In this seminar from a meeting of the American Bar Association in 2007, panelists Milton Williams, Nicholas Valner, Sandra A. Cranshaw-Sparks, and Stan Soocher conduct a review of a number of recent landmark cases in the field of entertainment law. Among the suits under discussion are: copyright infringement suits brought by the screenwriters of the film Dodgeball; a brief review of copyright cases against internet companies in order to identify the current meaning of “fair use” as applied to internet-distributed materials and parodies; suits against Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown, the estate of Marilyn Monroe, the estate of Bob Marley and others which explore different sides of contract rights, theft of intellectual property, and celebrity image use rights; the ongoing set of lawsuits by Apple Records against Apple Computer; the lawsuit brought by the band Hawthorne Heights against their label; and more.
Stan Soocher, a copyright attorney and Professor of music at the University of Colorado, discusses copyright law and how he came to practice it. He explains the history of copyright in the United States, how US law differs from international law, some of the recent trends in how copyright law is adjudicated, and how artists can find out more for themselves about how to protect their work via copyright. Finally, he shares his advice for young artists, and some thoughts on why music education should be valued more highly than it is in the US.
Attorney and Professor of music Stan Soocher discusses the history of U.S. copyright law, and details some of the major points of divergence between U.S. law and most of the rest of the world.
Attorney and Professor of music Stan Soocher discusses how copyrights are administered internationally, and some of the problems and issues that plague international copyright enforcement – especially as regards emerging nations where copyright enforcement has never been a priority and where piracy of copyrighted works is a significant business.
Attorney and Professor of music Stan Soocher explains the Copyright Modernization Act of 2006 and what it means for independent and smaller creators and distributors of copyrighted works
Attorney and Professor of music Stan Soocher discusses the recent trend in the USA for copyright cases to end with a summary judgment handed down by a judge, rather than going through a full courtroom trial.
Attorney and Professor of music Stan Soocher shares his opinions on why arts education in public schools is more important than is generally accepted in the USA.
