Southwestern University School of Law
Los Angeles

Donald E. Biederman Entertainment & Media Law Institute

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International Entertainment & Media Law Program in London

Entertainment Law Program in Los Angeles

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LLM in Entertainment & Media Law

September 2005
Volume 27 Number 4

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Editor
Lionel S. Sobel
Professor & Director of International Entertainment & Media Law Summer
Program in London

Southwestern University School of Law

Research Editor & Circulation Manager
Carol P. Sobel

Assistant Editors
Mustafa Abdul-Rahman
Aaron N. Colby
Aaron M. Fontana
Vered Golan
Ken Hwang
Jeffrey Ikejiri
Hamed Khodabakhsh
John C. Lackner

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Recent Cases

Dismissal of musician’s discrimination lawsuit against Elektra Records, complaining that company refused to sign him to recording contract because of his national origin, is affirmed by Court of Appeals

Screenwriter Nancey Silvers does not have standing to bring lawsuit alleging that copyright to CBS movie “The Other Woman” was infringed by Sony movie “Stepmom,” because Silvers wrote “Other Woman” as work-made-for-hire and received assignment of infringement claim only, not any interest in copyright itself

Electronic Arts defeats suit filed by former college football player who objected to use of his image in “Madden NFL Football” video games; mismatch between image and statistics did not defame player or invade his privacy

Nine Inch Nails lead singer Trent Reznor’s claim that his former management contract is unconscionable was dismissed because the contract terms were not unusual for the music industry, but the court ruled that a jury must decide whether the manager breached a fiduciary duty by committing fraud and conversion

RIAA subpoenas seeking identities of university students allegedly engaging in P2P copyright infringement are quashed, because universities – acting as internet service providers – are not subject to subpoenas, federal District Court rules

Popular R&B singing group SWV’s hit song “You’re the One” did not infringe copyright in song “You’re the One (For Me),” federal appeals court affirms

Model’s right of publicity claim was not preempted by copyright law, where objected-to use of her photo occurred after expiration of contract that had authorized use of her likeness, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals holds after rehearing model’s appeal from dismissal of her case

British producers of television show “Wife Swap” may pursue copyright but not trade dress claims against Fox Broadcasting, complaining that Fox’s “Trading Spouses” infringes, federal District Court rules

CBS reality television show Survivor defeats trademark infringement suit brought by Surfvivor Media; where no actual confusion occurs between two marks, there is no infringement, appellate court affirms

National Geographic did not need the consent of freelance photographers and journalists to republish their works in digital format, federal appeals court affirms

Copyright Office properly rejected claims filed by MGM and Universal Studios for cable and satellite TV royalties, because claims were mailed using postage meters, did not have U.S. Postal Service date stamps showing they were mailed in July, and arrived after the deadline, federal Court of Appeals affirms

Poor team performance was just “cause” for termination of hockey coach, so team owner didn’t have to pay remainder of coach’s contract, Montana Supreme Court rules

Sports leagues win larger percentage of cable TV royalties; Court of Appeals rejects objections by movie and commercial TV program suppliers and public TV programmers, and affirms Librarian of Congress’ decision adopting CARP recommendation

Fiduciary relationship does not exist between Oakland Raiders and NFL or its Commissioner, California Court of Appeal rules in opinion affirming dismissal of issue in long-running lawsuit

Punitive damages not available under Copyright Act, federal District Court in Florida rules in case alleging advertising jingle infringed copyright to song “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”

Claims against Combo Records for unpaid royalties brought by Puerto Rican salsa singer Santa Rosa are dismissed by federal District Court

Hispanic College Fund loses challenge to NCAA standard for determining which organizations may sponsor pre-season football games that don’t count towards maximum number of allowable games per year

Disney is “common carrier” while operating “Indiana Jones” ride at Disneyland, California Supreme Court affirms in wrongful death case

Race car driver will get day in court because despite signing a release and waiver agreement, Arizona state constitution makes assumption of risk a jury question “in all cases,” Arizona Supreme Court rules

Federal District Court lacks jurisdiction over Swiss-based International Skating Union in antitrust lawsuit filed by World Skating Federation