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,
Shifting Injunction Standards in Copyright, Trademark Cases
Note: This blog is cross-posted from Law360.com with permission from Portfolio Media, Inc. For decades, obtaining an injunction in a copyright or trademark case was simple: Show success on the merits (or likely success on the merits, at the preliminary injunction stage), and injunctive relief was usually automatically yours. Then, in 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a
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
Victory for Blizzard/Activision in “Call of Duty” Right-of-Publicity Battle with Manuel Noriega
This Blog is an Update to a Previous Post. To read the original post, please click here. On August 1, 2014, we reported that former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega had filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against Blizzard/Activision over Activision’s portrayal of the despot in its highly successful game “Call of Duty: Black Ops
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
No Presumption of Irreparable Harm for Lanham Act Injunctions, Says Third Circuit
In a recent decision, the Third Circuit announced that it would no longer presume irreparable harm for plaintiffs requesting preliminary injunctive relief for claims arising under the Lanham Act (see Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 13-2290 (Aug. 26, 2014)). Instead, claimants seeking to enjoin acts of trademark infringement or false advertising must
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
Sticks, Carrots and Copyrights
Last month, in Sandy Routt, d/b/a sandybeachgifts.com, d/b/a Sandys Beach v. Amazon.com, Inc., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed claims seeing to hold Amazon.com vicariously liable for the copyright and trademark infringing activities of its affiliate marketing partners. Amazon.com maintains a program in which third party websites agree to display a widget that contains