Music Copyright

Types of Copyright in Music & Latest Deals/Examples

Tina Turner recently sold her music catalog and the right to license her name and likeness, reportedly for more than $50 million dollars.  Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks separately sold their catalogs (Stevie reportedly netted $100 million), and perhaps the most prolific songwriter of his era, Bob Dylan, sold his vast music…

Entertainment Contract Lawyer

How to choose a Lawyer for an Entertainment Contract

Entertainment law is broad, coving a range of activities including sports, TV and movies, live theater, music, publishing, and much more, with each area typically involving multiple fields of law including contracts, entity formation, copyright, trademark, the right of publicity, and others. Additionally, many endeavors in the entertainment industry have an overlay of regulation specific…

The Right Of Publicity

Many people are surprised how often right of publicity issues arise. They think that the right of publicity only applies to celebrities, and perhaps only to a photograph of a celebrity, and thus if a celebrity’s image is not used, there is no right of publicity issue. Or perhaps they believe that if the use…

What is a Work for Hire?

Under United States Copyright law, the general rule is that the person who actually creates a copyrightable work is the legal author or creator and, therefore, owner of the copyright in that work.  The doctrine of work for hire (often shortened to the acronym WFH) is an exception to that general assumption.  If a work…