Hollywood's brightest stars are often the center of lawsuits, legal liabilities, and countless other undesirable predicaments. In recent years, the political arena has also been plagued by entertainment related legal controversies. When embarking on any business endeavor, it is important to research trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property to ensure you are not infringing upon the rights of others. Professionals in the entertainment industry whether it is music, movies, television, or design have to be very careful when it comes to deal making. In this blog I am going to discuss three legal controversies that I found to be very interesting.
Superstar Drake has taken the rap world by storm. One of his biggest hits of 2011, a song entitled Marvin's Room, is now receiving legal backlash. The song begins with the voice of a young woman who Drake calls on a drunken night. Turned out the woman that he calls is his ex-girlfriend Ericka Lee. Lee is suing for co-writer royalties, as well as "damages and disgorgement of profits." Drake claims that Lee gave him permission to use her voice without monetary compensation.
Drake could have avoided this pending legal battle by obtaining Lee's permission to use her voice in writing. He did not consider the possibility of legal backlash from someone that he was emotionally involved with. It is important to remember that business is business and that it must be separated from personal relationships. If an agreement is made, it needs to be documented in writing.
In United States v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) et al., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed the decision of the lower court by ruling that downloads are not performances as interpreted by Section 101 of the Copyright Act. What does this mean? ASCAP cannot collect “public performance royalties on downloads” as they sought to collect from websites like Yahoo (Firemark, 2010). As the number of digital downloads continues to outweigh the number of tangible album sales, it may be time to reevaluate the Copyright Act as it pertains to the music industry.
A
New Jersey self motivation business woman filed a lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey
claiming the talk show host stole her campaign slogan “ OWN YOUR POWER”.
The lawsuit filed in a New Jersey Court claims that the self-motivation title
“own your power” is from a local self-motivation businesswoman who developed
the slogan in 1996. She said that it all started when she saw the slogan
on the cover of “O” Magazine, then it went on to appear on the oprah.com.
Trademark
infringement is the issue of this case, which happens all of the time in other
industries outside of entertainment. I feel that it is almost impossible
to give steps to avoid trademark infringement. I’m sure I have thoughts
the same as others in the world, so to say that someone stole my “slogan” or
‘saying” is difficult. Now of course if I’m watching television and I see
a “Nike” commercial with a new slogan I can’t turn around the next day and use
that same slogan on my website. You just have to be really careful of
trademarks. This
lawsuit against Oprah is still being processed, no further details have been
provided.
Sources:
Gardner, Eriq. (2012). Drake Sued Over 'Marvin's Room' by Purported Ex-Girlfriend (Exclusive). The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/drake-girlfriend-marvins-room-lawsuit-286916.
http://firemark.com/2010/09/29/entertainment-law-update-podcast-episode/
Oprah
Winfrey Sued for Allegedly Stealing "Own Your Power" Slogan | TMZ.com. Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Celebrity News | TMZ.com .
Retrieved from: http://www.tmz.com/2011/07/30/oprah-winfrey-sued-lawsuit-own-your-power-simone-kelly-brown/
