(this article was published on February 18, 2025 in the statewide Daily Journal ®) As a music lawyer for several decades, I’ve seen how digital media has completely changed how music is presented and absorbed by fans, brands, and other consumers and users of...
I've had clients and others come to me for years asking me to copyright their brands/names, and trademark their songs, scripts, and other original creative works and content. While there are strong ways to protect these valuable assets, I've learned the majority of...
Some TV and movie projects require filming outside of the studio. The reasons include the scripts having portions of the projects taking place outside, and that many non-scripted productions take place in public spaces. Of course, some productions are shot in front of...
I recently discovered a federal requirement for all U.S. business entities that submit formation documents to a state’s Secretary of State office (or equivalent government agency). This is pretty much every type of entity doing business in every state -- corporations,...
As those of you who know me well, or have caught my article or presentations on it, I’m evangelical about writing and revising contracts in understandable, conversational English. To me, a contract’s primary objective is to be a clear set of instructions....
As I’ve emphasized in other writings, the single most important asset of any business is its intellectual property (“IP”). Sure, good management is very important, but executives and other managers can (and do) come and go. A start-up’s IP, like a diamond,...
As anyone who shops or interacts online knows, many product and service providers offer messaging options that allow visitors to ask questions and interact with the site. Often, the “person” they’re communicating with isn’t real, although it often seems human –...
Podcasts were growing in popularity before the pandemic, with some of the more popular ones, like “Smartless”, “The Joe Rogan Experience”, and Logan Paul’s “Implausive” having millions of listeners, and being accessible on a variety of platforms. But their...
How insane is this? Influencers and other celebrities keep getting sued for copyright infringement for posting pictures and videos of themselves on their social. (Dua Lipa is the latest victim). The reason they get sued is because they don’t own the...
Music is an often indispensable component of creating compelling online content. It can set the tone or mood, drive the narrative, or emphasize a point. This is true not only for influencers posting to their own socials, but to companies seeking to create content...