By Spencer Trowbridge, Swider Medeiros Haver LLP
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Online sales of music will likely surpass physical sales in the next few years, if not much sooner. There are a variety of royalties that may be associated with online music distribution. Online music distribution involves multiple rights, and the type(s) (and amount) of royalties that are typically [...]
Read Full Post »
Brooklyn Baggett
Law Clerk
In the previous article of this series, I discussed the importance of a band’s interactions with the music venue and venue owners. In this article, the focus will turn to the distinct components of the band, the individual musicians.
Step 1: Appoint a Manager
When you are treating your band as a business, you should treat [...]
Read Full Post »
By Spencer Trowbridge, Swider Medeiros Haver LLP
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently granted summary judgment in favor of Verizon on the question of whether Verizon was liable for public performance fees for ringtones. [1] ASCAP, one of the primary performing rights organizations in the United States, had opposed Verizon [...]
Read Full Post »
By Spencer Trowbridge, Swider Medeiros Haver LLP
If you play in a band or are involved in creating or performing music, an understanding of certain legal principles will (a) help you protect the rights you have, (b) help you stay out of trouble (by not infringing others’ rights), and (c) make you aware of steps you [...]
Read Full Post »
By Spencer Trowbridge, Swider Medeiros Haver LLP
Songwriters commonly collaborate with other individuals. However, in situations where there is more than one contributor to a song, issues may arise concerning ownership. For a recent example, one need not look further than the recent case of Janky v. Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau[1], a case involving [...]
Read Full Post »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Martin F. Medeiros
Swider Medeiros Haver LLP
1420 American Bank Building
621 SW Morrison Street
Portland, Oregon 97205
Voice: 503-226-8122
Fax: 503-295-2737
mmedeiros@smhllaw.com
Swider Medeiros Haver LLP Releases Analysis of Innovation Trends Among Cities of the Western United States of America. General trends can be seen by analyzing and comparing the number of patents issued to inventors or assignees in several [...]
Read Full Post »
by Tichelle Sorensen
Social networking sites are an incredibly important marketing vehicle, especially for small companies or those whose model relies upon viral or similar marketing or promotion. Using sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter has become a key component of most marketing plans. Which makes it even more crucial for companies’ to be aware [...]
Read Full Post »
Article 1: The Venue
by Brooklyn Baggett
Law Clerk
Being in a band is more complicated than just playing music you love. If you want to make money as a band, you must all know that. A band is a business, and band members who treat it as such have greater success, make more money, and keep [...]
Read Full Post »
by Kohel Haver
Partner, Swider Medeiros Haver
The publisher of a Harry Potter “Lexicon” was permanently enjoined from printing the book because they failed to establish that the publication would survive claims of copyright infringement and prevail on a fair use defense argument. The court awarded author J.K. Rowling $6,750 in statutory damages. Warner [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Copyright, Media & Entertainment on Jul 31st, 2008
by Jeff Brown†
Artists who create sound or video recordings know that the low cost distribution mechanism, the internet, continues to change the industry. They also know these distribution contracts can be complex and are worthy of negotiation. The Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), the Orchard, and the Digital Rights Agency (DRA) are among a [...]
Read Full Post »