Spotify’s Legal Victory Over Eminem’s Co-Publisher in Long-Running Copyright Dispute
Introduction While Eminem’s music, including iconic tracks like “Lose Yourself” and “Without Me,” is widely known and celebrated globally, few are aware of the complex legal battle surrounding the royalties from these songs. This legal conflict involved streaming giant Spotify and Eight Mile Style (“EMS”), Eminem’s co-publisher and copyright holder of 242 of his compositions. […]
I can buy myself that song, Flowers: Miley Cyrus v Tempo Music
News broke on 17 September that Miley Cyrus—former incognito pop-star for Disney Channel turned Grammy-winning solo artist—is being sued. The dispute concerns similarities between Cyrus’ chart-topping song Flowers and Bruno Mars’ 2013 hit When I Was Your Man. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles’ federal court on 16 September by music rights investment firm […]
Unraveling the Nike Flyknit Technology Dispute
The beginning of November 2023 saw Nike file lawsuits in the Federal courts of Massachusetts and Los Angeles against Skechers and New Balance for the improper use of Nike’s patented Flyknit technology intended for running, football and basketball shoes. On their website, Nike provides a simple definition of their Flyknit technology as ‘a material made […]
Seven Network v 7-Eleven: The Importance of Using Your Trademark ‘Correctly’
The recent case of Seven Network (Operations) Limited v 7-Eleven Inc [2023] FCA 608 affirms the importance of using one’s trademark for their registered purpose. Otherwise, individuals risk losing registration of their trademark for ‘non-use’. In this case, Seven Network Operations Limited (‘Seven Network’) owned a trademark “7NOW”, which was registered in class 35 for the “promotion […]
The Intersection Between Generative AI and Copyright
At its core, copyright is a part of an artist’s moral and personal right to recognition and respect for their work. In protecting particular forms of expression, copyright legislation attempts to strike a balance between competing interests and policy considerations – without conferring a monopoly on facts or information. [1] Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has […]
Real-World Trade Marks in the Digital Space
NFTs are an especially new technology, and currently go quite underregulated; it was previously unclear as to how much weight a real-world trade mark carried in the digital realm. The Hermès Int’l v. Rothschild case offers some certainty in this developing area of law and a greater degree of clarity in the Web3 space. The MetaBirkin […]
Copyright and Software Developers’ Ownership Rights
For software developers and programmers, source code is the stock in trade. It is what they get paid for, but who owns the code once it has been written? From ownership of copyright in the code, developers can reuse their code for other projects without having to redevelop that code. Both developers and the clients […]
Ed Sheeran Wins Copyright Lawsuit
On May 5th 2023, an American jury ruled found Ed Sheeran (and his co-writer) did not infringe on the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s hit ‘Let’s Get It On’. Gaye’s heirs accused Sheeran’s tune, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ copied a four-chord progression used in ‘Let‘s It On’. Sheeran’s counsel successfully argued that the award-winning artist had only a passing familiarity with […]
High Court Grants Trade Mark Infringement Appeal
In Self Care IP Holdings Pty Ltd v Allergan Australia Pty Ltd, the High Court made the decision to allow two appeals filed by Self Care IP Holdings Pty Ltd on the Federal Court’s trade mark infringement decision against Allergan Incorporated. Self Care IP Holdings Pty Ltd (‘Self Care’) supplies and markets cosmetic products, including […]
HOW TO MERGE YOUR LOVE OF MUSIC WITH YOUR LEGAL CAREER: CHELSEA’S STORY
https://www.collaw.edu.au/news/2022/05/26/entertainment-law-chelsea-donaghue Studying law is a demanding pursuit, and every law student knows it’s easy to fall behind. For Chelsea Donaghue, being a backing singer and vocal coach meant she was often catching lectures between shows, flights, rehearsals and soundchecks. Since graduating, Chelsea has managed to marry her passions in a single career, working as a music […]
Paramount Pictures is on a Highway to the Danger Zone as Copyright Infringements are Levelled
Film conglomerate Paramount Pictures was recently hit with copyright infringement allegations by Shosh and Yuval Yonay, the widow and son of the late author of the article ‘Top Guns’. The Yonay’s claim that the rights to Ehud Yonay’s 1983 article which inspired the storyline behind the ‘Top Gun’ film, reverted back to them on 24 […]
Mariah Carey sued for alleged copyright infringement over ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’
Mariah Carey, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff and the Sony Music Group are being sued by musician, Andy Stone for their well-known Christmas tune All I Want for Christmas Is You. In a civil lawsuit filed in Louisiana, Stone alleges he co-wrote and recorded a song with the same name in 1989 and never permitted, consented […]