1970s Musicians v. UMG & Sony: A Second Chance or Works For Hire?
On February 5, 2019, UMG Recordings (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment (Sony) were sued by a group of musicians in a class action separately in Southern District of New York…
JIPEL Vol. 8, No. 1 – Fall 2018
Legal journals are sometimes criticized as disconnected from the real world or labeled sounding chambers for academics. Like many of our favorite publications, our fall issue stands in stark contrast…
Is the Copyright Act Inconsistent with the Law of Employee Invention Assignment Contracts?
There is a latent conflict between the law of employee invention assignment contracts and the Copyright Act’s work for hire doctrine. Countless employees sign contracts specifying that, in most cases,…
Analyzing Aalmuhammed v. Lee in the Context of Entertainment Industry Employment
In Aalmuhammed v. Lee, the Ninth Circuit established a test for determining whether an individual contributor to a work may qualify as a joint author. The test identified three main…
“Prime Health” and the Regulation of Hybrid Healthcare
This article examines the possible constructs behind the announcement that Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are jointly building a new healthcare entity for their employees. In this…
Using the Economic Espionage Act to Protect Trade Secrets in Baseball
In 2016, Christopher Correa, a former employee of the St. Louis Cardinals, was sentenced to forty-six months in prison for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act when he accessed…
Why the Innovative Design Protection Act Is a Good Thing
Although U.S. intellectual property laws cover a wide range of industries, they have lagged behind in the world of fashion design. U.S. laws are much less protective of fashion designs…
The Impending Arrival of Newly Proposed Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidelines: An Opportunity for Clarity?
On April 11, 2018, the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Andrei Iancu, delivered remarks at the United States Chamber of Commerce Patent Policy Conference, stating…
DRM and Blockchain: A Solution to Protect Copyrights in the Digital World?
In the artistic world, the development of the Internet, while creating a tremendous way for artists to spread their work worldwide and gain in notoriety, created an environment very much…
Who is a “Film by?” The Writers Guild vs The Directors Guild
The Preamble: The WGA on Possessive Credits The Writers Guild of America’s 2017 Theatrical and Television Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) begins with a preamble focusing on an oddly specific topic:…