7 chapters
have results for entertainment
Chapter 11. Contracts with Minors 3 results
- Several states have enacted laws making minors’ contracts in the entertainment industry enforceable if they satisfy certain criteria, including approval by a court. These states, and several others, also require that a portion of the minor’s earnings be set aside in a trust for the sole benefit of the minor, accessible when he or she reaches the age of majority.
- In addition to laws addressing disaffirmance and requiring trust accounts, state laws may also address working conditions (including educational requirements) for children working in the entertainment industry. Child entertainers are not protected by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and most states exclude child entertainers from their otherwise-applicable child labor laws. However, some states (such as California and New York) have separately enacted rigorous protections for child entertainers. Others, such as Tennessee, provide no protections at all.
- ) In addition to California, New York, Nevada, and Tennessee, a variety of laws requiring trust accounts for minors in the entertainment industry have been enacted in Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
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Table of Cases 4 results
Chapter 8. Trademarks 6 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Apple Corps, a multimedia entertainment company formed by the Beatles in 1968. Because the two companies’ different businesses did not overlap at that time, there was no likelihood of confusion. However, as Apple expanded into the music business, and then more widely into other entertainment services, the companies’ marks increasingly came into conflict. They initially entered settlement agreements to set boundaries for each parties’ respective use of the conflicting marks. However, as Apple kept expanding, it crossed those boundaries, leading to new conflicts and new settlement agreements. Eventually, in 2007, Apple Corps sold the “Apple” mark to Apple, Inc., which in turn granted Apple Corps an exclusive license to use the mark under specified conditions.
- (including not only a specific artist’s entertainment services, but also many music-related services, such as streaming, broadcasting, publishing, recording, distribution, tour promotion, ticketing, management, royalty collection, website design, and even accounting). The names “Beyoncé” and “The Black-Eyed Peas” are trademarks, because they enable fans of these artists to identify and select the goods and services of these artists, whether for record purchases, merchandise, live performance, or streaming. The name “Spotify” is a trademark, because it enables consumers to distinguish this streaming service from the many others that are available. “Big Machine” is a trademark, because it identifies one record label and distinguishes it from others.
- Aspects of a performer’s stage persona may also emerge as trademarks. For example, a court found that comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s catch-phrase “You might be a redneck . . .” had acquired secondary meaning and therefore functioned as a trademark for his entertainment services.
- MGA Entertainment, Inc. v. Harris, 2023 WL 6194387 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 15, 2023)
- MGA Entertainment, Inc. v. Harris, 2023 WL 6194387 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 15, 2023)
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Index 1 result
Chapter 2. Making Music Your Business 5 results
- Agents generally play a less significant role in the music industry than in other entertainment industries. Typically, musicians use agents to secure bookings for live performances at festivals, at special events, such as weddings and trade shows, and at
- However, the terms established through collective bargaining are binding only on the employers that participate. Unlike most other fields of entertainment, in the music industry many employers do not participate in collective bargaining. This is especially true of smaller businesses, such as clubs and bars, even when they use music on a regular basis. In addition, many musicians perform one-off “gigs” for weddings, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, trade shows, and other special events whose organizers do not engage in collective bargaining.
- Under these circumstances, the AFM has been less effective than other entertainment industry unions (or “talent guilds”) in improving working conditions for musicians. While symphony orchestras and professional producers of opera, ballet, and musical theatre are likely to be AFM signatories (for example, the producers of shows at Broadway theatres and Lincoln Center), most professional musicians find that they must work for non-signatory employers in order to make a living in their chosen profession.
- Great Entertainment Merchandise, Inc. v. VN Merchandise, Inc., 1996 WL 355377 (S.D.N.Y. June 27, 1996)
- While both singers and instrumentalists can join the AFM, some singers are eligible for other talent guilds as well. Which talent guild(s) they can join depends on the kind of work they do. Singers who perform in opera and concert choral performances are eligible for membership in the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). Singers who are recording artists or session performers for major labels can join the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which has collective bargaining agreements pursuant to its Sound Recordings Code with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Disney Music Group. SAG-AFTRA membership also opens the door to acting roles in major film and television productions.
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- Also in 2024, federal legislation was proposed to address digital replicas at the national level. The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act would provide broad protection against the use of nonconsensual computer-generated replicas of a
- Under the First Amendment, an unauthorized use of a person’s identity may be permissible even though it is partially commercial in nature. Typically, these situations involve expressive works such as news and sports reporting and commentary, biographical works, documentaries and docudramas, criticism and commentary, works of art, and works of entertainment such as books, plays, musical works, motion pictures, television shows, TikTok or YouTube videos, and video games. Because these
- essentially imitated an Elvis Presley concert, complete with an Elvis impersonator. The defendant advertised the show as a “tribute” to Presley, and did not argue that it was a parody, burlesque, or other type of commentary. While acknowledging that the production contained “an informational and entertainment element,” and thus merited more First Amendment protection than a purely commercial activity such as advertising, the court found that the show served “primarily to commercially exploit the likeness of Elvis Presley without contributing anything of substantial value to society.” Accordingly, it held that Elvis’s postmortem right of publicity was infringed.
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Chapter 3. Copyright Law 3 results
- Neither copyright owners nor DSP users are particularly happy with the current functioning of the notice-and-takedown regime. Copyright owners complain of a “whack-a-mole” problem, where infringing content is repeatedly re-posted by users after being taken down. DSP users complain that the automated systems used by the entertainment industry to detect suspected infringements and generate takedown notices are overzealous, prompting takedowns of non-infringing materials, including content that qualifies as fair use. The European Union has adopted a more stringent regime, placing an affirmative burden on major DSPs to pre-screen user-provided content. Congress is likely to consider a shift in this direction as well.
- Ringgold v. Black Entertainment Television, Inc., 126 F.3d 70, 77 (2d Cir. 1997)
- One element of the first factor is the extent to which the challenged use is commercial. In the context of music and entertainment, of course, most
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- Publication Date: March 17th, 2025
- ISBN: 9781683286738
- Subject: Entertainment Law
- Series: Nutshells
- Type: Overviews
- Description: This introduction to music law is a compact guide to the legal issues that arise in all corners of the music industry, with particular emphasis on the decisions faced by songwriters and performing artists throughout their careers. The book covers all relevant aspects of copyright law, such as authorship, termination rights, re-recording rights, infringement, and fair use. It gives detailed attention to the roles of publishers, rights administrators, record labels, PROs, SoundExchange, and the new Mechanical Licensing Collective, and explains the array of contracts that are crucial to music exploitation, including publishing agreements, recording contracts, mechanical licenses, synchronization licenses, public performance licenses, and master recording licenses. The complex licensing scheme that applies to streaming platforms is explained in a user-friendly manner. Key aspects of trademark law are considered, including the ownership of band names. The book also explores an artist’s right to prevent the misappropriation of his or her personal identity, including name, likeness, and voice, and addresses topical issues and legislative developments related to artificial intelligence, postmortem rights, and digital replicas. Where the assertion of intellectual property rights threatens artistic freedom, First Amendment protection for creative expression receives thorough attention.
