August, 2017

In the middle of 2016, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals muddied the waters on the legality of digital sampling of sound recordings through its opinion in VMG Salsoul, LLC v. Ciccone.

Source: Sounds Great, But Sounds Familiar: Where To Draw The Line With Digital Sampling Of Sound Recordings? – hypebot

These platforms, like the one designed by Synereo–it’s called WildSpark–hope to disrupt the attention economy by changing the way people create, share, and monetize content. Users can upload and access content on distributed ledgers, removing the need for a central corporate hub.

Source: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter Have a Surprising New Threat: Blockchain | Inc.com

With negotiations resuming in Mexico at the end of this week, music industry rightsholders have increased pressure on the Administration to defy Congressional directives on IP in Trade Promotion Authority.

Source: Will Copyright Disputes Derail the NAFTA Express? – Disruptive Competition Project

In the online content and digital advertising industry, blockchain can help level the playing field and create platforms where everyone gets compensated fairly for their contribution to the economy.

Source: How blockchain makes the online content economy fair and transparent

Co-founded by Slovenia DJ and music composer, Uroš Umek, Viberate touts itself as a “digital agent,” using smart contracts and its own dedicated cryptocurrency to help musicians without agents manage concert bookings and earnings.

Source: Charlie Shrem’s Next Act? Helping This Blockchain Startup Disrupt Music – CoinDesk

The Australian government has finally tabled its response to the Productivity Commission’s report into intellectual property, but did not lend its full support to the recommendations on circumventing geoblocking technology, implementing a fair use exception for copyright infringement, and expanding the safe harbour scheme.

Source: Government skips geoblocking and fair use in copyright reform | ZDNet

Spotify has convinced all the major labels to sign up to new multi-year licensing deals. Warner is the latest and last to agree to a deal whereby its recorded music catalogue will be available on the service for the foreseeable future.

Source: Spotify and Warner sign multi-year licensing deal – Music Business Worldwide

Today’s opinion authored by 9th Circuit judge Andrew Hurwitz is the first by this appellate circuit to interpret the Family Home Movie Act, which was passed by Congress with an eye towards permitting technology santitizing offensive home entertainment.

Source: Appeals Court Upholds Injunction Against VidAngel’s Streaming Service | Hollywood Reporter

Rightsholders that don’t maintain sufficiently accurate records — the bill doesn’t define a standard — would lose their legal leverage. In some cases, they would have no way to sue infringers without losing money — even if they won in court.

Source: Federal ‘Transparency’ Bill Endangers Songwriters’ Leverage for Getting Paid | Billboard

The greater the competition in video game streaming, the easier it will be to fall into a matrix of copyright infringement when determining who owns what: the developer, the streamer, the user or the platforms.

Source: To avoid copyright disaster, the future of game streaming is licensing | VentureBeat | Esports | by Brianna Howard && Jessica Walker && Jason Kunze