Blog – BrandMasters.Law™

June 1, 2017December 30, 2017

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Top Gun Maverick Sued for Copyright Infringement June 7, 2022
Ehud Yonay, whose 1983 story was the basis of the original 1986 film “Top Gun,” published “Top Guns” in April 1983 in an issue of California magazine and registered it in the U.S. Copyright Office later that year. Soon after it was published Paramount secured exclusive motion picture rights to the story, according to the […]
Elliot Zimmerman
RIAA v. NFT Distributor HitPiece February 6, 2022
On or about February 4, 2022, Billboard reported the RIAA sent a demand letter to HitPiece, a new beta website, because it was selling thousands of songs and album artwork NFTs using information from Spotify’s API without permission from the artists or their record labels. The RIAA charged HitPiece with engaging in “the systematic and […]
Elliot Zimmerman
Posting Cover Tunes on YouTube and Other Social Media May 6, 2020
In light of the fact that many people are podcasting their own live performances of controlled compositions on YouTube and other social media, there seems to be a disconnect between the law and conduct. The thought of suing a fan who performs your or your client’s material is not as palatable to artists and companies today […]
Elliot Zimmerman
Are parental guarantees of their child’s performance enforceable? February 21, 2019
Throughout my career, I have routinely included a parental guarantee of the child’s performance in all contracts I drafted for clients engaging a minor. IMHO, the parent gets a separate benefit and detriment from that of the child in agreeing to same in that the parent’s burden of providing for the child is abrogated if […]
Elliot Zimmerman
New Royalty Rates for Downloads February 13, 2019
New Copyright Royalty Board rates became effective on February 5, 2019, retroactive to January 1, 2018. The Harry Fox Agency created a chart to track the new royalty rates for music. Rate this post
Elliot Zimmerman