Archives: Entertainment Law

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How Lenz changed the music industry

In 2007, Stefanie Lenz uploaded to YouTube a 29-second clip of her 13-month-old son dancing to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” Universal Music Corp., the owner of the copyright of the song, filed a takedown notice in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, to YouTube. In response, YouTube removed the post. What followed … Continue Reading

Morals clauses multiply in Hollywood

Sally Helppie, a film producer and entertainment attorney with Vincent Serafino Geary Waddell Jenevein in Dallas, and Amy E. Mitchell, an Austin-based entertainment attorney focused on music and television, discussed morals clauses during a panel last week at SXSW in Austin. “A morals clause is a contractual condition that gives one contracting party, usually a … Continue Reading

Copyright infringement, music policy explored at SXSW panels

From recounting infamous music copyright cases to predicting what the future of policy in Washington, D.C., holds, several sessions at South by Southwest tackled hot-button issues in the industry. Copyright infringement “This is about deep-pocket defendants,” entertainment attorney Stan Soocher said as he opened the March 17 panel “Copyright Infringement: Get a Hit, Get a … Continue Reading

Four agreements: client tips for navigating music industry contracts

Musicians, songwriters, and producers packed the room for this South by Southwest session titled “Four Agreements Every Artist Needs to Understand.” The goal was to give audience members a better understanding of the music industry’s legal issues so that they don’t fall victim to bad deals and disputes down the line. Panelists—including entertainment attorneys Steve … Continue Reading

Attorney addiction and the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program discussed at SXSW

A panel titled “Substance Abuse and Dealing with Addiction” at one of the biggest parties of the year? The dichotomy was not lost on the attorneys and handful of musicians attending this Saturday morning South by Southwest event—part of the continuing legal education track—and they moved in closer to the speakers for what was described … Continue Reading

SXSW: the sharing economy, terrorism and the Internet, and drones policy

As downtown Austin was transforming for the first day of the more raucous South by Southwest Music Festival, the SXSW Interactive Festival’s last day had many legal-related sessions taking place in quiet, air-conditioned rooms across town. The three I attended shared common themes of privacy and personal freedom, liability, and the impact on technology and … Continue Reading

SXSW: Three standards for successfully claiming fair use in filmmaking

Professionals from the film industry filled the room to get tips on avoiding copyright infringement from the “legal Obi Wan Kenobi” as part of the South by Southwest Film session “FairUse-Docs & Fiction Films-Everybody Is Welcome!” Fair use is an exception that allows artists to legally reproduce or use copyrighted material under certain conditions without … Continue Reading
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