Recently, on December 12, 2023, the Copyright Royalty Judges announced a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase in the mechanical royalty rates for the 17 U.S.C. §115 statutory license for making and distributing phonorecords of nondramatic musical works regarding physical phonorecords and Permanent Downloads. The new rate is 12.40 cents per reproduction or 2.39 cents per [...]
Last week, I was so honored to see many of the members of the NaSHOF at our Hall of Fame Reunion Lunch, held at Ray Stevens’ Cabaray Showroom on December 7. The annual event is always one of my favorite, next to the NaSHOF Gala, and it is always good to see old friends [...]
By Katy GasperAliveCor, self-proclaimed “global leader in FDA-cleared personal electrocardiogram (ECG) technology and services,” has recently filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against Apple Inc. stating infringement on three of their patents in the production and sale of the Apple Watch. AliveCor Background:Since 2011, AliveCor has invested largely in the technology [...]
By Katy GasparPearl Jam tribute band, Pearl Jamm, recently received a cease-and-desist letter requesting a change of name and logo, the turning over of domain names, and the destruction of all unsold merchandise. Is this within their rights? To begin, what is a trademark? Generally, a trademark is a design, word, phrase or symbol that [...]
Television & Film Production during the COVID-19 Pandemic; How does the Force Majeure Provision Apply? COVID-19 has affected the entertainment industry in many respects, especially in the areas of film and television production. Given the nature of productions of this type, working from home is rarely an option, and being in close proximity to [...]
By Cheshire Rigler Can a band member post photographs of their concerts to their webpage or social media if they are taken by an unrelated photographer? Can the Instagram posts and stories of social media influencers contain copyrighted music? If a “how-to” post features the trademarks of competing products, does that violate intellectual [...]
Nashville, TN August 7, 2019 – The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announced today that Larry Gatlin, Dwight Yoakam, Marcus Hummon, Kostas, Rivers Rutherford and Sharon Vaughn will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October. The six new inductees will join the 213 existing members of the elite organization when [...]
Yesterday I had the honor of attending the announcement of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame's 2018 inductees, Ronnie Dunn, K.T. Oslin, Byron Hill, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Joe Melson. I am so honored to serve as general counsel for this outstanding organization and serve with president Pat Alger, executive director Mark Ford, and all of [...]
Shrum & Associates’ very own namesake, Barry Neil Shrum, Esquire, was recently appointed to serve as general counsel for the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, and to serve as a non-voting member of its Board of Directors. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving [...]
UPDATE - Since this article was written in 2017, the CLASSICS Act was incorporated in the Music Modernization Act, passed in December 2019. The plight of the “starving artist” is timeless and history is replete with stories of songwriters and artist being exploited for their intellectual contributions. In the mid 1800’s, when Stephen Foster wrote The [...]
