Legendary Comedians’ Estates Sue Pandora for Copyright Infringement

Music streaming giant Pandora famously paid a $90 million dollar settlement in 2015 to many of the major record labels for streaming music produced before 1972 without the proper licensing under federal copyright law. Now, Pandora has found itself in hot water again for allegedly violating the copyright rights of artists. On February 7, 2022, the estates of Robin Williams and George Carlin filed suit in California Federal Court against Pandora for “willfully” streaming the late comedian’s routines without permission from the copyright holders. In its complaint, Los Angeles firm King & Ballow, representing the comedians’ estates, allege the legendary [...]

2022-03-25T11:29:55+00:00March 25th, 2022|

Cardi B Wins $4.1 Million Verdict in Defamation Suit

Defamation suits against public figures are notoriously difficult to maintain. Public figures are held to a higher burden of proof in defamation cases and, according to the Supreme Court’s landmark 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan case, must show not only that they were defamed, but that the defamatory statement was made according to the stringent “actual malice” standard. We witnessed how difficult it is to meet this standard just last week, when a federal jury in Manhattan returned a verdict against Sarah Palin in her defamation suit against the New York Times over a 2017 editorial linking the ex-politician [...]

2022-03-21T08:20:58+00:00March 18th, 2022|

The “Real” Lady A

Recently, country music trio Lady Antebellum changed their name to “Lady A” in the wake of the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter movement. (The old name carried an uncomfortable connection with the pre-Civil War, slave-holding South). But there was a problem: Since the early 1990s, Seattle blues singer Anita White had been using the stage name Lady A. At first, it seemed the two parties would settle the matter of who could use the name amicably and out of court. But negotiations broke down in July of 2020, when the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum filed an [...]

2022-03-11T10:56:12+00:00March 11th, 2022|

Why You Should Consider the Copyright Implications of NFTs Before Investing

NFTs (or Non-Fungible Tokens) have become the new investment craze - surpassing $40 billion in transactions in 2021. A growing number of celebrities are jumping in on the action, with stars like Tom Brady, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, and The Weeknd all ‘dropping’ their own NFTs or going public about their big investments in the new technology. Even the ever-mercurial Elon Musk temporarily got in on the game, reporting he would sell his song about NFTs as an NFT before backing out and labeling the new NFT-obsessed digital landscape as a ‘sign of mental illness’. The speed with which the [...]

2022-03-11T10:35:26+00:00March 4th, 2022|

Match.Com Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Muzmatch

Match Group, which claims it “pioneered the concept of online dating” more than 20 years ago, has accused another dating app, Muzmatch, of using the word “match” in its website's metadata to help boost its profile in internet searches.  This is not the first time Match Group has filed a lawsuit against a competitor dating site. Match sued popular dating service Bumble in 2018, prompting the competition to file a counterclaim. The two corporations reached an agreement to cease their legal battle in June 2020 but did not reveal the terms of the deal. Match Group, the parent company of [...]

2022-02-25T07:46:32+00:00February 25th, 2022|

Original Winnie the Pooh Book and Characters Entering the Public Domain

There is an immense collection of non-copyrighted information that is largely unexplored. This information, referred to as "public domain," generally consists of works whose copyright term has expired. However, there are several hitches that may come with using public domain content. Winnie The Pooh Book and Characters entering the public domain is a great example of this. Winnie the Pooh Book and Characters entering Public Domain U.S. Copyright law protects movies, audio, and books produced in the United States. However, copyrights ultimately expire, and when they do, the works become "public domain," meaning that anyone can share them — or [...]

2022-02-18T11:07:57+00:00February 18th, 2022|

What Happens When Intellectual Property Laws Clash with Antitrust Laws?

Intellectual property laws protect copyrights, trademarks, and patents and grant the owner somewhat of a monopoly to use those rights. Conversely, antitrust laws discourage any type of monopoly or behavior that would be considered anticompetitive. As expected, these two tenets of business in the United States inherently clash against each other at times. While tension can be expected between these two sets of laws, knowing what happens when intellectual property laws clash with antitrust laws can help your business make better decisions and protect your legal rights. Intellectual Property and Antitrust Laws Those companies or persons that hold intellectual property [...]

2021-10-13T19:04:12+00:00December 22nd, 2019|

How to Protect Your Intellectual Property Rights when Working with a Freelancer

How to Protect Your Intellectual Property Rights when Working with a Freelancer Your intellectual property rights are an important, yet sometimes overlooked asset of your business. Any original work like a photograph, written content, video content, or event audio content is protected by copyright law. Your business name, logo, tagline, and even product or program names may be protectable under trademark law. You may also have patentable designs or inventions, along with trade secrets that give your business a competitive edge. However, in cases where you need to hire a freelancer, you may wonder how to protect your intellectual property [...]

2021-10-13T18:50:12+00:00November 10th, 2019|

Does Your Business Need a GDPR-Compliant Privacy Policy?

If your business operates a website or potentially collects, transmits, or stores the personal data of European Union (EU) residents, you need to know about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR is a privacy law regulation for the EU and European Economic Area specifically designed to ensure EU residents have greater control over and protection of their personal data. It applies to every company selling to and storing personal information about EU residents, including companies located outside of the EU. How Does the GDPR Affect Your Business? Non-EU businesses are subject to the GDPR if they collect any personal [...]

2021-10-13T18:55:36+00:00September 11th, 2019|

What Do to If Someone is Infringing on Your Intellectual Property Rights

What Do to If Someone is Infringing on Your Intellectual Property Rights: Trademark, Copyright, and Patent Infringement Intellectual property (IP) can be staggeringly valuable. Recently, the US-China trade war has escalated in part because of estimates that Chinese theft of US intellectual property costs between $225 and $600 billion annually, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. If you own intellectual property, you should be aware of how you can best protect that IP and what you can do to stop someone from infringing on your trademarks, copyright, or patents. Proper Registration The first and best line of defense against intellectual [...]

2021-11-11T16:55:03+00:00June 25th, 2019|
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