Did you know that in ten states it’s against the law to impersonate a music band? New Jersey recently became the tenth state to pass a “Truth in Music” bill. Led by a lobbying effort from vintage singing groups like the Drifters and Sha Na Na, musicians have pushed for legislation making it illegal to… Continue Reading
Zachary Pincus Roth has written an interesting piece about on-stage smoking in the theatre. Does the 1st Amendment apply to smoking as a form of “speech”. If the stage directions call for a cigarette, and it’s a significant part of a scene, isn’t a ban on smoking a ‘prior restraint’ on the expression of ideas?… Continue Reading
By Gordon Firemark for The Theatre Lawyer” The director, choreographer, and set, lighting and costume designers of the original Broadway production of “Urinetown” have begun to pursue claims against two midwest theatre companies for allegedly copying their work without authorization. Playbill reports that in response, the producers from one of the theatres has filed a… Continue Reading
On July 6th, U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch ruled that companies that “sanitize” hollywood films are liable for copyright infringement. In this long-awaited ruling, Judge Matsch ruled in favor of 16 film directors, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Robert Redford, finding 3 utah-based companies liable for copyright infringement, and ordering them to immediately discontinue… Continue Reading
Apple computer and Apple Corps, parent company of the Beatles’ Apple records have duked it out in the British courts once again. As early as 1981 Apple Corps began legal proceedings, and ultimately obtained a settlement with the computer manufacturer over its use of the word “Apple” and various logos. As part of that deal,… Continue Reading
The U.S. Copyright Office has issued a report on the problem of so-called “Orphaned Works”, those copyright protected works whose authors and owners cannot be identified or located by those who wish to use them. The report can be found at http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/orphan-report.pdf Continue Reading
The Authors Guild, along with a Lincoln biographer, a children’s book author, and a former Poet Laureate of the United States have filed a class action suit in federal court in Manhattan against Google over its unauthorized scanning and copying of books through its Google Library program. The suit alleges that the $90 billion search… Continue Reading
The major record labels have filed a copyright suit against Chinese seach engine ‘Baidu’. The suit involves a new theory of liability, holding a search-engine and indexing service liable for providing links to infringing material. This represents the next step for record labels’ attempts to thwart music piracy. Will it succeed? Stay tuned. Baidu’s stock… Continue Reading
In what’s being touted as a major victory for Music and Movie companies, the Supreme Court in late June issued a unanimous ruling in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd, Case No. 04-480. (US Supreme Court June 27, 2005). The court held that “one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use… Continue Reading
A California Supreme Court ruling on December 6, 2004 held overturned a 33 year old privacy law decision, holding that media may freely publicize facts from forgotten court cases.Steve Gates was convicted as an accessory after the fact in the 1988 murder of a car salesman in San Diego, California. After serving 17 months of… Continue Reading
View our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use