Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart
Mini Article – Volume 24, Issue 15
Share on Social
NBA Teams Sued for Copyright Infringement
By Kristyn Webb
Fourteen teams of the US National Basketball Association (NBA) have been sued in federal district court for copyright infringement. The complaints, filed by companies claiming to own rights in various musical works such as “All I Do Is Win,” “Bottoms Up,” and “Say So”, allege that the teams used these musical works on various platforms and websites without first obtaining the proper synchronization licenses.
In the music industry, a synchronization license, or sync license, generally permits a party to use a musical work as background music in a video, thus syncing the music relative to the moving images in an audiovisual piece.
Many platforms, like TikTok, offer music libraries where the sync licenses have already been negotiated by the platform on behalf of the user. Users should note, however, that different terms and conditions may apply if the user plans to use the music in content for commercial purposes. For example, using background music in a personal rendition of a viral dance video is different from using music as part of a video to advertise dance lessons.
For now, the lawsuits are in early stages. Perhaps the NBA teams will show a strong defense if they can prove their use was licensed on the various platforms via the terms of service. Otherwise, the court may call a foul on the unlicensed use.
Kristyn Webb is the Group Leader of Fishman Stewart’s Copyright Practice Group, and holds a Master’s Degree in Copyright Law from King’s College London.
Published August 23th, 2024
Related Content from Fishman Stewart
The U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) recently published its latest report on AI and “copyrightability.” In short, the USCO considers only some AI-generated works to be sufficiently creative as to deserve copyright protection, and thus, registration.
Back in the 1940’s assignments by independent contractors could be permanent and irrevocable. Things changed in 1976, when Congress overhauled the Copyright Act.
Generally, copyright protects the specific expression of ideas, such as the arrangement and presentation of visual elements, but it does not protect general concepts or styles.
In the age of the internet, memes are a universal language. A meme is a piece of content, typically an image, video, text, or a combination of these, that spreads rapidly across the internet, often with humorous, relatable, or satirical undertones.
In the US, Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. For many, Thanksgiving and (American) football go hand-in-hand, with the Detroit Lions’ game as much a staple of the holiday as turkey and pie. However, this year’s game arrives amid controversy: Lions’ legendary Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is facing a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement.
After three years of litigation, a court has held that the “beat that goes on” for Cher’s right to continue receiving royalties on songs created during her marriage to Sonny Bono, despite attempts by Sonny’s widow, Mary Bono, to invoke federal copyright termination rights to end those payments.
Watching scary movies is a time-honored Halloween tradition, and one of the greatest movies to watch this time of year is “Ghostbusters” which premiered in 1984.
Halloween is coming up at the end of this month, and we are celebrating a little early with the spooky copyright story of Jap Herron!
In 2023, California artist Joe Morford lost his copyright infringement lawsuit against Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Morford claimed that Cattelan's viral artwork "Comedian," which features a banana duct-taped to a wall, was a copy of his own work, "Banana and Orange."
Last month, Outkast filed suit against ATLiens Touring, seeking an injunction against ATLiens Touring’s continued use of ATLiens and seeking damages.
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®
