Maryland’s recently passed library e-book law will require any publisher offering to license an electronic literary product to consumers in the state to also offer to license the content to public libraries on reasonable terms. The question now is: what are reasonable terms?
Source: Define ‘Reasonable’: Can Maryland’s New E-book Law Help Change the Marketplace?
A battle is ramping up again this summer between Big Radio and Big Music over — you guessed it — performance royalties. Here’s why it probably won’t go anywhere. This year, the NAB has been drawing more and more congresspeople to its side, recently announcing support from 177 representatives and 22 senators.
Source: Don’t Expect Radio to Start Paying Artists Anytime Soon
NBCUniversal, Disney and ViacomCBS, along with tech giants like Amazon, are shifting resources to snap up live programming from major leagues in a new arms race to fuel direct-to-consumer services. But with new sports rights becoming a scarce commodity, these same companies are trying to figure out how to make the most of what they already have, trying to get ahead of a pay-TV business in continued decline.
Source: Sports Rights’ Streaming Wave May Finally End Pay-TV Bundle
Streaming network FilmRise has acquired the digital distribution rights to over 300 different film titles from the Maverick Entertainment Library, which is known for its diverse movies targeted at African American audiences and with niche genres. The deal gives the FilmRise Streaming Network AVOD, including FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) rights, in both the US and Canada.
Source: FilmRise Acquires Digital Rights to 300 Films in Maverick Entertainment Library (Exclusive)
The Internet Archive (IA) this week asked a federal judge to weigh in on a discovery dispute in the copyright infringement lawsuit over its program to scan and lend copies of books. In an August 9 filing, IA attorneys told the court it is seeking monthly sales data for all books in print by the four plaintiff publishers (Hachette, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Wiley) dating back to 2011.
Source: Internet Archive Seeking 10 Years of Publisher Sales Data for Its Fair Use Defense
Maybe you’ve noticed how things keep disappearing—or stop working—when you “buy” them online from big platforms like Netflix and Amazon, Microsoft and Apple. You can watch their movies and use their software and read their books—but only until they decide to pull the plug.
Source: Sell This Book!
Filed in Colorado last Monday (July 26) by major labels and publishers, including Universal Music Corp, Capitol Records, Universal Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, and Sony Music Publishing, the suit accuses Charter of having “knowingly contributed to, and reaped substantial profits from, massive copyright infringement committed by thousands of its subscribers”.
Source: Major labels and publishers hit Charter Communications with $400m+ copyright infringement lawsuit
With about a month to go until the 20-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York, a federal judge in New York has authored an absolutely epic copyright ruling that examines how various films and documentaries have used a photojournalist’s footage from that fateful day.
Source: In Copyright Case, Judge Evaluates Use of 9/11 Footage in 16 Films
With Beatsource, the labels can send all the necessary edits to one place with a few clicks the moment they approve them. Beatsource’s team can then upload them to the service immediately, according to Paredes. This way, every time a cooperating DJ uses an edit, Beatsource’s tech tracks the activity, ensuring rights-holders are paid fairly.
Source: The Music Industry Has Neglected Its DJs. New Tech Will Change the Game
Among the properties that Concord is actively developing is a new take on “Flower Drum Song” with Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD production banner and Janet Yang Prods. The 1958 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical was adapted as a 1961 movie starring Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta and Miyoshi Umeki. Concord represents the voluminous Rodgers & Hammerstein for theatrical licensing.
Source: Concord Launches Originals Division to Develop Movies, TV and Podcasts From Its IP Vault (EXCLUSIVE)