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...
read more

Las Vegas Company Ordered to Pay $120,000 in Attorney’s Fees for Filing “Frivolous” Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Posted by on Nov 5, 2011 in Copyright, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, News, Television | 0 comments On Wednesday, October 26, 2011, Las Vegas company named Righthaven LLC was ordered by a federal court judge to pay $119,488 in attorneys fees and costs. This past summer, federal judge Roger Hunt dismissed Righthaven’s lawsuit against former federal prosecutor Thomas DiBiase on the basis that Righthaven did not have standing to file its lawsuit. The basis of Righthaven’s lawsuit was...
read more

Big Sister Napolitano has a New Bill in the House to Control What We Can and Cannot Access Online

Posted by on Oct 29, 2011 in Art, Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions, Copyright, Entertainment, Film, Intellectual Property, Music, News, Sports, Television, Trademark | 0 comments The entertainment industry has been voicing its support for a brand new bill introduced in the House of Representatives that takes aim at online websites that violate US Copyright laws, which is titled the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261) and is scheduled for hearing by the House Judiciary committee on November 16, 2011. In May, the Senate also introduced a similar bill named the Protect IP Act...
read more

Bloggers and Writers Beware of Posting Original Ideas on Social Media Websites

Posted by on Oct 29, 2011 in Art, Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Copyright, Entertainment, Film, Intellectual Property, News | 0 comments Warner Brothers recently purchased the “exclusive” movie rights to “Rome, Sweet Rome,” which is about a U.S. Marine who travels back in time to fight the Roman Empire. It was created by an author named James Erwin, but now it is disputed whether or not the movie rights purchased by Warner Brothers were actually “exclusive.” This issue of exclusivity arises because Mr. Erwin originally...
read more

Compulsory Licenses and Your Music

Posted by on Oct 26, 2011 in Art, Business Transactions, Commercial Transactions, Copyright, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, Music, News | 0 comments Although obtaining a copyright for your music is easy and a great way to protect your property and it provides you with exclusive rights, the law has created an exception to copyright law that makes your right to your own music a little less exclusive. In the music industry, the phrase “compulsory license” is often thrown around. What does compulsory license mean? Well, this may come as a...
read more