CBS Sues ABC Over 'Big Brother'-Type Reality Show 'Glass House'; Hollywood Reporter, 5/10/12

Matthew Belloni, Hollywood Reporter; CBS Sues ABC Over 'Big Brother'-Type Reality Show 'Glass House' :

"CBS has followed through on its threat last week to bring a legal action against ABC over the planned reality show Life in a Glass House. CBS believes the show is a "carbon copy" ripoff of its Big Brother and is being produced by a team that formerly worked on the long-running hit series.

A source tells The Hollywood Reporter that the lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. In the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by THR, CBS alleges causes of action for copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, among others."

Village People Singer Wins a Legal Battle in Fight to Reclaim Song Rights; New York Times, 5/8/12

Larry Rohter, New York Times; Village People Singer Wins a Legal Battle in Fight to Reclaim Song Rights:

"In a court ruling with significant implications for the music industry, a California judge has dismissed a suit by two song publishing companies aimed at preventing Victor Willis, former lead singer of the 1970s disco group the Village People, from exercising his right to reclaim ownership of “YMCA” and other hit songs he wrote.

Early last year, Mr. Willis invoked a provision of copyright law called “termination rights,” which gives recording artists and songwriters the ability to reacquire and administer their work themselves after 35 years have elapsed."

A DVR Ad Eraser Causes Tremors at TV Upfronts; New York Times, 5/16/12

Brian Stelter, New York Times; A DVR Ad Eraser Causes Tremors at TV Upfronts:

"Mitch Stoltz, a staff lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which argued against the network suit a decade ago, said, “Giving customers the ability to skip commercials automatically may be a business problem for the TV networks but it’s not a clear copyright violation.

“Unfortunately, the damages that copyright law allows are so high that threatening litigation can create a lot of leverage in negotiations, so that copyright can act as a veto on innovation.”"

FREE Copyright Webinars: Friday, May 18th & Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

Free Webinars on Copyright:

1] Free Webinar > Copyright: Kenneth Crews, Columbia University > May 18 2012 > 2 PM - 3PM (ET)

[ http://ref-notes.blogspot.com/2012/05/free-webinar-copyright-kenneth-crews.html ]


2] Free Webinar > Hot Issues in Fair Use and Copyright!> May 22 2012 > 1:00 PM (ET)

Brandon Butler, Association of Research Libraries >

[ http://ref-notes.blogspot.com/2012/05/webinar-hot-issues-in-fair-use-and.html ]

Publishers and Georgia State See Broad Implications in Copyright Ruling; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/14/12

Jennifer Howard, Chronicle of Higher Education; Publishers and Georgia State See Broad Implications in Copyright Ruling: "The publisher plaintiffs in the closely watched lawsuit over Georgia State University's use of copyrighted material in electronic reserves say they are "disappointed" with much of the ruling handed down by a federal judge on Friday. But they made the best of it in statements issued Monday, playing up points on which the judge had agreed with them. And one plaintiff, Oxford University Press, said that the decision "marks a significant first step toward addressing the need for clarity around issues of copyright in the context of higher education.""

At 92, Bandit to Hollywood but Hero to Soldiers; New York Times, 4/26/12

Alan Schwarz, New York Times; At 92, Bandit to Hollywood but Hero to Soldiers: "“Big Hy” — his handle among many loyal customers — would almost certainly be cast as Hollywood Enemy No. 1 but for a few details. He is actually Hyman Strachman, a 92-year-old, 5-foot-5 World War II veteran trying to stay busy after the death of his wife. And he has sent every one of his copied DVDs, almost 4,000 boxes of them to date, free to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the United States military presence in those regions dwindling, Big Hy Strachman will live on in many soldiers’ hearts as one of the war’s more shadowy heroes. “It’s not the right thing to do, but I did it,” Mr. Strachman said, acknowledging that his actions violated copyright law."

Music Film Is Delayed by Fees for Songs; New York Times, 4/25/12

Larry Rohter, New York Times; Music Film Is Delayed by Fees for Songs: "But there’s just one problem, and it has held up commercial release of “The Wrecking Crew” since 2008, when the documentary made its debut at the South by Southwest film festival. The film includes dozens of snippets from songs the Wrecking Crew played on, but the record companies that own the recordings want so much money from Mr. Tedesco, whose total budget was less than $1 million, that he has turned to a fund-raising campaign, including an event scheduled for New York in mid-June, to meet their demands."