30 Sep, 2024 Trump in a “River of Trouble” for Infringing Copyright in Classic Isaac Hayes Song By Brian Murphy Since 2020, Donald J. Trump and his campaign organization have regularly played the Sam & Dave classic “Hold On, I’m Comin’” at campaign...
16 Aug, 2024 Predictably, an Oral License to Use Beat Track in Song Results in Copyright Infringement Case By Brian Murphy Plaintiff Brian White is a professional musician who writes and records beat tracks that he sometimes licenses to other artists. (We Got...
27 Nov, 2023 The Copyright Crackdown Continues: Sony Music Sues Cosmetics Brand Over Social Media Videos By Sara Edelman Gia Wakil Halloween is supposed to be spooky, but this year, Ofra Cosmetics got quite the fright. On October 31, Sony Music Entertainment sued Ofra...
17 Nov, 2022 Copyright, Clearances and Concert Recordings: ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Sagan By Brian Murphy Bill Graham was one of the great concert promoters of the twentieth century. During a career that spanned from the late 1960s until his...
17 Oct, 2022 The Potential of NFTs for the Music Industry By Lydia Mendola Francesco Tognato The music industry has undergone massive changes in the past twenty years. With streaming services overtaking CDs, music became...
17 Jan, 2022 Rapper Fat Joe Lost the Signed Contract ... But Still Wins Case Over Ownership of "All the Way Up" By Brian Murphy Lawyers often tell clients: put it in writing. A corollary, which often goes unsaid (but perhaps shouldn't), is: save a copy. This case...
24 Dec, 2021 Works from 1926 (and Pre-1923 Sound Recordings) Enter the Public Domain in the U.S. By Brian Murphy On January 1, 2022, all literary works, compositions, and films first published in 1926, and all pre-1923 sound recordings, will enter...
09 Sep, 2020 Performing a DNA Test on Lizzo's "Truth Hurts": Joint Works and Derivative Works Under Copyright By Brian Murphy WARNING: A certain five-letter word that rhymes with the word "snitch" - one that many (my mother included) consider to be a four-letter...
30 May, 2020 Nothing "Fishy" About Use of Children's Song "Fish Sticks n' Tater Tots" in Documentary about Burlesque Dancers, Court Rules By Brian Murphy Fish Sticks n' Tater Tots. A typical school lunch during Lent in a Catholic grammar school. Also the title of a children's song written...
29 Mar, 2020 R.I.P. Inverse Ratio Rule: Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin By Brian Murphy Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven - has been wending its way through courts in the Ninth Circuit for the past six years. We...