Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Rembrandt’S Missing Piece: Ai Art And The Fallacies Of Copyright Law, Eleni Polymenopoulou

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

This article discusses contemporary problems related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), law and the visual arts. It suggests that the fallacies of copyright law are already visible in legal conundrums raised by AI in the creative sector. These include, for instance, the lack of uniformity in relation to creations’ copyrightability, the massive scale of copyright infringement affecting visual artists and the creative industry, and the difficulties in implementing media regulation and cyber-regulation. The deeply cherished ‘human authorship’ criterion that was sustained recently by a US Federal Appeals Court in Thaler, in particular, is a short-term solution to the legal challenges …

Sound Familiar? Digital Sampling Is Taking Center Stage, Logan Zucchino

University of Miami Business Law Review

In 2018, Kendrick Duckworth, better known by his stage-name Kendrick Lamar, became the first non-classical or jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music. Equally as surprising, the album contained a magnitude of digital sampling. As digital sampling has become more prevalent since the 1980’s, courts have differed on how to handle the issue. By 2016, the Sixth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals established a circuit split on the issue, with one holding that unlicensed digital sampling is per se unlawful, and the other holding that a more lenient test is needed. Courts have continued to struggle with …

Reflections On Music Copyright Justice, Peter S. Menell

Pepperdine Law Review

The digital revolution has upended many aspects of the copyright system, particularly as it relates to music. Drawing on creative, jurisprudential, technological, and social science insights, this article explores the broad range of music copyright justice concerns, ranging from file sharing to royalty distribution, copyright infringement standards, and the creation of music mashups.

Copyright’S Deprivations, Anne-Marie Carstens

Washington Law Review

This Article challenges the constitutionality of a copyright infringement remedy provided in federal copyright law: courts can order the destruction or other permanent deprivation of personal property based on its mere capacity to serve as a vehicle for infringement. This deprivation remedy requires no showing of actual nexus to the litigated infringement, no finding of willfulness, and no showing that the property’s infringing uses comprise the significant or predominant uses. These striking deficits stem from a historical fiction that viewed a tool of infringement, such as a printing plate, as the functional equivalent of an infringing copy itself. Today, though, …

Sounds Of Science: Copyright Infringement In Ai Music Generator Outputs, Eric Sunray

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

The music business is no stranger to disruptive technology. The industry’s apparent comeback from the devastating downturn caused by illegal file sharing seems to have arrived just in time for what may be an even more disruptive technological phenomenon: artificial intelligence (“AI”). Much has been said about the implications of AI-generated music, ranging from issues of ownership, to rights of publicity. However, there has been surprisingly little discussion of infringement in the AI systems’ outputs. By examining the functionality of AI music generators through the lens of de minimis use case law, this paper will explain how the outputs of …

Anything You Can Use, I Can Use Better: Examining The Contours Of Fair Use As An Affirmative Defense For Theatre Artists, Creators, And Producers, Benjamin Reiser

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Broadway is booming. In a post-Hamilton world, ticket sales and attendance records for the commercial theatre industry continue to break season after season. At the same time (and perhaps not so coincidentally), litigation against theatre artists, creators, and producers has surged, especially in the realm of copyright infringement. Many theatre professionals accused of infringement in recent years have employed the doctrine of fair use—codified at 17 U.S.C. § 107—as an affirmative defense against such claims. This Note explores cases involving theatre professionals in which fair use was examined and contends that they collectively reflect broader historical trends in fair …

Why The Copyright Act Expressly Preempts State-Level Public Performance Rights In Pre-1972 Recordings, James Fahringer

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Over the past several years, two former bandmates in the 1960s rock group, The Turtles, have initiated several lawsuits against the popular music streaming services, Pandora and Sirius XM, arguing that the band owns common law copyrights in the sound recordings of its songs, and that these state-level copyrights grant the band an exclusive public performance right in its sound recordings. If accepted, this argument has the potential to significantly distort federal copyright policy because states would not be constrained by any of the balancing features of the Copyright Act, including Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbors for Internet …

Three Chords And The Truth: Analyzing Copyright Infringement Claims Against Guitar Tablature Websites, Krist Caldwell

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Film Piracy: Surfing The Internet For Free Content Provides Little Bounty For The Collective Economy, Jordan Matthews

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

This Note focuses on the protection of a copyright holder against infringement in the form of film piracy. It centers on the recent litigation surrounding Dallas Buyers Club, a biographical film articulating the life and events surrounding an AIDS patient, diagnosed in the mid-1980s, who pursued experimental treatments by smuggling pharmaceuticals into the United States. In 2013, more than 4,700 Australian Internet users allegedly downloaded the film within the span of one month. In August of 2015, an Australian federal court declared that the studio behind the film would need to post a $600,000 bond before it could send letters …

Split Chords: Addressing The Federal Circuit Split In Music Sampling Copyright Infringement Cases, Erik J. Badia

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Note offers a comprehensive analysis of the current circuit split regarding how the de minimis doctrine applies to music sampling in copyright infringement cases. Since the Sixth Circuit's 2005 landmark decision in Bridgeport Music Inc. v. Dimension Films, critics, scholars and even judges have dissected the opinion and its bright line rule of “get a license or do not sample.” In May 2016, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in VMG Salsoul v. Ciccione. The Ninth Circuit explicitly declined to follow Bridgeport, holding that analyzing a music sampling copyright infringement case requires a substantial similarity analysis, including applying a …

Digital-Age Claims For Old-World Rights, Joseph M. Beck, Allison M. Scott

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Infringicus Maximus! An Exploration Of Motion Picture Title Protection In An International Film Industry Through The Legal Battles Of Harry Potter, Emily Kathryn Tyler

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

The Times They Are A-Changin': A Legal Perspective On How The Internet Is Changing The Way We Buy, Sell, And Steal Music, B.J. Richards

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Grokster And Beyond: Secondary Liability For Copyright Infringement During Live Musical Performances, Kathryn Dailey Holt

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Copyright Infringement Of Musical Compositions: A Systematic Appproach, E. Scott Fruehwald

Akron Law Review

This article addresses the problems that courts face when dealing with copyright infringement of musical compositions. Infringement of music presents special problems for judges and juries because music is an intuitive art that is nonverbal and nonvisual. Consequently, traditional methods of establishing infringement are often unreliable when applied to music.

This paper will concentrate on the question of whether a composition that is similar to, but not the same as, another work infringes on the other work. I This inquiry is both qualitative and quantitative. First, one must establish that the first work employs material from the second work. Determining …

Sherlock Holmes And The Case Of The Lucrative Fandom: Recognizing The Economic Power Of Fanworks And Reimagining Fair Use In Copyright, Stacey M. Lantagne

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Fan culture, in the form of fan-created works like fanfiction, fanart, and fanvids, is often associated with the Internet. However, fandom has existed for as long as stories have been told. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories inspired a passionate fandom long before the age of the Internet. Despite their persistence, fanworks have long existed in a gray area of copyright law. Determining if any given fanwork is infringing requires a fair use analysis. Although these analyses pay lip service to a requirement of aesthetic neutrality, they tend to become bogged down by unarticulated artistic judgments that hinge on …

The Copyright Infringement Test: A New Approach To Literary Misappropriation In Film, Rikki Bahar

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Note argues that courts’ emphasis on the ordinary observer test to prove illicit copying in film is misguided. The ordinary observer test relies on whether the accused work captures the total feel of the copyrighted work, but overlooks an essential aspect of unlawful appropriation and copyright law – the idea that only particular elements of a work are copyrightable. If a jury is exposed to expert testimony regarding probative similarity before making their evaluation, it is unlikely they will forget such evidence when evaluating the illicit copying.

A better test for infringement would be one that allows the ordinary …

Pinning Your Way To Copyright Infringement: The Legal Implications Pinterest Could Face, Brittany Fink

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

With the simple click of a button, anyone can copy an image from one place and paste it to another. What some people do not realize is that these actions could have them one click away from copyright infringement. Advancements in technology have made it easier for Internet users to infringe on the rights of copyright owners. Many popular websites, such as YouTube and Facebook, have seen the dangers of allowing users to upload videos and images onto their websites. However, one popular website has not yet seen the wrath of copyright owners. This Article looks at the rights copyright …

Rohauer Revisited: "Rear Window," Copyright Reversions, Renewals, Terminations, Derivative Works And Fair Use , Richard Colby

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Harry Potter, Scientology, And The Mysterious Realm Of Copyright Infringement: Analyzing When Close Is Too Close And When The Use Is Fair, Rosalinde Casalini

Touro Law Review

After going to a theatre and watching a new movie, would it be possible to go home and write a book about it? What about after reading a novel? Would a reader be free to write a new book using the same characters? Would a teacher be able to write her own training manual using the exact techniques she had just learned in another author's book? Is there any recourse for authors facing these types of situations? This Comment explores how two lower courts have recently addressed these questions. The first decision, Warner Bros.Entertainment Inc. v. RDR Books,determined whether …

Play Your Part: Girl Talk's Indefinite Role In The Digital Sampling Saga, Shervin Rezaie

Touro Law Review

In 2006, Greg Gillis was a twenty-four year old leading a double-life. During the day he was a biomedical engineer, but by night he was slowly becoming an infamous mash-up artist. His albums mixed "Top 40" radio hits into a unique postmodern audio pastiche. Under the moniker Girl Talk, Greg made his entrance into the limelight with the release of Night Ripper, his third album. Night Ripper began gaining attention as audiences became intrigued and excited by Greg's ability to blend numerous artists, old and new, into one seamless track. To illustrate, the first track on Night Ripper, "Once Again," …

Musical Copyright Infringement: The Replacement Of Arnstein V. Porter - A More Comprehensive Use Of Expert Testimony And The Implementation Of An "Actual Audience" Test , Michelle V. Francis

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery, But Is It Infringement? The Law Of Tribute Bands, Michael S. Newman

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Can Copyright Law Perform The Perfect Fouetté?: Keeping Law And Choreography On Balance To Achieve The Purposes Of The Copyright Clause, Katie M. Benton

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Benay V. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.: New Standard Needed For Determining Actual Use, Brian Casido

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note examines Benay v. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., and the substantial-similarity standard under a California breach of an implied-in-fact contract claim and a federal copyright infringement claim. The standard used in Benay will hinder the free flow of ideas by deterring producers from accepting an author’s screenplay for fear of breaching an implied-in-fact contract. Part I of this Note summarizes the history and development of the protection of rights to creative works. Part II provides the facts and procedural history of Benay v. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Part III analyzes and criticizes the Ninth Circuit’s holding in Benay …

Mixed Signals: How Mixtapes Have Blurred The Changing Legal Landscape In The Music Industry, Meredith L. Schantz

University of Miami Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Rhetoric Of Predictability: Reclaiming The Lay Ear In Music Copyright Infringement Litigation, Austin Padgett

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Some things cannot be described. This is the theory that recent literary criticism has placed as its cornerstone. Philosopher-critic Roland Barthes identified this trend in his Mythologies, stating that critics often “suddenly decide that the true subject of criticism is ineffable, and criticism, as a consequence, unnecessary. Unfortunately, this view has become singular within the legal academy whenever an author discusses music copyright infringement analysis. It seems that scholars fear the thought of trusting a jury with such an “ineffable” subject as music and must propose alternatives, such as expert testimony, specialized courts, or mechanical analysis, that will diminish …

“It’S The Same Old Song”: The Failure Of The Originality Requirement In Musical Copyright, Valeria M. Castanaro

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Making Circumstantial Proof Of Distribution Available, Robert Kasunic

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Internet Packet Sniffing And Its Impact On The Network Neutrality Debate And The Balance Of Power Between Intellectual Property Creators And Consumers, Rob Frieden

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.