Spotify’s biggest legal headache now has a price tag: $1.6 billion. Updated (Wed Jan 3): Spotify has confidentially filed for its direct Wall Street/NYSE listing with the SEC, according to details published by Axios. The filing was also subseque…
Category archives: Copyright
Breaking: Federal Appeals Court Rules Against DOJ’s ‘100% Licensing’ Requirement
US publishers just scored a major victory against the DOJ’s 100% licensing requirement. Please note: the following is a breaking and developing story. We’ll be adding more details as we learn them. Last update: Dec 19th 9:00 am PT. Americ…
YouTube Rips Down the FCC’s Net Neutrality ‘PSA’ Over Copyright Infringement — Then Reinstates It
On Friday, YouTube removed an extremely controversial ‘PSA’ on net neutrality from FCC chairman Ajit Pai. It was just as quickly reinstated. So what happened? Please note: This is a developing story. We’re awaiting comments from se…
Canadian Agency Will Play Judge, Jury, Executioner Over Piracy Sites
Canada has a new idea for dealing with piracy sites: just f—king kill them. Google argues that content infringement is a tricky thing to judge. The music, TV, and film industries see it in more black-and-white terms. Now, a proposed measure in Canada …
Google, Facebook Excluded from Safe Harbor Protections In Australia
Australian lawmakers just excluded Google and Facebook from safe harbor protection. Could other governments soon follow suit? Earlier today, the Australian federal government announced that it would introduce legislation that would extend copyright sa…
A Federal Judge Asks Spotify: ‘How Many Songs Have You Infringed, Anyway?’
Spotify’s licensing problems went from bad to worse. And these damages could be seriously catastrophic. As Spotify’s valuation soars towards $20 billion, there’s a looming iceberg ahead. On Friday, Spotify’s lawyers battled to…
The Laws Governing Music Creators’ Compensation are Unfair and Outdated
I’ve worn a lot of hats in the music industry over the course of my career. While I’m perhaps most visible for my work as a keyboardist with Maroon 5, with which I’ve had the pleasure of touring the world and receiving multiple Grammy nominations, I’ve…
Breaking: Jay-Z’s TIDAL Accused of Falsifying Documents to Cheat Prince’s Estate
An ugly battle between Jay-Z’s TIDAL and the Prince Estate just got uglier. Prince was notoriously protective of his copyright before he died. Now, his estate is picking up the slack — and doggedly pursuing anyone who violates Prince’s IP….
Should a Remastered Oldies Song Receive a New Copyright?
According to CBS, sound engineers have created entirely new works from pre-1972 recordings, despite using the same musicians and songs. Should pre-1972 recordings enjoy copyright protection? According to Florida’s Supreme Court, of course not. T…
Coming Soon: A Small Claims Court for Copyright Infringement
If the CASE Act is passed, will musicians finally be able to fight back against piracy and theft? On October 4th, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Tom Marino (R-PA) introduced the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act. The bipart…