In a well-watched case, Dailymotion has been tagged with a €5.5 million ($6.1 million) fine for failing to proactively remove copyrighted videos. French video-sharing website Dailymotion has been fined €5.5 million (about $6.1 million) by Italy’s Court…
Category archives: Copyright
On ‘Dark Horse’ Plagiarism Case, a Professional Musicologist Testifies Against Katy Perry and UMG
Did Katy Perry and her musical team knowingly steal a Christian rapper’s song to create ‘Dark Horse?’ According to Perry, no. Of course not. Yet, according to rapper Marcus Gray and renowned musicologist and professor Todd Decker, yes. Yes, she did. …
Netflix Quietly Settles Its Fyre Festival Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
Court documents filed yesterday reveal that Netflix has reached a settlement to end a lingering copyright dispute. The lawsuit alleged that the Fyre Festival documentary used video footage without permission. Clarissa Cardenas — who filmed the footage …
What Is A Trademark, What Are Trademark Rights?
While copyright tends to get the most coverage when it comes to music industry law, trademarks and trademark rights are also incredibly consequential to any artist, band, or DJ. Here we look at the importance of choosing a unique trademark and ensuring you register it through the proper channels. _____________________________…
New Copyright Office Regs Concerning Pre-72 Recordings
Here Chris Castle outlines some of the new regulations surrounding how the passage of the CLASSICS Act section of the MMA will effect pre-72 recording copyright owners, and the procedure for recovering statutory damages for infringement. ________________________ Guest post by Chris Castle of Music Tech Solutions Title II of the…
Taylor Swift’s Story Is Indictment Of "Negotiating Asymmetries" and Call For Copyright Reform
In this piece, Neil Turkewitz offers a different take on the recent Taylor Swift rights ownership incident, arguing against viewing it as an indictment of copyright, and rather as a reminder that the rules protecting creators’ intellectual property need to be easier to enforce. _____________________________ Op-ed by Neil Turkewitz from…
YouTube Imposes Stricter Rules on Manual Content ID Claims — Here Are the Details
YouTube has revamped its manual copyright-violation claims system. Effective immediately, those who manually file copyright-violation claims will need to specify, via timestamp, precisely when the violation(s) appear in the video. YouTube’s automatic c…
Fat Joe Sues His Insurance Company for Refusing to Cover a Copyright Infringement Defense
Fat Joe has sued Homeland Insurance Company of New York in federal court. The rapper says the insurer wrongfully denied him coverage in a copyright infringement lawsuit. The stand-off is undoubtedly drawing industry attention given the recent rise in …
Thanks to Led Zeppelin, a Federal Judge Puts Ed Sheeran’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ Lawsuit on Hold — Possibly Until 2020
For years, singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran has faced multiple copyright infringement lawsuits. Three years ago, music publisher HaloSongs filed a $20 million lawsuit against Sheeran on behalf of songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard. Both alle…
BMG Files Lawsuit Against Hilton Hotels After Hotel Chain Refuses to Take Down Infringing Works
BMG has filed a lawsuit against Hilton Hotels in the United States. Filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the company’s Production Music division accused Hilton Worldwide Holdings of direct, contributory, and …