Expert Blog

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!