judgment in favor of defendant, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit determined that a copyright infringement lawsuit pertaining to the graphic design on a guitar made famous by a late heavy...more
We recently wrote about Led Zeppelin’s victory at the Ninth Circuit in the dispute over “Stairway to Heaven.” Although just a few weeks old, the decision has already been applied in a music case to find non-infringement,...more
Drake prevails again – this time at the Second Circuit. On February 3, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Drake, finding that his use of a...more
The widow of the late Soundgarden frontman, Chris Cornell, has sued the band, its members, and business managers for copyright ownership of unreleased sound recordings and withholding royalties. ...more
This is what it sounds like, when sanctions are granted. In March 2019, a federal judge in Minnesota sanctioned Defendants for their failure to preserve text messages in a copyright infringement suit brought in part by the...more
Sometimes the truth hurts – but what is the truth here? On October 23, Melissa Jefferson, professionally known as Lizzo, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court in Los Angeles seeking a declaratory judgment...more
“I feel glorious, glorious,” Macklemore is saying. On Tuesday, April 23, a Louisiana federal judge in the Fifth Circuit dismissed a 2017 lawsuit claiming that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis unlawfully sampled Paul Batiste’s sound...more
As we have previously discussed, the owner of the copyright in a work has certain exclusive rights in that work. Anyone who violates the exclusive rights of the copyright owner is an infringer of that copyright. To...more
As we have previously discussed, a copyright is first owned by its author (whether individually or on a “work made for hire” basis). Like with any other property, the author can transfer ownership of a copyright (in whole or...more
Addressing the proper procedure for electing statutory damages under the Copyright Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court, agreeing that the plaintiff had properly informed the court of...more
Holding that reproduction of a digital file for purposes of resale does not fall under the “first sale” doctrine of the Copyright Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of...more
You may think the phrase “million-dollar smile” is just a metaphor, but a smile could cost you millions of dollars in litigation damages if you aren’t careful, at least according to Nirvana LLC, the legal entity that owns the...more
After a six year legal battle, superstar rapper Shawn Carter (“Jay-Z”) and his former partners Damon “Dame” Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke successfully defended their use of Roc-A-Fella Records’ iconic logo. Walker v. Carter,...more
Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that has great potential to solve many of the fundamental challenges facing the music industry today. In fact, this technology is uniquely suited to address issues across the various...more