What's Hot in Los Angeles Entertainment Law

Landmark Decision - Recording Contracts

                  The Huron Law Group (HLG), a preeminently rated business, entertainment, and real estate litigation firm, represented the Marie Music Group in a case where they were accused of violating the Talent Agency Act. This act is enforced by the California Labor Commission and seeks to prevent personal managers/agents from procuring work for their clients as well as collecting commissions/royalties for this work without a valid talent agent license.  Some artists, those who deliver their own recordings such as singers and musicians, are exempt from this act.

                The petitioners in this case, Chris Lord-Alge and Thomas Lord-Alge (recording sound mixers), argued that Lisa Marie of Marie Music Group lacked a valid license hence violated the law which should void twenty years' worth of contracts and prevent her from collecting commissions on those contracts.

 

Conversely, the HLG believed that according to the definition of the act, sound mixers like musicians and singers, can and often create their own original recordings and therefore should be exempt from the act which  would invalidate the petitioners’ complaint. The premise of this case was how to interpret the definitions of this act.

                The Labor Board Commission which has a tendency to side with artists, agreed with HLG's arguments and determined that mixing services constitute contracts that are exempt from licensing requirements. This landmark case changed the definition of recording contracts.

For more information, please visit Huron Law Group website.

Combating Piracy - Evolution of the Recording Industry Association of America

    According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has just announced that it plans to change tactics when it comes to combating piracy. Previously, the RIAA policy on illegal downloads was to file mass lawsuits against individuals actively using various peer-to-peer services. This policy created bad press for the RIAA because many children and/or deceased individuals were mistakenly contacted as a result of the over 35,000 proceedings conducted at the request of the RIAA.

     Currently, a transformation is under way where the RIAA will work closely with Internet Service Providers (ISPs), not yet named,  in a new attempt to eliminate piracy by targeting users who are illegally uploading music. They will model this plan after the approach previously adopted in the U.K. where an ISP will send several "warning" emails to a costumer that they suspect is illegally uploading music in an attempt to get that individual to stop. If the emails fail to resolve the illegal behavior, then the ISP may introduce slower broadband speeds and/or may cut off internet access to that specific individual.  Only time will tell if this new tactic will be more effective at alleviating piracy.

Regardless, it appears that the days of mass litigation are over.

For more information, please visit the website of the Wall Street Journal