Sandra Bullock Sues ToyWatch USA for Using Her to Sell Watches: Rights to Publicity at Issue

Posted by on Mar 27, 2012 in Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions, Entertainment, Film, News, Television | 0 comments It’s no secret to most consumers these days that celebrities and the corporations they team up with make tons and tons of cash selling products. These celebrity endorsements can help skyrocket sales of nearly any product or service. The bottom line is that celebrity endorsements work. The law makes clear that celebrities have a right of publicity, which basically means the celebrity has a...
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Google Takes a Stand in MPAA Lawsuit Against Hotfile

Posted by on Mar 27, 2012 in Art, Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions, Copyright, Entertainment, Film, Intellectual Property, Music, News, Television | 0 comments The Motion Picture Association of America has filed a summary judgment motion in its lawsuit against Hotfile,which could allow the court to decide fairly soon whether or not Hotfile will be held liable for encouraging and facilitating copyright infringement. Many consumers may be unfamiliar with the Hotfile website and more familiar with past websites like Napster and Limewire. Similar to Napster...
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Remedies to a Default Judgment are Not Always Apparent

Posted by on Mar 22, 2012 in Business Litigation, Commercial Litigation, News | 0 comments “…Black thereafter consulted two attorneys, but received inaccurate advice that there was nothing she could do….she learned from her own legal research that a motion to set aside the judgment was an available remedy.” (Manson, Iver & York v. Black 176 Cal.App.4th 36, 49 (2009) The quote above comes from a case where a default judgment was entered against the defendant (Ms....
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Compulsory Licenses in the Music Industry

Posted by on Nov 7, 2011 in Art, Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions, Copyright, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, Music, News, Television | 0 comments Compulsory copyright license is the exception to copyright law. It is the government’s attempt to correct a market failure or a monopoly. A compulsory license allows a person to exercise one or more of the copyright’s exclusive rights without having to obtain the copyright holder’s permission. All the individual has to do is pay a licensing fee. This is why it is called a...
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The Importance of Conducting a Thorough Trademark Search

Posted by on Nov 6, 2011 in Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions, Intellectual Property, News, Trademark | 0 comments The problem with trademarks is the fact that they are literally the backbone of your company. Without it, you are just another business on the side of the road, unrecognizable and less likely to gain any type of following. Just as the trademarks can bring additional business to your company based on name recognition, consistent excellent quality of services and goods, and longstanding goodwill, a...
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SiriusXM is Looking to License Music Directly from Labels

Posted by on Nov 6, 2011 in Art, Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions, Copyright, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, Music, News | 0 comments There has been chatter in the entertainment industry with regard to SiriusXM’s recent attempt to directly license music from record labels. SiriusXM, a satellite radio, currently has a statutory license to play music and pays digital public performance royalties to a nonprofit organization called SoundExchange, which is a nonprofit organization designated by Congress pursuant to the 1995...
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