Tag Archives: music industry

Started From the Bottom, Now We’re Real: Drake’s Use of Jimmy Smith’s Commentary on ‘Real Music’ Considered Fair Use

Photo of Lauren AttardBy Lauren Attard on Posted in Copyright, Music Industry
On May 30, 2017, Judge William H. Pauley III, in the Southern District of New York, ruled that rapper-singer-songwriter Drake was permitted to use a sample of jazz artist Jimmy Smith based on the fair use doctrine, even though Drake and his record label did not license the publishing rights to the song. The court … Continue Reading

Living it up at the HOTEL CALIFORNIA

By Thomas Hartin on Posted in Trademark
Legendary rock band Eagles, Ltd. (The Eagles), filed suit on May 1 against the owners of the Hotel California Baja LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The suit alleges trademark infringement and common law unfair competition by the owners, Debbie and John Stewart (owners). The hotel originally opened in … Continue Reading

You Might Want to Turn Down for That: Lil Jon and DJ Snake Sued for Copyright Infringement

Photo of Lauren AttardBy Lauren Attard on Posted in Copyright, Music Industry
On May 4, 2017, Golden Crown Publishing, LLC, the publishing company behind Freddie GZ’s song Turn Down for What, sued Lil Jon and DJ Snake in the Southern District of New York, alleging that their hit song by the same name infringes on Golden Crown’s copyright. The plaintiff is seeking monetary damages and a permanent … Continue Reading

Sir Paul Will Not Let It Be: McCartney Makes Preemptive Strike Against Music Publishers to Reclaim His Copyrights

Photo of Tatiana MarkelBy Tatiana Markel on Posted in Copyright, Music Industry
On Dec. 20, 2016, we wrote about a decision out of England’s High Court of Justice finding that members of music group Duran Duran breached their agreements with a music publisher by filing notices to terminate assignments of copyrights in 37 of their songs under section 203 of the Copyright Act.  That decision shocked much … Continue Reading

A Circuit Split at Last: Ninth Circuit Recognizes De Minimis Exception to Copyright Infringement of Sound Recordings

Photo of Lesley GrossbergBy Lesley Grossberg on Posted in Copyright Infringement
For the past 10 years, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has stood alone in having addressed the issue of whether a de minimis amount of copying used in a song sample constitutes infringement of a copyrighted sound recording. While the Sixth Circuit’s admonition of “get a license or do not sample” has gained little … Continue Reading

Timberlake & Will.I.Am Sued by Disco Artist’s Estate

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement, Music Industry
In a new case that is sure to draw comparisons to the “Blurred Lines” lawsuit, Justin Timberlake and Will.I.Am have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit from the estate of a disco artist. The suit alleges that key portions of their pop hit “Damn Girl” were taken from the relatively obscure 1969 jazz song … Continue Reading

Pandora Enters Into License Agreements With ASCAP and BMI

By Jessie Kuhn on Posted in Uncategorized
Following the Copyright Royalty Board’s ruling to raise Pandora’s royalty rates, last week Pandora announced new licensing agreements with the country’s two largest performing-rights societies, Broadcast Music Inc. and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Although the precise terms remain under wraps, these blanket licenses will govern Pandora’s right to play ASCAP’s and … Continue Reading

Copyright Royalty Board Issues Rate Increase to Pandora

By Jessie Kuhn on Posted in Uncategorized
On December 16, 2015, the Copyright Royalty Board released its much-anticipated ruling, increasing the royalty amount that Pandora and other digital streaming services must pay to stream music in 2016. The CRB’s ruling, which will be released in full after the parties redact confidential information, distinguishes between nonsubscription and subscription services. The CRB cracked down … Continue Reading

Pre-1972 Recording Rulings – Not as Happy Together or as a Settlement

Photo of Oren J. WarshavskyBy Oren J. Warshavsky on Posted in Copyright
This week, after a string of wins, two members of the classic rock group the Turtles suffered a setback in their lawsuit against satellite radio provider, SiriusXM (Flo & Eddie Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio Inc.). Background: The dispute has been well explained by others, including here and here. But generally speaking, the dispute concerns the rights … Continue Reading

BakerHostetler’s Oren Warshavsky, a Law360’s Voices of the Bar for Intellectual Property, comments on “With High Court Mum On Java Copyrights, Is Innovation Safe?”

Photo of BakerHostetlerBy BakerHostetler on Posted in API, Copyright, Music Industry
On July 1, 2015, Law360 queried the Supreme Court decision not to review Google Inc. v. Oracle America Inc. in their Voices on the Bar column.  Oren Warshavsky, head of BakerHostetler’s national Copyright, Content, and Platforms team and one of Law360’s Voices on the Bar commented:  “In a vacuum, the Federal Circuit’s holding could well … Continue Reading
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