By Timothy McMahon (Rutgers Law Student) In 2016, a Federal District Court in California sent shock waves throughout the realm of sound recordings. ABS Entertainment vs. CBS Corporation, ABS v. CBS, began when a collective group of copyright owners of pre-1972 sound recordings brought suit against CBS for infringing on their public performance rights under … Continue reading A Court’s Ruling Demonstrates the Need for a Heightened Originality Requirement for Derivative Sound Recordings…
Category: Blog
Could Pre-1972 Sound Recordings Finally Attain Federal Copyright Protection?
By Timothy McMahon (Rutgers Law Student) Currently a trio of acts are making their way through Congress that could forever change copyright law for sound recordings. The Music Modernization Act and the Allocation for Music Producers Act (AMP Act) are aimed at altering mechanical licensing, ASCAP and BMI rate setting, and the procedure on how … Continue reading Could Pre-1972 Sound Recordings Finally Attain Federal Copyright Protection?…
Tariff On Chinese Goods: A New Protection For Future Intellectual Property
By Spencer Chorney (Rutgers Law Student) President Trump recently signed a memorandum instructing the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to introduce a new tariff worth $50 billion on Chinese goods imported into the United States under the Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. The premise of this tariff comes from the theft of U.S. … Continue reading Tariff On Chinese Goods: A New Protection For Future Intellectual Property…
Microtransactions: Small Payments With Huge Consequences
By Christopher Campise (Rutgers Law Student) A microtransaction occurs when a customer, usually the owner of an internet capable app or game, makes a small purchase within the medium to unlock more content. Often, this business model is employed by developers in freemium contexts, where the initial download is free, but more extensive features and … Continue reading Microtransactions: Small Payments With Huge Consequences…
PTAB and the Question of Tribal Immunity
By Brian Lewis (Rutgers Law Student) Most patent, trademark, and copyright law is exclusively governed by Federal law. Violations of these laws are addressed in Federal court. A party can raise a defense of sovereign immunity, a legal principle which grants immunity to sovereign entities unless the sovereign entity has waived immunity or by an … Continue reading PTAB and the Question of Tribal Immunity…