Legal Matters in Entertainment

This month I decided to write a post about law and how it affects the entertainment industry. Below I have reviewed recent legal cases and I have given my opinion on them as well. The first case I reviewed is a case involving the late King of Pop and issues surrounding the ‘Thriller’ video. The second case involves the release of song lyrics through unauthorized websites and the last case involves the band No Doubt and Activision, the makers of the game Band Hero.

Case 1: Michael Jackson Estate Settles Dispute with ‘Thriller’ Director John Landis

Just in time for Halloween, I decided to dissect the case involving Michael Jackson’s estate and director John Landis. Michael Jackson’s estate has finally reached a deal regarding the 1983 music video for “Thriller.”  In 2009, Michael Jackson and his company were sued by John Landis and producer George Folsey Jr. for a $2.3 million debt for creating the music video for “Thriller.” There was also an adaptation of “Thriller” for musical theater that the three parties agreed on, but before the production was made, Michael Jackson passed away in June of the same year. The Nederlander Organization sued the estate because there was a breach of contract. Instead of following through with a musical production, Jackson’s estate gave Cirque de Soleil permission to create a production called Immortal, using Michael Jackson’s repertoire. Eventually both parties reached an agreement, which is listed as confidential.

I was a HUGE Michael Jackson fan, so I was very excited to read and dissect this case. I commend estate executors, John Branca and John McClain for making sure that debts were paid off. Since Michael Jackson’s death, the estate has paid off $500 million in debts. I was actually shocked that the parties came to an agreement, especially since the estate gave Cirque du Soleil the okay to create a production based on his music. This case has been a standout case to me especially when dealing with estates that are unwilling to pay their debts. This case ended with an amicable agreement between all three parties. Kudos!

Case 2: Music Publishers Win $6.6 Million in Song Lyrics Copyright Case

In this case involving song lyrics, music publishers won a $6.6 million lawsuit in a copyright infringement case against LiveUniverse, who also owns completalbumlyrics.com, lyricsandsongs.com, and lyricsdownload.com. LiveUniverse’s websites were found guilty of releasing lyrics to 528 songs from artists such as Ray Charles and Van Morrison. LiveUniverse’s founder, Brad Greenspan went to court and was given a preliminary injunction on the websites. On the other hand, the music publishers asked the judge for ownership of the lyrics websites and they won.

This case is a very important case because it relays the message that illegal lyrics websites will have a hard time winning a case involving the unlawful use of posting music lyrics. I believe the music publishers were right to sue Brad Greenspan, but I also think they should have been awarded more than $12,500 per song, but less than what they initially wanted--$100,000 per song.

Case 3: No Doubt, Activision Settle Lawsuit Over Avatars in ‘Band Hero’

In this case, Gwen Stefani and No Doubt finally settle a three-year old lawsuit against Activision—makers of the game, Band Hero. No Doubt entered an agreement with Activision agreeing that Band Hero could use their likeness in the video game. Activision not only used their likeness but they also went against what was agreed. Activision featured the band playing songs they had never played before and even went as far as having Gwen Stefani singing in a man’s voice, the Rolling Stone’s “Honky Tonk Woman.” After the lawsuit was filed, Activision claimed that they did not breach the contract because they exercised their First Amendment rights. The California court sided with the band because the video game company was wrong to depict the band as doing things the band wouldn’t normally do. On October 3, 2012, they settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.

This case doesn’t necessarily affect the music industry per se, but it does involve musicians. I did not agree with Band Hero having Gwen Stefani singing a Rolling Stone’s song about “having sex with prostitutes,” but I do agree that video games should be able to use the likelihood of musicians in a tasteful manner that would typically depict what the artist would do on stage.