5 Essential Things You Need to Know Before Hiring an Entertainment Lawyer
1. They Should Be an Expert in Copyright Law The “Copyright Act,” which regulates how creative or “expressive” works are treated in the law, is the foundation of entertainment law. Many lawyers claim that they are “entertainment lawyers” without being sufficiently knowledgeable or up-to-speed on copyright law. If a prospective entertainment lawyer lacks these essential…
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On March 30, 2022, the California Court of Appeal for the Second District agreed with the trial court’s decision in a case between the creators of the hit television show Columbo and Universal Studios. The main issue present in the case was the interpretation of a single word, namely the undefined term, “photoplays,” in the…
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On May 3, 2022, Bishop David P. Moten filed a lawsuit against Ye, formerly Kanye West, for Ye’s use of portions of the Texas pastor’s recorded sermon in Ye’s song “Come to Life” on his 2021 album “Donda.” Moten said he never gave the rapper permission to use his sermon. Most notably, his voice stands…
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On May 9, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit said a California federal court did not abuse its discretion when it ruled that William J. Drayton, professionally known as “Flavor Flav,” can’t revive a lawsuit against Public Enemy’s business manager and producer, Gary Rinaldo. Flavor Flav lost this case because his attorneys failed…
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On May 12, 2022, a sketch comedy group successfully convinced a United States District Court Judge in the Southern District of New York that its play “Vape: The Musical” was a “fair use” parody of the film version; of the musical “Grease.” Plaintiff’s motion for judgment on the pleadings was granted in its entirety, and…
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On April 8, 2022, Judge Robert W. Lehrburger for the Southern District of New York confirmed a jury verdict for $805,000 against Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash. Dash was alleged to have falsely claimed to hold copyright ownership in, Dear Frank, a small independent movie released in 2019. This lawsuit was brought by Muddy Water…
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On March 24, 2022, an unsealed complaint before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York charged two individuals with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering based on an alleged fraudulent NFT project scheme titled “Frosties.” In January 2022, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Division and the…
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On April 12, 2022, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson for the Central District of California denied a motion to dismiss a copyright infringement claim against the producers of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which was released in 2019. The lawsuit alleged that the producers copied media company Summit Kaiju LLC’s monster called “Batholith” in their…
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On April 25, 2022, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear a case concerning how different federal circuits analyze copyright infringement cases. The case that made its way to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court dealt with the allegation that Josh Groban’s hit song, “You Raise Me Up,” copied the Icelandic hit song,…
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On April 18, 2022, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II for the Central District of California held that Tyler Armes, a professional musician, has no joint authorship rights to the final commercial release of Post Malone’s hit song, Circles. However, Judge Wright found that a trial must determine whether Mr. Armes is a joint…
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