As fitness companies transform into entertainment companies, new licensing issues arise regarding music in an at-home work-out video versus music heard in an in-person gym class. Specifically, the usage of music in a gym class requires a public performance license…
Chances are, if you owned a VIZIO TV from February 2014 to late 2016 and the default “Smart Interactivity” feature was enabled, your TV was transmitting second-by-second information back to VIZIO about what you were watching–be it from your cable…
In continuation of an ongoing battle, the Department of Justice has filed a notice that it will appeal the September 2016 decision by Judge Stanton which concluded that fractional licensing is allowed under the current Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”) consent decree.[1] Back…
Is it unreasonable for deaf moviegoers to expect that song lyrics might be included in film captions and subtitles? On Wednesday, September 28, 2016, a California District court found that it was, when it granted summary judgment to a group…
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants, of course, in the world of Bikini Bottom. In the popular children’s television show, which will make the move to the Chicago stage later this year, SpongeBob works for Mr.…
Author: Joe Newman, Legal and Policy Fellow at The Future of Privacy Forum The story of Jonathan Coulton and song copying on Glee was one of the biggest copyright-related stories of 2012, with plenty of media coverage (and even a fictionalized TV adaptation).…
Author: Sam Castree, III, Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D. Class of 2013 (For a more extensive treatment of this and related issues see A Problem Old as Pong: Video Game Cloning and the Proper Bounds of Video Game Copyrights) Advances in technology…
Brandon Sherman, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D. 2013 Since February 2012, online live TV service “Aereo” has given its subscribers the ability to watch, record and replay over-the-air (“OTA”) broadcast television on any Internet-connected device. Since Aereo’s technology…
Author: Al Roundtree, J.D Candidate, Class of 2013, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law “What a prosperous looking bunch of lawyers,” was keynote speaker Scott Borchetta’s opening remark to the assembled group of entertainment lawyers, music industry professionals, and law students…
