Peas “Powed” With Double-Punch of Lawsuits

By Keith Hammeran

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal

IPLJ Permalink

The Black Eyed Peas, the popular hip-hop act behind recent radio smashes “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling,” may be getting a sinking feeling after being served with a duo of lawsuits accusing the group of copyright infringement. Over the past two years, the Peas have enjoyed massive popular and critical success. “Boom Boom Pow” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 2009 and stayed there for twelve consecutive weeks. The song was then immediately replaced by “Feeling,” which extended the group’s reign on the chart for an unprecedented fourteen additional weeks. To date, “Feeling” has sold more than six million digital copies. It was recently recognized as the top-selling song in digital history.

Music Publishers Settle Copyright-Infringement Lawsuit Against LimeWire

By Don Jeffrey
Bloomberg | Article Link

Music publishers settled their lawsuit against LimeWire LLC, the online file-sharing service found liable last year for copyright infringement in a suit brought by record companies, an industry group said.

“We are pleased that this litigation is over,” the National Music Publishers Association said in an e-mailed statement. “The parties worked hard to achieve a settlement that is a good result for all involved.”

All claims by publishers including Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) against Lime Wire and its founder, Mark Gorton, are “dismissed,” according to a filing today in federal court in New York. No reason was given in the filing for the dismissal. Each side will pay its own costs of the suit, including attorneys’ fees, according to the document.

Sofa Entertainment Inc. v. Dodger Productions

By Jennifer Tytel

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal

IPLJ Permalink

In 2005 the Broadway musical Jersey Boys opened to massive critical acclaim and was later honored at the 2006 Tony Award’s as the year’s best musical. The play told the rags to riches tale of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons through music, dancing and use of historical footage. Five years after the first curtain opened, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held that the unauthorized use of a clip from a television series during a Broadway show is considered a “fair use” of copyrighted work and an affirmative defense to copyright infringement.

Apple Is Said to Negotiate to Allow Unlimited Downloads of Music Purchases

By Adam Satariano & Andy Fixmer
Bloomberg | Article Link

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is in talks with record companies to give iTunes music buyers easier access to their songs on multiple devices, three people with knowledge of the plans said.

Apple is negotiating with music companies, including Vivendi SA (VIV)’s Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) and EMI Group Ltd., said the people, who asked for anonymity because the talks are private. An agreement may be announced by midyear, two of the people said.

The arrangement would give users more flexibility in how they access purchased music. Apple and the record labels are eager to maintain demand for digital downloading amid rising popularity for Internet services such as Pandora Media Inc., which don’t sell tracks and instead let users stream songs from the Web, whatever the device.

$430K Settlement Reached in Love Twitter Lawsuit

Associated Press (Los Angeles) | Article Link

Courtney Love's 140 character Twitter rants against a fashion designer are costing her more than $430,000, an attorney says.

The singer has settled a lawsuit filed by Dawn Simorangkir, who sued the Hole frontwoman in March 2009 accusing her of making false statements about the designer and her past in a series of postings on the microblogging site Twitter and Love's Myspace blog.

The settlement was confirmed by Simorangkir's attorney, Bryan J. Freedman. The designer's label is called Boudoir Queen, and according to her lawsuit, she first came in contact with Love in 2008 and they met in February 2009 in Los Angeles to discuss some custom clothing.