Entertainment Law Update Episode 160 – August/September 2023
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
The 1970s were the heyday of the now-extinct television genre known as the variety show: a weekly extravaganza headlined by a well-known entertainer, generally accompanied by a supporting cast of singers, dancers and...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a copyright infringement claim by one rap artist against another on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to register the work in question. The Court...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant to an alleged song copier, finding neither evidence of factual copying nor striking similarity between the two songs. Kirk...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
The music industry has begun cracking down on brand owners’ and influencers’ unlicensed use of songs in social media posts through the filing of several lawsuits over the past few months. The lawsuits have largely targeted...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
On August 4, iconic guitarist Neil Young sued the Trump Campaign, claiming that Trump’s unauthorized use of his songs Rockin’ in the Free World and Devil’s Sidewalk at various rallies, including at the Tulsa rally on July 20,...more
Nearly 40 years after Led Zeppelin released Stairway to Heaven – viewed by many as one of the greatest rock songs of all time – Led Zeppelin was sued for copyright infringement. The estate of guitarist Randy Wolfe, who...more
The epic copyright infringement lawsuit against Led Zeppelin over the song “Stairway to Heaven” has reached another milestone – this time in favor of the legendary band. This case has been more like a long and winding road...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
“There’s still time to change the road you’re on,” Led Zeppelin says, hoping a 2016 jury verdict in its favor will be reinstated. On June 10, an 11-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit announced that it would rehear a copyright...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
The year didn’t start on a high note for Ed Sheeran. Back in 2016, Sheeran was sued by the heirs of “Let’s Get It On” (LGO) co-writer, Ed Townsend, who accused Sheeran of copying several elements of LGO in his 2014 hit,...more
So you’ve already written and recorded a song and determined who owns it, but now what can you as an owner do with it? What rights in the song do you have, that no one else does? The owner of the copyright in a work has...more
Rapper Tyler, the Creator (“Tyler”), is facing a lawsuit for copyright infringement, which alleges he illegally sampled a 1971 soul song, “Why Can’t There Be Love,” in his 2015 hit, “Deathcamp.” ...more
The estate of Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, reigned supreme last week in the Southern District of New York after U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan dismissed a copyright suit...more
The US Copyright Act of 1976 allows artists, writers, and musicians to “get back” grants of copyrights that had been previously licensed or assigned away. Specifically, artists can “terminate” their copyright arrangements...more