In late September, a joint CBC News and Toronto Star investigation revealed allegations that Ticketmaster has been utilizing scalpers to get more money out of consumers through resales. While undercover at Ticket Summit 2018, a Las Vegas convention, reporters recorded Ticketmaster representatives stating that the company does not strictly monitor their site for scalpers and […]
Tag Archives: entertainment
Kanye’s “The Life of Pablo” Tweet May Give Life to Class Action Suit
On February 15, 2016, Kanye West tweeted that his album, The Life of Pablo, “will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale… You can only get it on Tidal.” A month and a half later, not only was the album on Apple, but it was also for sale on […]
Advance Attempts to Push Black Vogue Out of Vogue
Vogue Magazine’s parent company, Advance Magazine Publishers Inc., wants to take Black Vogue founder Nareasha Willis to court. On September 28, Advance filed a claim at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against 26 year-old Willis, claiming that Willis’ Black Vogue design of the word “Vogue” uses Vogue’s “well-known font […]
Copyright Suit Against Gwen Stefani Fails to “Spark the Fire”
The United States District Court for the Central District of California has granted summary judgment in a copyright case stemming from singer Gwen Stefani’s 2014 hit song “Spark the Fire.” The suit was brought by Stefani’s former hairdresser Richard Morrill. He alleged that he played Stefani a song called “Who’s Got My Lightah” while working […]
Tattoos and Copyright, Take-Two
In 2016, Take-Two, a video game company that is the creator of the NBA 2K series of video games, was sued by Solid Oak Sketches, a company who owns the copyright in several NBA players’ tattoos. Solid Oak argued that the video game series, which seeks to simulate the NBA, infringed on their copyright because […]
Texas Band Hits Chick-Fil-A, ESPN with Copyright Suit Over College Football Commercial
Law360 reported a Texas rock band’s representatives, Platinum Jack Entertainment Inc., filed suit against Chick-Fil-A Inc. and ESPN Inc. in Texas federal court on Tuesday. The suit alleges that the pair of companies stole a song from Dallas rock band Drayter for in the background of two commercials the companies released featuring the well-known Chick-Fil-A […]
“Empire” Strikes Back: Record Label Asks Supreme Court to Hear Trademark Infringement Suit
In 2015, Empire Distribution Inc., a record label, sued Twentieth Century Fox for trademark infringement. The lawsuit revolves around the television show Empire, a “primetime drama based around a fictional [record label] of the name.” Both the real-life record label and the fictional record label predominantly release hip-hop songs. The Lanham Act, the main law that […]
AMP Act Introduced and Expected to Become Law
The Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act was recently introduced in the Senate. If signed into law, this bill will create a way for producers and engineers to receive direct payments from SoundExchange instead of relying on the artists to fulfill their contractual obligations for payment. The industry has always been plagued by complaints of […]
Fourth Time’s a Charm: Bill O’Reilly Sued for Defamation by Fourth Woman
Laurie Dhue, a former Fox News anchor from 2000 to 2008, is the fourth woman to bring a defamation suit against Bill O’Reilly. All four women had previously reached settlement agreements with O’Reilly over allegations of sexual harassment. In the settlement agreement with 21st Century Fox, the parent company for Fox News agreed to pay […]
U.S. v AT&T/Time Warner: The Antitrust Trial of the Century
On Monday, March 19th, the U.S. Department of Justice faced off against Time Warner and AT&T in what is called the Antitrust Trial of the century. With the rise of direct-to-streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon, Hollywood has seen aggressive content consolidation, such as Disney’s proposed purchase of 21st Century Fox. The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the outcome […]