Intellectual property is a major issue in entertainment law. Many different issues can arise that have to do with intellectual property. One such issue as covered by The Entertainment Law Podcast Episode 39 is the issue regarding The Jersey Boys and the Ed Sullivan Show. Sofa Entertainment sued Dodger Productions over copyright infringement due to the use of a seven second clip introducing The Four Seasons. However the courts looked at the issues regarding fair use. The courts said that the use of the clip was used as a biographical and historical point. Since it was used more like facts and did not really, in the courts mind, affect the market nor was seven seconds too much to use, they decided it was in fact fair use.
In The Entertainment Law Podcast Episode 42 they discuss the issue of La Dolce Vida and who actually owned the rights to distribution. International Media Films authorized special 50th anniversary DVDs, however Paramount argued that they in fact owned the rights and decided to sue IMF for copyright infringement. Though the rights have bounced around Paramount argues that it had acquired the rights to La Dolce Vida through the acquisition of a subsidiary. However, despite this, the court decided that IMF had not directly infringed on the copyright but it did contribute to copyright infringement.
In The Entertainment Law Podcast Episode 43 they discuss Faulkner Literary versus Sony Pictures. In Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris the line “the past is not dead actually its not even past you know who said that Faulkner and he was right” is used by the main character. Faulkner claims that the phrase “the past is not dead it’s not even past” is in and of itself copyrighted. The courts did decide that it was in fact fair use.
