Singled Out: Does Copyright Law Treat Music Differently?

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Music is one of the mostly frequently litigated areas in the copyright world, and this past year was no exception. Several recent and highly publicized cases, however, have raised the question of whether copyright law (or at least judges and jurors) sometimes treat music a little differently than other media. For example, the Ninth Circuit only very recently deviated from the Sixth Circuit’s decade-old decision holding that the de minimis rule, largely accepted across most creative media, does not apply to music recordings. And the jury decision in the Blurred Lines case suggests that actual copying is not required to find infringement in music, so long as the “groove” is sufficiently similar. There have also been recent rulings regarding some of the most famous copyrighted songs of all time, one of which was found actually to be public domain.

The Copyright Society of the USA is a New York State and Pennsylvania State CLE Approved Provider.
This course will provide 1 CLE credit.

SPEAKERS

Jacqueline Charlesworth recently returned to New York City after serving as General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights at the U.S. Copyright Office since 2013.  As General Counsel, she had primary responsibility for the legal interpretation of the U.S. Copyright Act and related statutory and regulatory provisions.  Previously, she held the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), representing music publishers and songwriters in litigation, regulatory and other matters.  Prior to that, she served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), a leading music licensing organization.

Richard Busch is a Partner at King & Ballow and is the Head of the Firm’s Entertainment and Intellectual Property practice group.  His practice areas include litigation (state and federal), entertainment litigation, intellectual property litigation, and commercial litigation.  Mr. Busch has successfully represented music clients in numerous notable trial and appellate court cases, including Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films (6th Cir. 2005) (no de minimis defense in a copyright infringement action to sampling of a sound recording); Williams v. Bridgeport Music, Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2015) (“Blurred Lines”/”Got to Give It Up” copyright infringement); and VMG Salsoul, LLC v. Ciccone (9th Cir. 2016) (de minimis defense available in a copyright infringement action to sampling of a sound recording).

Dr. Lawrence Ferrara
is Professor of Music at New York University and an author and a co-author of books and contributions to peer-reviewed journals.  He is an active music copyright consultant for record, music publishing, and motion picture companies, and individuals in the U.S. and abroad.  In that capacity, Ferrara has provided musical analyses on behalf of artists and/or composers in the U.S. and Europe such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Billy Joel, Gloria Estefan, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Jay Z, Lady Gaga, will.i.am, Kanye West, Eminem, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Dr. Dre, (the late) Prince, and Madonna.

Members

Early-bird $70, after deadline $80
Non-Members

Early-bird $85, after deadline $95


Student Members

Early-bird $55, after deadline $65*

*Must be a current member of the Copyright Society of the USA. Email rebecca@csusa.org for your promotional code.

Deadlines

Early-Bird: 9/14/16, Midnight EDT
Final Registration Deadline: 9/19/16, Midnight EDT

Cancellation Policy

Refunds must be requested in writing at least three business days before the event. Refunds will not be issued after that point. Unfortunately, we will not be able to credit your registration payment toward a future event, but you may allow another person attend in your place. If possible, let us know that person’s name, affiliation and the city and state in which s/he works or lives so that we can make her/his name badge.

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Please visit www.csusa.org/join and click renew. All memberships expire on September 30, 2016. If you have already renewed, thank you!