In its ruling in the case Cyril E. Vetter, Et Al. v. Robert Resnik, No. 23-1369-SDD-EWD (M.D. La. Jan. 29, 2025), the US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana ruled that the US songwriter-plaintiff Vetter recaptured worldwide rights — not just US rights — by exercising his termination rights under Section 304 of the Copyright Act of 1976 (US Copyright Law).
ArentFox Schiff represented international music publisher Wise Music Group in the sale of its Digital Education division to private equity firm Achieve Partners.
The rise and widespread use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) continues to have major implications in the entertainment and music industries, particularly in relation to intellectual property.
The original frontman of The Guess Who, Burton Cummings, terminated his public performance license agreements in the hope of preventing what he calls a The Guess Who “cover band” from performing the works he penned for the 1970’s band.
The world of music often sees as much drama in the courtroom as on the stage. One fight that frequently results in protracted, expensive, and bitter legal disputes is over ownership of a band or group name.
On February 21, the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, the outcome of which could determine whether copyright holders can recover damages for acts occurring more than three years before the filing of a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Proposed bills at the federal and state level were announced January 10, both intended to protect recording artists and the music industry from unauthorized “soundalike” vocals created using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
ArentFox Schiff, led by Partner Matt Finkelstein, represented long-time client BMG, the Berlin-based international music publishing company and record label, in the purchase of Paul Simon’s royalty income from Simon & Garfunkel recordings as well as his neighboring rights income, representing a subs
ArentFox Schiff represented BMG, the Berlin-based international music publishing company and record label, in its acquisition of rights to the critically acclaimed songbook of Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, Harry Nilsson.
On October 25, 2022, the US Copyright Office proposed a new rule that would end and reverse actions of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) that have deprived songwriters and their heirs of US copyright royalties after they have recaptured ownership of their musical works.
The New York Court of Appeals recently held in Ellington v. EMI Music, Inc. that the term “affiliates” in a copyright renewal agreement referred only to affiliates existing at the time of contract execution.
The Beastie Boys don’t play games when it comes to copyright infringement. The legendary hip hop band is waging an aggressive legal battle against a company called GoldieBlox that makes engineering toys for girls over what the band claims is copyright and trademark infringement related to its 1987 h
Arent Fox Copyright and Media & Entertainment partner Ross J. Charap was quoted by The Wall Street Journal in an article about a contract dispute between singer Rachael Price and record company ClaireVision Productions.