No Password Required: From Heavy Metal to the Front Lines of Cyber Innovation
Is My Guitar Pedal a Klone or a Counterfeit? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
Why Can't I Clean the Graffiti Off My Walls? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: When a TikTok Costs You $150,000 - Copyright Pitfalls in Influencer Marketing
The Briefing: When a TikTok Costs You $150,000 - Copyright Pitfalls in Influencer Marketing
(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Mayhem – Lady Gaga Gets Sued for Trademark Infringement
The Briefing: Trademark Mayhem – Lady Gaga Gets Sued for Trademark Infringement
Can My Band Cover Another Famous Song? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: Millions at Stake – How 2 Live Crew Beat Bankruptcy to Reclaim Their Music
The Briefing: Millions at Stake – How 2 Live Crew Beat Bankruptcy to Reclaim Their Music
Why Did Taylor Swift Re-record Her Albums? – No Infringement Intended Podcast
Introduction to No Infringement Intended Podcast - No Infringement Intended
The latest on: NFL Anti-Trust decision; Record Labels Sue Over Generative AI; Copyright Office clarifies Termination Rights, Royalties, Transfers, Disputes, and the MMA.
The Briefing: Not Terminated - Cher Still Entitled to Her Share of Music Royalties
The Briefing: Not Terminated - Cher Still Entitled to Her Share of Music Royalties (Podcast)
The Briefing: Supreme Court Holds Copyright Damages Can Go Beyond 3 Years (Podcast)
Taylor's Version: El Derecho de Artistas en la Industria Musical
The Briefing: Brandy Melville Doubles Down Against Redbubble
AI Update: ELVIS Act Passes, SAG-AFTRA Agree with Record Labels. FTC Non-compete Ban Analyzed By Gordon Firemark and Tamera Bennett.
The Briefing: Tennessee’s ELVIS Act Isn’t What You Think (Podcast)
District court dismisses SoundExchange’s suit against Sirius XM Radio seeking $150 million in alleged unpaid royalties, finding that “licensing and enforcement of rights” under Section 114 of Copyright Act is not synonymous...more
On August 7, 2025, a federal district court dismissed the complaint in a lawsuit brought by SoundExchange, Inc., an independent nonprofit representing owners of copyrighted sound recordings that sought underpaid royalties...more
For musicians, estate planning is not just about deciding who inherits guitar collections or song royalties. It is about protecting your artistic legacy, ensuring your intellectual property is handled according to your...more
In this episode, Rusty Close and Austin Padgett discuss why Taylor Swift re-recorded her original six albums. They explain the distinction between publishing rights and master recording rights, noting that Swift owned the...more
Brands’ social media feeds are getting attention lately, but not always for the right reasons. We’ve covered social media advertising risks in our ADventures in Law blog before....more
On May 9, 2024, the Supreme Court in Warner Chappell, Music Inc. v. Nealy settled a longstanding circuit split and ruled 6-3 that the Copyright Act entitles a copyright owner to recover damages for any timely claim, no matter...more
The 1970s were the heyday of the now-extinct television genre known as the variety show: a weekly extravaganza headlined by a well-known entertainer, generally accompanied by a supporting cast of singers, dancers and...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a copyright infringement claim by one rap artist against another on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to register the work in question. The Court...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant to an alleged song copier, finding neither evidence of factual copying nor striking similarity between the two songs. Kirk...more
Thank you for reading the February 2024 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the advertising rights of luxury resellers and important updates to the Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy...more
On February 21, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. et al. v. Nealy et al. The case involves whether plaintiff music producer Sherman Nealy may recover damages for...more
On September 29, 2023, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, a case that should resolve a split among the U.S. Courts of Appeal relating to the scope of damages available to copyright...more
The Recording Academy has set the record straight about the eligibility of music developed by artificial intelligence for the Grammy Awards. “A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any Categories,” the...more
The music industry has begun cracking down on brand owners’ and influencers’ unlicensed use of songs in social media posts through the filing of several lawsuits over the past few months. The lawsuits have largely targeted...more
Fly Havana and Fat Joe are heading “All the Way Up” to the Second Circuit for “Another Round.” Earlier this month Fly Havana appealed New York District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald’s conclusion that Fly Havana had...more
You've heard it, you likely love it, and it's probably the first melody that you ever tried to learn on the guitar to impress your friends. "Stairway to Heaven" has been called the greatest rock song of all time by music...more
Nearly 40 years after Led Zeppelin released Stairway to Heaven – viewed by many as one of the greatest rock songs of all time – Led Zeppelin was sued for copyright infringement. The estate of guitarist Randy Wolfe, who...more
The epic copyright infringement lawsuit against Led Zeppelin over the song “Stairway to Heaven” has reached another milestone – this time in favor of the legendary band. This case has been more like a long and winding road...more
On March 9, 2020, Led Zeppelin won a major copyright battle over claims that they stole part of their signature song “Stairway to Heaven.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling en banc, upheld a 2016 jury verdict that...more
Drake prevails again – this time at the Second Circuit. On February 3, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Drake, finding that his use of a...more
“There’s still time to change the road you’re on,” Led Zeppelin says, hoping a 2016 jury verdict in its favor will be reinstated. On June 10, an 11-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit announced that it would rehear a copyright...more
“I feel glorious, glorious,” Macklemore is saying. On Tuesday, April 23, a Louisiana federal judge in the Fifth Circuit dismissed a 2017 lawsuit claiming that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis unlawfully sampled Paul Batiste’s sound...more
Embedded in the Music Modernization Act signed into law in 2018 was a provision that extended most federal copyright protections to pre-1972 sound recordings. Prior to the enactment of the MMA, sound recordings made prior to...more
The year didn’t start on a high note for Ed Sheeran. Back in 2016, Sheeran was sued by the heirs of “Let’s Get It On” (LGO) co-writer, Ed Townsend, who accused Sheeran of copying several elements of LGO in his 2014 hit,...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a petition for a rehearing en banc, refusing to reconsider its decision that digitally remastered pre-1972 sound recordings are not new copyrighted songs. ABS...more