Two podcasts have been chosen from
Entertainment Law Update to be reviewed. Both podcasts deal with the Copyright
Laws. I have chosen these two podcasts to analyze because this topic directly
relates to my business and industry in every way.
The first podcast I assessed was Episode 13 –
copyright, trademarks, and fair use and net profit suits. This was an
interesting podcast because one of the first cases discussed was the Sony v. Tenenbaum
case. This was the case I chose to discuss in this month’s research paper. Sony
sued Tenenbaum for statutory damages because Tenenbaum illegally downloaded and
distributed Sony’s music. Sony won with a statutory award of $675,000, which
was appealed by Tenenbaum. The court held their decision. This case is a great
asset to use if something like this happens in my business. Also, it shows that
I need to watch for actions like this in the future. There still is not much
anyone can do about preventing online piracy. Another case discussed was about
Kate Plus Eight. They were concerned about labor permits for the children on
the show. I did not know much about the work laws for minors and will
definitely inquire this into my business plan. This would ensure that every employee
has proper documentation to work for my company.
Episode
23 – Monkeying Around with Copyright Law was the second video I assessed. This
podcast started off talking about copyright trolls and how they work. It’s a
company that acquires rights to copyrights just to sue people. The main
copyright troll discussed was Righthaven. Righthave has been shut down
according to previous research; therefore I shouldn’t have too much to worry
about in this area. I will take extra precautions on copyrightable material to
make sure a copyright troll cannot receive money from me. The podcast continues
by talking about Disney’s appeal case against Celador International. Celador
believed that he was cheated out of money and won the case. Disney felt that
they case was looked at wrong and shouldn’t have to pay him anything more than
what was agreed upon. I agree by saying, if the contract is plain and simple
where it states one party shall only obtain a select portion of money, then the
contract should be the final word.
These podcasts were very enlightening. I
suggest that anyone wanting more knowledge on entertainment laws, or current/previous
court cases, to listen to these podcasts. I tried to focus more on the cases
and topics that I could relate to my future business. Thank you for reading!
