Category: Insights
This series relates to the legal landscape of podcasting. Lutzker & Lutzker has been advising major publishing and individual clients in this area since 2010. Sixteen years later the industry has evolved significantly, but the underlying premise remains unchanged: creators benefit from a proactive legal strategy for content creation and distribution. Intellectual property law provides [...]
Read moreAs podcasts continue to proliferate, the legal considerations are increasingly complex. Some podcasts are solo episodes, some have co-hosts and guests, some are produced by the podcaster, and some are produced by an agency. Some consist solely of audio, while others include accompanying video. To avoid cease and desist letters, infringement suits and takedown alerts, [...]
Read moreLicensing intellectual property is often a significant component of producing a podcast that incorporates material created by others, such as music, photographs or film clips. Most often a podcast’s third-party content should either be in the public domain (for example, once the copyright term has expired) or be authorized for use. If it is not [...]
Read moreCopyright protects many different works of authorship, encompassing a broad array of literary and musical works such as books, computer software, visual art and architecture. But copyright protection of a song is more complex, as a song typically consists of two separate copyrights: a musical work (the composition and lyrics) and a sound recording (the [...]
Read moreThis is part 2 of a series. Read part 1 here. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Adeola Austin Oyinlade of the law firm Adeola Oyinlade & Co of Lagos, Nigeria in providing background information and insight into a Nigerian perspective on issues of ownership and care of the Benin Bronzes. Among the [...]
Read moreThis is part 1 of a series. Read part 2 here. Repatriation activity in the U.S. and around the globe during 2025 demonstrated the varying arrangements that can be made between returning institutions and countries of origin, while also highlighting some of the thorny issues that can arise during the process. The start of the [...]
Read moreAge-based content restrictions are not novel. Courts have held that restrictions imposed to protect minors can be constitutional, as states have the power to shield children from inappropriate material. One well-known example is the Motion Picture Association’s movie ratings based on the age of viewers (i.e., Rated R or PG-13). The modern age allowance dilemma [...]
Read moreJoe’s Crab restaurants are all across the United States; some are casual seaside shacks and others are high-end establishments. But how can so many restaurants share the same or similar name? Under U.S. trademark law, if there is no federal registration, the rights to a mark are local and depend on who first used the [...]
Read moreIn 2023, “Heart on My Sleeve,” a song with Drake and The Weeknd’s voices, began racking up views on Spotify. The problem was that neither Drake nor The Weeknd released or performed the song. It was artificially generated based on hours of their music. An industry turned on its head While the music world has [...]
Read moreThe concept of anthropomorphic objects is ancient. Long before artificial intelligence entered our homes, our pockets and our vocabulary, it existed in our imaginations. Across continents and cultures, humans have imagined inanimate objects coming to life, taking on human qualities and interacting with us. The theme of imagining life into the lifeless existed in classical [...]
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