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
Eleanor M. Lackman to Speak at PLI’s IP Issues in Business Transactions 2015
CDAS Partner Eleanor M. Lackman will be participating in this PLI’s IP Issues in Business Transactions, which is scheduled for January 12-13, 2015. The event provides attendees with an in-depth understanding of the special considerations attached with Intellectual Property issues, while exploring the strategic role of IP in a company. Ms. Lackman will be returning to the event
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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
Mary E. Rasenberger hired as Executive Director of The Authors Guild
Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP (CDAS) is proud to announce that The Authors Guild has hired Mary Rasenberger to succeed Paul Aiken as executive director, on November 3. Currently a partner at CDAS, Ms. Rasenberger recently was director of the Library of Congress’s National Digital Preservation Program from 2006 to 2008 and prior to that spend
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
CDAS Attorneys Named “Super Lawyers” for 2014
Fourteen Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard attorneys were selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of New York Metro Super Lawyers, spanning various practice areas including Entertainment & Sports, Media & Advertising, Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Litigation, Non-Profit Organizations and Business & Corporate Law. Each year, only five percent of Manhattan attorneys receive the honor
Copyright on the Wild Side
It’s been theorized that if you give a million monkeys a million typewriters, they will eventually produce the entire collected works of William Shakespeare. It’s been proven, however, that if a troupe of monkeys steals a camera, one will eventually take a really good selfie. By now you’ve probably heard this story, but just in