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PETER STRAND AT GRAMMY'S ON THE HILL ADVOCACY DAY 5/3/2013 At the GRAMMY's On The Hill advocacy day. From left, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), Greenberg Traurig's Diane Blagman, Recording Academy Chair Emeritus Jimmy Jam, Recording Academy National Legal Council Chuck Ortner, Recording Academy Chicago Chapter Board Member & LSGA Partner Peter Strand, Recording Academy Vice Chair Christine Albert, and Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. CLICK for larger photo.
FCC SLAPS TELEVISION STATIONS WITH PUBLIC FILE FINES 4/25/2013 Failing to prepare and publicize required FCC quarterly filing reports could be VERY costly to commercial television and radio stations. Learn from these three stations' mistakes.
3/14/2013 In another case regarding the right of publicity statute in Wisconsin, a court considered whether it was legal for Business A to use Business B's name to generate sponsored link results for Business A.
GOOGLE, ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION, AND A WISCONSIN WOMAN 3/11/2013 When a Google search for your name turns up results you have no association with (such as for erectile dysfunction medications), can you sue the search engine? One woman did just that.
2/25/2013 In a recent decision, a New York court decided that the use of Lindsay Lohan's name in Pit Bull's song lyric was "incidental" - and that Ms. Lohan was being too sensitive about it.
LSGA PARTNERS INTERVIEWED IN "CHICAGO LAWYER MAGAZINE" 2/14/2013 The February 5, 2013 issue of The Chicago Lawyer Magazine includes an article about Chicago entertainment lawyers. All four of LSGA’s partners were interviewed and are quoted extensively in this article about how they came to work and excel in entertainment law, and to build a firm together. To read the full article, click here.
SEQUENCE OF YOGA EXERCISES NOT COPYRIGHTABLE 12/21/2012 A California federal district court has ruled that the specific sequence of yoga exercises known as Bikram Yoga cannot be copyrighted, despite the fact that they are spelled out in a copyrightable book.
FIRST MAJOR COURT DECISION CONCERNING CASTING AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT 12/17/2012 Two African-American men applied to be the bachelor on the ABC reality show "The Bachelor." Neither were cast in the show, and no other African-American man has ever been a "Bachelor." The men sued American Broadcasting Companies in a discrimination suit. A federal district judge ruled that casting can discriminate in this way due to the First Amendment. Read on to find out how the court said it applies.
HULK HOGAN DENIED RESTRAINING ORDER IN SEX TAPE CASE 11/16/2012 In a case testing the First Amendment's free press guarantee, pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan was denied a restraining order against Gawker.com. Hogan sought the order to force Gawker to remove excerpts of a sex tape of Hogan and a woman who was not his wife.
9/27/2012 A mobile app maker sued pop star Justin Bieber claiming its game and chacter "Jousin' Beaver" do not affect Bieber's publicity rights or trademarks. But the jurisdiction of the suit caused problems for the game maker and Bieber won round 1. Read on for the substantive issues that have yet to be decided.
FCC FINES ANOTHER RADIO STATION FOR NOT BROADCASTING RELEVANT CONTEST RULES 9/12/2012 Another case where a radio station did not properly let listeners know about on-air contest rules and received a fine from the FCC. In this situation, the station did not update changes in the prizes for the winner. Read on to learn why it's so important to run a contest following FCC contest rules!
‘TYRA BANKS SHOW’ NOT LIABLE FOR LYING TEENAGE GUEST 9/7/2012 The mother of a teenager who lied about her age and about being a sex addict to get on TV, sued the 'Tyra Banks Show' for invasion of privacy and negligence. Read why the court ruled in favor of the TV show and Warner Brothers.
FCC AGAIN FINES RADIO STATIONS FOR BROADCASTING TELEPHONE CALLS 8/31/2012 A previous article on this site summarized an FCC decision which fined a radio station for broadcasting a telephone call without letting the person receiving the call know in advance that that the station would be broadcasting the call. Now, The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued two new decisions against a station group owner in cases involving prank phone calls intended for air. The rulings have implications for programming involving prank calls.
TRADEMARK OFFICE REQUESTS COMMENT ON AMENDMENT
RADIO STATION’S CUTE BABY CONTEST SCREW UP NOT CUTE TO FCC 8/28/2012 Ever wonder why radio stations read all the rules to their on-air contests and have all that "legalease" on their website? It's because the FCC requires all the rules be stated and clear. Here's what happens when radio station contest rules aren't so clear.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON PRIVACY IS UNSETTLED 8/28/2012 A case involving an employer accessing an employee's Facebook page without the employee's permission highlights that privacy in social media is not a clearly defined area yet. Decisions are being made on a case by case basis. Status-updater beware: your posting privacy is NOT a given!
KANYE WEST PROVES TO BE ‘STRONGER’ IN COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CASE 8/24/2012 Song writer Vince P sent a recording of his song "Stronger" to hip hop record producer John Monopoly. Less than a year later, Monopoly's client and friend Kanye West releases a song called "Stronger" with some lyric similarities. Vince P claimed copyright infringement. Read on for why the court sided with West.
TWO APPEALS COURT FIND NO FAIR USE IN PUBLICATION OF COPYRIGHTED PHOTOS IN MAGAZINES 8/21/2012 2 cases consider the question of when it is "fair use" for a magazine to use photographs they did not take or commission. Both cases involve the concept of fair use when pictures of celebrities are used for commercial purposes without permission from the copyright owners of the photos. The courts' rulings are words of warning to journalists.
NICOLLETTE SHERIDAN MAY FEEL DESPERATE AFTER “HOUSEWIVES” RULING 8/20/2012 An appellate court ruled in a wrongful termination lawsuit Sheridan brought against Touchstone after they killed off her character in season 5 of "Desparate Houswives," and not renewing her contract for season 6. Sheridan claimed that series creator Marc Cherry hit her and then that Touchstone did not renew her contract in retaliation for complaining about the alleged incident. But is failure to renew the same thing as firing? And is this the end of the dispute? Details and more in the full article!
FEDERAL CIRCUIT CLARIFIES MEANING OF “USE IN COMMERCE” FOR TRADEMARKS 8/16/2012 A case involving 1-800 Contacts and Lens.com helps to define what "use in commerce" means in the context of U.S. trademark law. A trademark must be truly part of the commerce activity of the product or service. See why in the details of the case.
NATIONAL ARBITRATION FORUM ISSUES TWO INTERNET DOMAIN NAME DECISIONS OF INTEREST 8/15/2012 The National Arbitration Forum settles website name (domain name) disputes. The organization recently decided on a case involving Jack Abramoff and a website under his name that he does not control. It also decided in a case involving Craigslist and the practice of "typosquatting," where someone captures web surfers by taking advantage of common misspellings.
8/10/2012 When is news "news" and when is it just passing on non "newsworthy" information? A court originally refused to identify a technology info website as a news medium and its writers as reporters. But it reversed itself in a case involving the "shield law" and protecting a source that leaked information about the Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone before its official release.
FEDERAL COURT IN WISCONSIN FINDS IN FAVOR OF HARLEY-DAVIDSON LOGO DESIGNER ON PROCEDURAL MATTERS 8/8/2012 The designer of 2 well known Harley-Davidson logos can go ahead with his copyright infringement claim against Harley-Davidson, per a federal district court. The designer gave Harley a license to use his logos and claims the company used them past the expiration of that license. Click to see the logos and find out more about the complications surrounding the suit. 8/1/2012 While imitation may be "the sincerest (form) of flattery," fashion designers must be able to protect their designs and creations. Here is a guide through beginning to navigate the complex are of trademark and intellectual property (IP) protection for the fashion industry.
ELECTRONIC ARTS LOSES PRELIMINARY ROUND IN “BATTLEFIELD 3” VIDEO GAME CASE 7/31/2012 Following up from an April article on EA's use of Bell helicopter imagery in the game "Battldefield 3." Bell and its intellectual property holding company claimed that EA's use of names such as "Viper," "Venom," and "Osprey" violated their tradmarks. EA tried to get the trademark claims dismissed based on the First Amendment and the Rogers test. Recently, the court denied EA's motion to dismiss the claims and the Rogers argument.
GINGER ROGERS COMES TO ILLINOIS 7/23/2012 How a court case involving the trademark "Fred and Ginger" relates to a case questioning whether title of the movie "50/50" starring Seth Rogan and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, violates a registered trademark.
APPEALS COURT HANDS USA NETWORKS A "ROYAL PAIN" 7/16/2012 Did the USA Network breach a contract with Darth Vader? Tove and Hayden Christensen (the latter of Star Wars fame) pitched a show to USA called “Housecall” about a doctor who got fired for treating patients who could not pay who then moved to Malibu becoming a concierge doctor for the rich. Years later, USA produced and aired the series “Royal Pains” about a doctor was fired for treating patients who could not pay then moved to the Hamptons to become a concierge doctor to the rich. Decisions about copyright violations and arguments about in-fact contracts flesh out this interesting case.
CBS THROWS STONES AT ABC’S "GLASS HOUSE" 7/16/2012 Fans of "reality" TV have noticed the similarities between the 13-season Big Brother on CBS and the new ABC show The Glass House. CBS noticed, too, and attempted to get a temporary restraining order on The Glass House based on copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation lawsuit. Read on to find out how CBS production documentation sitting on the internet hindered CBS's ability to protect Big Brother from imitation.
FCC FINES PUBLIC RADIO STATION $12,500 FOR BROADCASTING ADVERTISEMENTS 5/23/2012 A new fine ruling from the FCC against a public radio station parses the difference between an underwriting sponsorship and an advertisement. LSGA partner Jerry Glover had personal experience in this area and thus a unique take on this situation.
FCC FINES RADIO STATION $2,000 FOR UNCONSENTED TAPING OF TELEPHONE CALL THAT WAS NOT BROADCAST 5/18/2012 A recent FCC decision that resulted in a fine imposed on a radio station emphasizes how important it is for broadcasters to protect the privacy rights of people who call into their stations.
FEDERAL TRIAL COURT DESTROYS A WRITER’S GUILD MYTH 5/18/2012 This case gives official documentation to the fact that registering a work with the Writer's Guild does NOT give the registrant copyright-like protections. Read the details to discover why - and then get a "real" copyright on your hard work!
BOURBON 1, TEQUILA 0: Maker’s Mark Successfully Defends Its Red Wax Seal 5/14/2012 If you saw a liquor bottle with dripping red wax sealing the neck, what kind of liquor would you assume was in the bottle? What manufacturer comes to mind? A trademark case involving Maker's Mark bourbon, Jose Cuervo and the functionality of sealing wax on bottles of spirits has been decided. As the bottles in question cost around $100, the details of the case matter.
5/9/2012 The co-writer of 33 songs made popular by the Village People, such as “YMCA,” “In the Navy,” and “Go West,” wants to get out of a grant of rights for these songs – without terminating the rights grants of his co-authors. The question is if “a single author may alone terminate his separate grant of his copyright interest in the joint work or whether a majority of all the authors is necessary to terminate that grant.” Read on to find out how the court ruled.
TWO BIG FCC RULES AND REGULATIONS STORIES 5/1/2012 The FCC has been busy issuing and considering new rules for television and radio stations to follow. Check them out below:
FCC REQUIRES BROADCASTERS TO PUT PUBLIC FILES ON-LINE Since 1965 all television and radio stations have been required to keep a physical “public file” at their station that anyone can show and request to look at. This information includes all info about a station's ownership, community activity and more INCLUDING the rates charged for political ads. Now the FCC is requiring stations to post these files online where they are more easily accessed. Stations object because it makes their ad rates more easily available to their competitors. Read on for the details of what is required by the FCC.
Should public radio and TV stations be allowed to ask for donations for other non-profit corporations? Should there be limits on what kinds of non-profits? How about how many hourse a year they can ask for such donations? The FCC wants YOUR input on these questions and more as it ponders relaxing bans on public stations devoting any airtime to raise funds for third party not-for-profits.
COURT KEEPS NFL ATHLETE’S MORALS CLAUSE CASE ALIVE 4/30/2012 A case involving Twitter, the brand Hanes, and NFL player Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a court left open the question of whether Mendenhall violated an endorsement contract "morals clause" when he tweeted about the death of Osama Bin Laden. Click to read why the court could not yet make a judgment.
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER GETS IRS TO “SMILE ‘TIL IT HURTS” 4/26/2012 When a documentary film is not just a hobby: For the first time, to our knowledge, the U. S. Tax Court has decided in favor of a documentary filmmaker and her right to make certain expense deductions on her federal tax return related to the production of her documentary. The film, about the 1960's group Up With People, was deemed more than just a "labor of love," despite the film-maker's husband being one of the subjects of the film. Read on to discover all the factors weighed in the decision, all of which are relevant to other film documentarians.
ONE OF SEVERAL “AVATAR” LAWSUITS BITES THE DUST 4/24/2012 If the plaintiff's copyrighted material gets posted in the exapansive internet "forest," does it make a sound that James Cameron can hear? The first decision in one of multiple copyright infringement lawsuits involving the movie "Avatar" was all about "access."
FACEBOOK TERMS OF SERVICE: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM SELECTION CLAUSE 4/20/2012 When you signed up for Facebook, or any other online app, service, etc., did you really read those Terms of Service before you clicked on the button that said you did? Many of the arguments in a lawsuit against Facebook came down to the details in the site's TOS.
LOUIS VUITTON, THE SUPER BOWL AND “THE HANGOVER”—IN THAT ORDER 4/16/2012 Louis Vuitton and its trademarked design on luxury goods (known as the “toile monogram”) is famous throughout the world. No one can deny that—not even two companies that Vuitton recently sued for infringing on that mark: Warner Brothers and Hyundai.
4/13/2012 In a potentially controversial ruling, a federal appeals court ruled that public TV and radio stations still cannot run commercial advertisements, but they CAN now air paid for policital and public issue ads. The decision came down to the concepts of free speech and the impact commercial vs. political/issue ads could have on public broadcasting content.
VIDEO GAMES & ‘COPTERS & TRADEMARKS—OH MY! 4/9/2012 A pair of lawsuits involving video game maker EA and helicopter producer Textron involve the concept and implementation of "fair use" of trademarks. EA's “Battlefield 3” is described by EA as a “first-person military combat simulation.” The game allows players to “fly” the helicopters as the player chooses. Pictures of the helicopters as used in the video game look identical to actual Textron helicopters and these images are used in trailers for the game. So, is this fair use or trademark infringement?
INTERNAL EMAILS KEY TO A MAJOR DECISION INVOLVING YOUTUBE AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT 4/5/2012 In 2007, YouTube was sued by copyright holders, most famously Viacom, for various forms of copyright infringement. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit weighed in on the case, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the definition of "safe harbor" for ISPs. The decision hinges on whether the ISP is aware of the infringing material on the system or network, speed of removal once notified, and whether there is financial benefit to the infringing activity for the ISP. Internal YouTube emails were key to determining the outcome of this case. Read on for details.
JUSTIN TV’S SMACKDOWN WITH THE UFC 4/3/2012 Justin.tv is a service that allows users to stream live videos (as opposed to YouTube’s pre-recorded videos) to people in over 250 countries. Each user who posts live video on Justin.tv is given a “channel”; each user is designated a “broadcaster.” It has been reported that people watch more than 300,000,000 live streams every month on Justin.tv. But when some Justin.tv users streamed a love broadcast of a UFC bought, it caused a copyright issue.
DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE DATING? PROPOSED NEW LAWS AFFECTING ONLINE DATING 4/3/2012 If you’ve ever used an on-line dating service like match.com or eHarmony.com you may have had a feeling that you really don’t know with whom you’re chatting. Is this person really who he/she says? Well, the Illinois legislature is considering two bills that may give you a little peace of mind (or scare you to death), at least if you’re concerned about whether the person you’re chatting with has a criminal past.
“OWN YOUR POWER” NOT INFRINGED BY O MAGAZINE 3/12/2012 In a test of the idea of "fair use" where trademarks are involved, a woman who provide “a personal brand of self-awareness and motivational communications services nationally” sued Oprah - and lost.
3/12/2012 E-books are growing in popularity, but are a relatively recent phenomenon. Publishing contracts for physical books, written before the advent of e-books, do not specify e-publishing rights. But do the contracts cover them anyway? A recently filed lawsuit tests the ownership of publishing rights for e-books will hinge on the definition of "book form." Details and more HERE!
A GUIDE TO THE NEW ILLINOIS LIVE THEATER PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT 3/1/2012 A new Illinois law created the Illinois Live Theatre Production Tax Credit. This tax credit is based on and is similar to the IL film tax credit - with one major difference. Here are all the details on this new tax plan, created to bring more pre-Broadway and other productions to the state.
INDIANA COURT REQUIRES NEWSPAPER TO REVEAL IDENTIFY OF ANONYMOUS NEWSPAPER WEBSITE COMMENTERS 2/28/2012 Do you sometime post in the comment sections of articles published by online newspapers? If you want to keep those comments anonymous Be aware of the terms of service and details of this Indiana court's findings.
ILLINOIS FEDERAL COURT THROWS OUT LAWSUIT AGAINST WEINER’S CIRCLE 2/22/2012 Did you see the Travel Channel show about Chicago's Weiner's Circle, the hot dog restaurant as famous for its dogs as the insults & swears slung by its employees? One of those employees says she did not consent to be filmed for the show and filed a class action lawsuit. Click to read about the ruling in the case.
MICHAEL JORDAN LOSES SUIT AGAINST JEWEL-OSCO FOR TRIBUTE AD 2/20/2012 The distinction between an advertisment and a "tribute" to a public figure makes all the difference in defining commercial speech vs. free speech, per this February 13, 2012 decision regarding the use of Michael Jordan's jersey number in magazine displays. Click to read why and see the images in question.
FCC DENIES CLAIM BY MAN CLAIMING TO BE A U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR AD BUY ON WMAQ/CHICAGO 2/15/2012 On February 6, 2012 the Federal Communications Commission denied a claim by an individual, Randall Terry, wanting to buy ad time on Chicago’s NBC affiliate, WMAQ, during the Super Bowl. Terry claimed he was running for President. WMAQ refused the ad buy. Read the full article to learn why and what happened.
FCC FINES WLS (AM) FOR AIRING NEWS STORY THAT WAS ACTUALLY A PAID ADVERTISEMENT 2/15/2012 In 2009, Chicago radio station WLS (AM) broadcast program matter on behalf of Workers Independent News (“WIN”). 11 of the 45 ninety-second spots that aired during the program identified the name of the organization, WIN, and the name of the narration but they did not state that the program publicized in each spot was sponsored, paid for or furnished by WIN. A complaint was filed with the FCC.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CLEARING TITLES One thing newbie producers forget to do is make sure the title for their film/television series is not already being used by someone else for similar products or services. The importance of clearing a title was recently emphasized by a federal court in Washington State....
When producing a competition-style reality shows, you will need a number of different documents for contestants. Here are some of the many key documents you (along with a lawyer) will need to create. |
