Copyright Litigation

Ed Sheeran Wins Copyright Infringement Case Against the Estate of Marvin Gaye

On March 4, 2023, a New York federal jury concluded that the popular British music artist Ed Sheeran is not liable for copyright infringement after lengthy litigation to settle a lawsuit. It took the jury less than three hours to...
Read More

Starz Sues MGM for Copyright Infringement

Starz Entertainment, LLC Starz filed a lawsuit in May of 2020 with the Los Angeles federal court claiming MGM Domestic Television Distribution, LLC violated copyright interests within two separate agreements. The case results from Starz paying MGM approximately $70 million...
Read More

Everything to Know About the Copyright Small Claims Court

Holding the copyright to written materials grants the owner the ability to protect their property in federal court. Traditionally, this meant pursuing an infringement lawsuit in a United States District Court. While this is still an option, the fact remains...
Read More

The Countdown Is On–The Mickey Mouse Copyright Expires In 2024

Mickey Mouse may be Florida’s most famous resident, but he also has a lot of friends in Washington, DC. Over the past few decades, desperate pleas from Disney have inspired lawmakers to extend copyright protections for Mickey Mouse and other...
Read More

Trademarking a Sound Is a Sound Business Strategy

The MGM® lion’s roar. The iconic “dun-dun” in episodes of Law & Order. The marimba ringtone that comes as the default ringtone on iPhones. There are certain sounds you can hear in your head just by reading a written description...
Read More

Celebrities Continue to Face Paparazzi Lawsuits for Using Photos of Themselves

Celebrities Can’t Simply Re-Post Photos of Themselves Sounds crazy, but there is yet another lawsuit on the docket because a celebrity posted a picture of…HERSELF…on social media! Mandy Moore is the latest celebrity to face the wrath of an angered...
Read More

Drake Plays Fair (Use)

Although the music industry is always evolving with new music being created, many artists will look back to music of the past and incorporate it in their new works. Many artists, particularly in hip-hop and electronic often use pieces of...
Read More

Don’t Do the Crime if you Can’t Pay the Ten Billion Dimes

On Thursday December 19th, 2019, Cox Communications, Inc. (“Cox Communications”) was found liable for copyright infringement of over 10,000 recordings and compositions. Each individual infringement will cost them over $99,000 adding up to a one-billion-dollar verdict. Yes, that is $1,000,000,000....
Read More

Protecting the Playas

History of the Players If you’ve heard of pop-phenomenon singer-songwriter TAYLOR SWIFT then you surely have heard of her song “Shake It Off” released back in 2014. The song is certified 9x platinum. Well, the anthem has caused some controversy...
Read More

YouTube Has Your Back

Safe Harbors Save YouTube Recently, a YouTuber – Chris Brady (not related to the Bunch) – allegedly used his YouTube page and the protections of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to extort money out of fellow subscribers. YouTube found...
Read More

    SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER