Music industry legal news

Copyright dispute over Miles Davis tattoo puts the spotlight on the fair use debate

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Kat Von D • 2 min read

Copyright dispute over Miles Davis tattoo puts the spotlight on the fair use debate

The fair use principle is being tested again in the US courts in a copyright dispute over a tattoo of Miles Davis - tattoo artist Kat Von D copied a photograph taken by Jeffrey B Sedlik and is accused of copyright infringement…

Chris Cooke • 25 Jan 2024

Madonna and Live Nation will "vigorously" defend late show start lawsuit

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Madonna • 1 min read

Madonna and Live Nation will "vigorously" defend late show start lawsuit

Madonna and Live Nation have claimed that the late start of one of her shows last month was the result of technical issues and not bad time keeping. They were responding to a lawsuit in which fans claim that the late start time constitutes false advertising and a breach of contract…

Chris Cooke • 25 Jan 2024

Publishers hit back at Anthropic's claim that AI copyright cases should be filed in "its Silicon Valley backyard"

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Anthropic • 1 min read

Publishers hit back at Anthropic's claim that AI copyright cases should be filed in "its Silicon Valley backyard"

The group of music publishers behind a copyright infringement lawsuit against AI firm Anthropic have hit back at its claim that Tennessee is the wrong US state for pursuing the litigation. They point out that Anthropic has both employees and customers in the state…

Chris Cooke • 24 Jan 2024

Anthropic expands on its fair use defence in music publisher legal battle

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Anthropic • 2 min read

Anthropic expands on its fair use defence in music publisher legal battle

Anthropic has asked a court in Tennessee to reject a preliminary injunction request from a group of music publishers that accuse the AI company of copyright infringement. Anthropic insists there is no need for the court to intervene because training AI models with existing content is fair use…

Chris Cooke • 22 Jan 2024

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Notorious BIG • 2 min read

Notorious BIG estate settles publicity rights case over skateboards and shower curtains

A publicity rights lawsuit filed by the Notorious BIG estate has been settled. Photographer Chi Modu was accused of infringing the late rapper’s rights by licensing photos he had taken for use on merchandise products…

Chris Cooke • 22 Jan 2024

Spotify hits out at Apple's "outrageous" new App Store rules

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Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify hits out at Apple's "outrageous" new App Store rules

Spotify has joined Fortnite maker Epic in criticising Apple over a change to its rules around in-app payments. The change, made to comply with a court order secured by Epic, is meant to help app-makers, but Spotify says it has been implemented in a way that means app-makers are no better off…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jan 2024

Time really does go by so slowly: Madonna sued over slack time-keeping on ‘Celebration’ tour

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Madonna • 1 min read

Time really does go by so slowly: Madonna sued over slack time-keeping on ‘Celebration’ tour

Madonna - and some other folk - are being sued because some of her shows started really really late. Two fans have gone legal arguing that the late start was a breach of contract.…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jan 2024

Michael Jackson tribute show promoter goes legal over trademark dispute

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Michael Jackson • 1 min read

Michael Jackson tribute show promoter goes legal over trademark dispute

A dispute between the Michael Jackson estate and the promoter of Las Vegas tribute show ‘MJ Live’ has gone legal - the estate argues its trademarks and Jackson’s publicity rights are being infringed, but the ‘MJ Live’ promoter wants a court to confirm that is not the case…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jan 2024

Ticket touts on trial over £6.5 million "dishonest enterprise"

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Ticket Touting • 2 min read

Ticket touts on trial over £6.5 million "dishonest enterprise"

Two people have gone on trial in Leeds over their involvement in a £6.5 million ticket resale operation set up to "simply rinse consumers for as much profit as they are willing to pay". Two other defendants last week pleaded guilty as proceedings began…

Chris Cooke • 18 Jan 2024

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Prince • 2 min read

Prince estate dispute goes legal

The music industry executives involved in Prince Legacy, one of the businesses that manages the Prince estate, have filed a lawsuit against some of the late musician’s family members in a dispute over how their company is run…

Chris Cooke • 12 Jan 2024

US Congress told to clarify AI training is not fair use and the market can sort out everything else

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AI • 2 min read

US Congress told to clarify AI training is not fair use and the market can sort out everything else

Another session on AI took place in US Congress yesterday, this time looking at the impact of AI on journalism - unsurprisingly the publishers taking part were adamant that training an AI model with existing content does not constitute fair use under American copyright law…

Chris Cooke • 11 Jan 2024

LA Reid wants Adult Survivors Act sexual assault lawsuit against him to be scaled back

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LA Reid • 2 min read

LA Reid wants Adult Survivors Act sexual assault lawsuit against him to be scaled back

LA Reid has formally responded to the sexual assault lawsuit filed by a former colleague from his time running Arista Records - he denies all the allegations and says that some of the claims in the litigation are barred by the statute of limitations…

Chris Cooke • 10 Jan 2024

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