It appears that Coldplay doesn’t plan to make nice with Joe Satriani by settling his infringement claim quietly; therefore, the matter will likely be decided in court. I’ve noted some armchair analysis of this matter has already occurred in the comments on this site, so I thought I’d provide a very brief legal framework for infringement suits regarding the copying of songs. MORE »
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The Idolawyer On Whether Or Not Coldplay Can Fly Away From Joe Satriani’s Lawsuit
the new model
The Idolawyer Tries To Figure Out If This Whole “Used MP3 Store” Thing Is Legal
It’s difficult to think of a thornier or more complicated issue in copyright law than that brought up by Bopaboo, a startup that purports to provide a forum for consumers to buy and sell used digital audio files online, so I’ll try to keep this brief. I’m not going to comment specifically on Bopaboo, but rather on the legal implications of after-market sales of digital audio files, referred to in this article under the appropriate legalese of “digital phonorecords.” MORE »
idolawyer
The Idolawyer Gives Us Some Real Talk About Girl Talk
I’ve been asked to comment on Mike Barthel’s excellent “Girl Talk is Not Fair Use,” which appeared on Idolator yesterday. I’m a transactional entertainment lawyer, so I never actually litigate copyrights. Nevertheless, I’m treading in dangerous waters because I often represent copyright owners. I don’t claim to know how federal courts would analyze a hypothetical infringement claim against Girl Talk, a.k.a. Gregg Gillis; historically courts have been inconsistent in applying fair use analysis. I do, however, have some thoughts about how such a case should be decided. MORE »
idolawyer
The Idolawyer Weighs Musicians’ Right To Protest The Use Of Their Songs By Politicians
There are two weeks left to go in the Presidential campaign, and that means one thing: More time for musicians to get annoyed when a politician whose views don’t jibe with theirs to get annoyed about what they see as “misuse” of their songs! In anticipation of this happening at least three more times before Nov. 4, we asked our official house counsel, John P. Strohm, for his legally considered opinion on the subject. After the jump, he talks about the nitty-gritty of song licenses, and whether Dave Grohl should have even bothered coming out of retirement to complain about John McCain’s use of the Foo Fighters’ “My Hero.” MORE »
idolawyer
Can Bands Take Back Your Tickets If You Scalp Them? The Answer May Surprise You
We here at Idolator get all of our legal knowledge from the creative products of Dick Wolf, so it’s probably best for us to call in for outside help on thornier issues regarding the law. Which is why we’re proud to welcome the new Idolawyer: Please say hello to John P. Strohm, who practices at Johnston, Barton, Proctor, and Rose in Birmingham, Ala. In addition to representing both bands and indie labels, Strohm played with Blake Babies, The Lemonheads, and Antenna; now, he plays music under his own name. Strohm’s musings shouldn’t be taken as straight-up legal advice, but he will offer insight into legal issues out there that are a bit complicated in the minds of non-lawyers (a.k.a. most of us). Yesterday, we talked about Phish’s claim that they would go after people who wanted to scalp tickets to their upcoming reunion shows by repossessing said ducats. Some in the comments section found this ludicrous–but as it turns out, according to Strohm, the band has every right to do that. MORE »
