CDAS Attorney Doug Jacobs to Speak at CableFax’s CFX Live

CDAS Attorney Doug Jacobs will be speaking at this year’s “CFX Live”, on March 25th, at 2:50. CFX Live is a conference hosted by CableFax with a central focus on the Television industry. Doug will be focusing his discussion on the topic of “over the top” (“OTT”) content distribution, and the relevant business and legal

Musical Composition Copyright Infringement Cases Back in Vogue

Music “plagiarism” copyright infringement cases are not uncommon, and have made a comeback in recent years.  Artists from Led Zeppelin (Randy Craig Wolfe Trust v. Led Zeppelin (“Stairway to Heaven”)), to Avril Lavigne (Dunbar v. Gottwald (Lavigne’s “Girlfriend”)), to Jessie J (Loomis v. Cornish (Jessie J’s “Domino”)) have lately become embroiled in legal battles over

Newly Announced CDAS Partner Doug Jacobs Featured on Broadcasting & Cable

Following today’s earlier announcement that Former General Counsel of A&E, Doug Jacobs, was joining the firm as a Partner, Mr. Jacobs had an opportunity to speak with Jon Lafayette, Business Editor at Broadcasting & Cable, about the transition. Mr. Jacobs touched upon the current state of the Television Business, as well as the future of

CDAS Brings on Former General Counsel of A&E, Doug Jacobs, as Partner

Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP (CDAS) is proud to announce that Doug Jacobs, recently Executive Vice President and Senior Counsel of A&E Television Networks, has joined the firm as a partner in its New York office. Mr. Jacobs’ practice will primarily focus on matters involving the cable television industry and the evolving digital media universe,

CDAS Partner Nancy Wolff’s Webinar Available Online

Recently, CDAS Partner Nancy Wolff hosted a webinar for the Digital Media Licensing Association which answered common questions about when you need releases when using visual images. The webinar is now available online for free, and is a useful resource for anyone publishing or displaying still or motion images and wondering whether permissions are needed

Toto Can’t “Hold the Line”: Sony Prevails in Digital Royalty Dispute with Classic Rockers

A New York federal judge recently ruled in favor of Sony Music Entertainment (“SME”) in the latest dispute over the proper characterization of artist royalties on digital music sales, dismissing a breach of contract claim brought by rock group Toto (best known for the hits “Africa” and “Rosanna”). Ever since the Ninth Circuit’s 2010 decision

Seventh Circuit Affirms Fair Use of Mayor’s Photograph, and Criticizes Second Circuit’s Approach in Cariou v. Prince

Note: This blog is cross-posted with permission from CopyrightAlliance.org. Photographer Michael Kienitz (“Kienitz”) appealed the Western District Court of Wisconsin’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of Sconnie Nation LLC and its vendor, Underground Printing-Wisconsin LLC (collectively, “defendants” or “Sconnie Nation”), contending defendants were liable for copyright infringement in connection with their unauthorized use

Re-Creation of Scenes from Pornographic Film for Biopic Not a Violation of Copyright Laws

In Arrow Productions, Ltd. v. The Weinstein Company LLC, et al., No. 13 Civ. 05448, 2014 WL 4211350 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 25, 2014), Judge Griesa undertook the judicial task of determining whether Defendants’ unauthorized recreation of scenes from Arrow’s copyrighted film constitutes fair use by viewing “all that is necessary” to make such determination – scenes