On February 12, 2024, video game developer Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”), and pop choreographer Kyle Hanagami (“Hanagami”) agreed to dismiss with prejudice a 2022 lawsuit accusing Epic of ripping off Hanagami’s dance moves for use in Epic’s popular video game “Fortnite.” The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the lawsuit, finding […]
Jeannette Carmadella was quoted in an excellent article, ‘Bridgerton’ Musical, Church’s ‘Hamilton’: IP Fair Use Explained, by Kelcee Griffis, a reporter for Bloomberg Law. Jeannette explained why the two productions — an unauthorized musical production inspired by the Netflix TV series “Bridgerton” and a Texas church’s performance of the Broadway show “Hamilton” — both go […]
This post is an update. You can read the original post here. From Ronald Reagan and Bruce Springsteen to Donald Trump and Neil Young, the contention between politicians and musical artists who find their copyrighted music being played in political campaigns is nothing new. Our earlier post discussed the use of this music at live […]
When the pandemic upended the music industry, musicians live-streamed on services like Instagram Live, Zoom and Twitch to recoup lost concert revenue. They pivoted from fully equipped record label studios to furnishing their own in-home recording studios. Revenue from studio-recorded music also did not appear to suffer, given the ubiquity of streaming services and other […]
As the fireworks lit the sky over the White House during the Republican National Convention in August, some songs traditionally associated with conservative politics accompanied the fanfare, including “God Bless the USA” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” However, one particularly interesting choice was the late Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” as performed by singer-songwriter Tori Kelly. […]
This is the third in a series of articles about the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”). Click here for the first and second. In this post, we highlight the benefits of the MMA for all parties involved in creating a musical work or sound recording. Although the MMA centralizes information and royalties with the Music Licensing […]
This is the second in a series of articles about the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”). Click here for the first and third. Here, we examine the protocol for prospective blanket licensees and individual voluntary licensees. Although radio stations and cable operations have dealt with similar licensing schemes for years, the MMA will significantly alter the […]
This is the first in a series of articles about the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”). Click here for the second and third. In October 2018, the Music Modernization Act took effect, paving the way for changes in how copyright holders are compensated for their work by streaming services and others who make copies of their […]
Even though we are nearing two decades since the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”), litigation over the interpretation of the DMCA continues to push the envelope of copyright law. In possibly one of the most important decisions interpreting the DMCA, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lenz v. Universal Music […]
On March 12, 2024 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office delivered to Congress their highly anticipated report on Non-Fungible Tokens and Intellectual Property (the “Report”). The Report examines current and future uses of non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) to secure and manage intellectual property rights. Among the applications of NFTs considered are […]