Don't Worry, Music! I'll Protect You!

Learning about entertainment law has made me realize that I should look into covering my intellectual property.  I have also learned much about contracts and the compartments within a contract.  For my business plan, I want to be sure I am covered with IP and brand protection.  I listened to some podcasts from the Entertainment Law Update Podcast website with Gordon Firemark, Esq. and I have learned a few things about some types of IP protection.  I have noticed that running a studio has plenty of liabilities.  Although their will be some bumps in the road of running a business, I don’t want to make obvious mistakes that could cost me a great deal of money.

One thing I learned from the Entertainment Law Update Podcast is that the client must read the entire contract before signing.  On Episode 23 of Entertainment Law Update Podcast, Firemark talks about how a restaurant sued a reality show for displaying their visual arts.  The restaurant, however, signed a release for the TV show to use and edit whatever they have filmed.  As I develop my business plan, it is important for me to have my clients sign a waiver, notifying the risks and that my business is not reliable. 

Another lesson that I should apply to my business plan is a way to keep track of my copyrights.  As a producer, I know that once I release my instrumentals, other people will use them.  However, I would want a clearance from the user.  Therefore, for my business plan, I want to avoid copyright infringement with sending clearances.  For instance, in Episode 13, Firemark discusses the copyright infringement case of Jay-Z vs. Nafal.  Even though the sample that Jay-Z’s producers used were not under the 76’ copyright law, it is still best to ask for permission.

My business plan will have a budget for copyright and trademark purchases.  It is a small price to protect intellectual property.  The podcasts were very informative about how the laws apply within the entertainment industry.

Sometimes, Sharing Is Not Caring

Although internet radio stations, like Pandora, are popular to music listeners, file sharing is still a major problem in the music industry.  There have been some instances where some music swappers have been tried in court, whether it was an individual or a company.  However, how can you determine what the punishment or how heavy the punishment should be when it comes to file sharing?  For example, I read an article on Bloomberg’s website about Megaupload’s company wanting to dismiss their $175 million dollar case.  They mentioned that they couldn’t be persecuted because the company is based in a different country.  But then I read an article in Lawyers USA about how the U.S. District Court made a 28-year-old pay almost $68,000 just for downloading 30 songs.  I believe that the courts should be stricter on foreign companies that infringe copyrights in the U.S. because if everyone who contributes to file sharing gets punished, and maybe it would stop.  I read an article in USA Today that even with all the court cases happening dealing with file sharing, people are not scared of authority and are not stopping illegal downloading.  It hurts everybody when file sharing happens and it has definitely affected the music industry but with more internet radio stations, file sharing could decrease and artists and labels can keep their rights.