How Much Are Paparazzi Photos of Celebrities Really Worth? $600,000? $1,500,000?

Posted by on Apr 12, 2012 in Art, Business Litigation, Copyright, Entertainment, Film, Intellectual Property, Music, News, Sports, Television | 0 comments Paparazzi photo or not, a photographer has an automatic right of ownership in the photos he takes the minute he takes them. This right is called a copyright. A company called Mavrix essentially takes photos of celebrities and, thus, owns a copyright in many of these photos. Mavrix Photo is an agency that calls itself the “premier source for celebrity images and photo-journalism.” This...
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Lawsuits Threaten Jay-Z’s Fortune More than a Decade After the Release of Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin” Musical Hit

Posted by on Mar 26, 2012 in Art, Copyright, Entertainment, Film, Intellectual Property, Music, News, Television | 0 comments It may take you a while to recall the song “Big Pimpin” by Jay-Z, but it is likely that even if you do not listen to rap music, you have heard it in a movie, a television sitcom, on the radio, or as background music in a store. This song was a major hit for Jay-Z and likely one of the songs that put him on the map to stardom more than ten years ago. Many thirty-somethings can probably recall...
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Band Rush Threatens Legal Action Against Radio Host Rush Limbaugh for Use of their Music

Posted by on Mar 23, 2012 in Art, Copyright, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, Music, News, Trademark | 1 comment Things aren’t looking up for conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh. With so many of his advertisers refusing to continue advertising on his radio show, the band Rush’s latest cease and desist letter to Mr. Limbaugh can’t be helping matters. The band Rush and Mr. Rush Limbaugh are not in any way associated with one another and that is how the band Rush wants to keep...
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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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