USA articles related to:
Sony BMG Music Entertainment, et al. v. Tenenbaum
Loeb & Loeb LLP - USA -
December 16 2009
In a file-sharing copyright infringement action, the court grants plaintiff record companies’ motion for summary judgment on the issue of defendant’s fair use defense.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, USDC D. Massachusetts, July 9, 2010
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- July 15 2010
Court reduces the jury’s award for willful copyright infringement of thirty of plaintiff recording companies’ songs from $675,000 to $67,500, after holding that jury’s damage award is unconstitutionally excessively large.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment, et al. v. Tenenbaum
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- August 5 2009
In copyright infringement action involving peer-to-peer file sharing, court grants plaintiff record companies’ motion for summary judgment on the issue of defendant’s fair use defense and jury awards plaintiffs $675,000 for willful infringement of 30 copyrighted works.
Are you willing to pay $22,500 to download a song?
- Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC
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- USA
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- August 28 2012
The August 23, 2012 decision in Song BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, the most recent in this extended litigation, leaves no doubt that individuals who download music and distribute it without proper authorization through peer-to-peer file sharing sites are subject to liability for copyright infringement and payment of substantial statutory damages for doing so.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment, et al. v. Tenenbaum
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- September 21 2011
First Circuit holds district court committed reversible error by reducing jury award in favor of recording companies and against individual copyright infringer on constitutional grounds without first considering issue of remittitur.
First Circuit to address limits on copyright damages
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- January 14 2011
Joel Tenenbaum, an undergraduate student, was sued by five major record labels alleging copyright infringement for illegally downloading and distributing music owned by the labels, using a variety of music file sharing online services.
First Circuit rejects reduction of $675,000 damages award in music file-sharing case
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- September 27 2011
The First Circuit has kept alive a dispute, well-publicized in the Boston area and elsewhere, about what statutory damages can properly be assessed against a graduate student who illegally shared files of copyrighted music via file-sharing program Kazaa.
Emerging issues in statutory damages
- Jones Day
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- USA
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- July 7 2011
About a dozen federal statutes offer statutory damages to successful plaintiffs.
An expensive lesson: 30 illegal song downloads cost $675,000
- Baker & Hostetler LLP
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- USA
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- September 4 2012
In 2005 the parents of Joel Tenenbaum, then a college student, received a notice directing them to call the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to arrange payment of $5,250 for pirated music downloaded to their computer in their home.
Unauthorized sharing of copyrighted music files on P2P file-sharing network not protected by fair use defense
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- April 14 2010
A party who made copies of music recordings and shared them with other parties on a peer-to-peer file-sharing network is not protected by the defense of fair use, a district court ruled.
Constitutional challenge to (file sharing) damage award rebuffed
- McDermott Will & Emery
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- USA
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- October 31 2011
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit was less sympathetic than the district court to a Boston College graduate student who was found to have used file sharing software to distribute copyrighted music, concluding that the district court erred in reducing the damage award based on due process concerns.
Two courts address constitutional limits on copyright statutory damages
- Foley & Lardner LLP
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- USA
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- October 25 2011
In two high-profile cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and a district court in Minnesota recently addressed the constitutional limits on statutory damage awards under the Copyright Act.
US court rejects file-sharer’s fair use defence
- McCarthy Tétrault LLP
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- USA
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- October 31 2009
In Capital Records v. Tennenbaum, the US District Court for Massachusetts rejected the defendant file-sharer’s defence that his sharing of musical files over a peer-to-peer (P2P) network was a “fair use” that should insulate him from liability under the US Copyright Act.
Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi, Inc.
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- April 19 2013
District court grants summary judgment in favor of plaintiff Capitol Records on its copyright claims against ReDigi, online “reseller” of pre-owned
Capitol Records Inc. v. Thomas-Rasset
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- September 13 2012
Circuit court reinstates $222,000 statutory damages award against defendant, individual, for willful infringement related to her downloading and making available through peer-to-peer file-sharing service 24 copyrighted sound recordings of plaintiffs, holding that award did not violate due process standards and that plaintiff was entitled to broader injunction.
Fictional characters in new media
- Lathrop & Gage LLP
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- USA
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- July 9 2010
Spiderman, James Bond, Wonder Woman, Batman these iconic heroes remain among the best-known fictional characters of our time, and, as characters, are afforded copyright protection, independent of the works in which they appear.
Curbing online piracy - rethinking strategy?
- McDermott Will & Emery
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- USA
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- October 30 2007
In April 2006, Ms. Jammie Thomas was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America for copyright infringement after more than 1700 music files were traced to a computer used by her.
Music downloader's due process rights violated by copyright statutory damages award of $22,500 per song
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- September 30 2010
A jury award of $22,500 per song, resulting in a total award of $675,000 in statutory damages against an individual who downloaded copyrighted music files on a peer-to-peer network, violated the individual's due process rights, where he reaped no pecuniary reward from the infringement and the infringement caused the plaintiffs "minimal harm," a district court ruled.
The basics of music licensing in digital media
- Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
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- USA
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- March 10 2010
Businesses that are involved in digital media use music in many ways and most require some sort of license to make the use legal.
Henley v. Devore
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- June 24 2010
Court grants summary judgment on copyright infringement claims by plaintiffs, holders of copyrights in the songs “The Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants to Do Is Dance,” which were the basis for songs used by defendants without authorization in political campaign ads; court grants summary judgment for defendants on plaintiff’s Lanham Act claims.
Will the Supreme Court review copyright damages in music downloading case?
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- December 21 2012
Like Joel Tenenbaum, who has been discussed in prior entries in this blog, Jammie Thomas-Rasset has conducted a long-running battle with the recording industry over how much damages she should pay for her downloading activity.
Atlantic Recording Corporation, et al. v. Howell
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- May 7 2008
The federal district court in Arizona denied the plaintiff record companies’ motion for summary judgment in this peer-to-peer file sharing copyright infringement case on several grounds.
Harper v. Maverick Recording Co
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- December 8 2010
U.S. Supreme Court denies certiorari in copyright infringement action brought by record companies against plaintiff who asserted the “innocent infringer” defense, and Justice Alito dissents.
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc, et al v. Fung, et al
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- January 20 2010
In copyright infringement action against operator of BitTorrent websites, court grants summary judgment to plaintiff movie studios on liability for inducement to infringe.
Could Canada follow recent U.S. decisions awarding millions in damages for P2P file sharing?
- Bereskin & Parr LLP
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- Canada, USA
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- July 27 2009
On June 18, 2009, a U.S. jury awarded $1.92 million in damages for downloading and distributing 24 songs over Kazaa’s peer-to-peer file-sharing network (Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas-Rasset).
Capitol Records Inc., et al. v. Thomas
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- October 1 2008
In a recent decision involving file-sharing on peer-to-peer networks, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota held that simply making songs available for downloading on peer-to-peer networks, without actual proof of downloading by others, does not constitute infringing distribution under the Copyright Act.
$675,000 jury verdict against music file-sharer upheld
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- August 28 2012
As previously discussed on this blog, last year the First Circuit held that the jury verdict for $675,000 in statutory damages against graduate student and file sharer Joel Tenenbaum should not have been reduced to $67,500 by District Court Judge Nancy Gertner on constitutional grounds.
Capitol Records Inc., et al. v. Thomas-Rasset
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- January 27 2010
In peer-to-peer copyright infringement action, court grants defendant’s motion for remittitur and reduces jury’s statutory damage award from $1,920,000 to $54,000 after holding that jury’s statutory damages award is shocking and unjust; court concludes that treble the minimum statutory damages amount of $750 per song is the maximum amount the jury could properly have awarded.
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. v. Fung
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- March 21 2013
Ninth Circuit affirms in part and vacates in part grant of summary judgment in favor of motion picture studios, finding defendants liable for
The basics of music licensing in digital media: 2011 update
- Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
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- USA
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- June 10 2011
Businesses that are involved in digital media use music in many waysand most require some sort of license to make the use legal.
The basics of music licensing in digital media: 2011 update
- Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
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- USA
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- February 22 2011
Businesses that are involved in digital media use music in many waysand most require some sort of license to make the use legal.
Warren Publishing Co., et al. v. Spurlock
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- August 12 2009
District court grants summary judgment holding that defendant’s reproduction of several graphic works, originally used as monster magazine covers by plaintiff, in a book retrospective of an artist’s career is a fair use based on finding that defendant’s use is transformative because the purpose of a retrospective of an artist’s work has a different purpose than magazine covers that are intended to sell copies of the magazine
Penguin Group (USA) Inc. v. American Buddha: New York’s long arm statute grows longer for internet piracy
- Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
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- USA
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- December 7 2011
Earlier this year, the New York Court of Appeals issued an important decision which should help New York publishers combat online piracy of their copyrighted works and will have implications for other online content providers as well.
Second Circuit rules that per-song statutory damages are unavailable for infringement of music album compilations
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- May 21 2010
A recent Second Circuit decision may serve to limit statutory damage awards for copyright infringement in the context of music albums.
Who’s afraid of fair use? Is fair use a right and not a defense any more?
- Duane Morris LLP
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- USA
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- March 14 2013
There's a point in evolution when you can say that over evolutionary time Something Big has happened -- or even mutated into something dramatic. I
Mp3.com redux? Music venture’s model survives copyright challenge as S.D.N.Y.provides guidance for cloud-based services
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- October 26 2011
A decade ago, when what would later be known as “cloud” services began to darken the skies of music copyright-holders, and mobile devices were in their adolescence, entrepreneur Michael Robertson launched a business that provided users with access to “their” music anywhere they could get online.
The devil's in the details: dissecting the 350-page Georgia State University electronic reserve copyright ruling
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- May 23 2012
On May 11, 2012, we learned what it sounds like when all the college professors and university librarians in the country breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Three district courts say “making available” music files not enough to violate the public distribution right
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- October 17 2008
Copyright holders own the exclusive right to distribute copies of their works to the public under 106(3) of the Copyright Act.
User-generated content, online fair use and the DMCA’s “good faith” requirement
- Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
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- USA
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- January 21 2009
Copyright law has always provided a balance between the proprietary rights of copyright owners and freedom of speech.
Friedman v. Guetta
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- June 29 2011
District court grants summary judgment in favor of plaintiff copyright owner, finding that defendant’s works, all of which contained altered reproductions of a photograph of the music group Run-DMC taken by plaintiff, were substantially similar plaintiff’s work and were not entitled to fair use protection.
Restaurants and bars beware: failure to obtain a license to play a copyrighted music may expose you to substantial damages
- Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Law Corporation
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- USA
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- March 16 2012
Restaurants, bars, night clubs and similar establishments who play copyrighted music or have live performers play the compositions from copyrighted music should pay particular attention to a recent Ninth Circuit case, where the court awarded plaintiffs statutory damages as well as substantial attorney’s fees.
The dark side of copyright enforcement: magistrate judge recommends that suit against copyright owner and its counsel be allowed to proceed
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- March 8 2012
Boston seems to be the venue for action at the far extremes in copyright enforcement.
Brownmark Films, LLC v. Comedy Partners, et al., USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, July 6, 2011
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- July 14 2011
District court dismisses plaintiff’s copyright infringement claim, holding, on a motion to dismiss, that defendants’ parody of plaintiff’s music video in their animated comedy television series constitutes fair use.
Maverick Recording Co., et al. v. Harper
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- March 3 2010
Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision granting summary judgment to plaintiff record companies for copyright infringement, based on defendant individual’s sharing of digital audio files, but reversed the lower court’s determination that the defendant was an “innocent infringer.”
Judge Sotomayor’s record on copyright and First Amendment issues
- Jenner & Block
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- USA
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- June 11 2009
Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s recent nomination to the United States Supreme Court has attracted substantial attention in the business community.