1. ENTERTAINMENT LAW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OVERVIEW
Ramona P. DeSalvo, Esq.
Zachary C. Rickers, Esq.
DeSalvo Law Firm PLLC
1720 West End Ave. Suite 403
Nashville, TN 37203
(615)
© 2016 Ramona P. DeSalvo

2. ENTERTAINMENT LAW Subspecialty of Intellectual Property
Focuses on creative endeavors of those in the entertainment industry: recording artists, songwriters, producers, filmmakers, actors, visual arts, dance
Nashville is primarily music industry.
IP of entertainers: Copyright
Trademark
Trade Secrets
Right of Publicity

3. U.S. Constitution 1789 Article I, Section 8, Clause 8
Congress shall have power to enact laws … “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their writings and discoveries”

4. Governing law 1909 Copyright Act Works created before Jan. 1, 1978
Copyright attaches upon first publication; work must be registered or it falls into public domain
1976 Copyright Act
Works created on or after Jan. 1, 1978
Copyright attaches upon fixation in tangible medium; registration not required but valuable incentives to register

5. SUBJECT MATTER OF COPYRIGHT 17 U.S.C. § 102(a)
Including but not limited to:
Literary works
Musical works
Dramatic works
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Sound recordings
Architectural works

6. 1976 Act: Works of Authorship
FIXATION:
Fixed in a tangible medium
ORIGINALITY:
Slight degree of creativity
Independent creation

7. What cannot be protected by copyright
Works not fixed → C/L
Words, short phrases, titles, names, symbols, slogans
Facts, processes, systems, methods
Not original
No creativity
Sources of law:
17 U.S.C. §102(b)
37 CFR 202.1
Common law

8. 17 U.S.C. § 106 “Bundle of rights” Six Exclusive Rights
Copyright owners have the right to do or to authorize any of the following:
Reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords
Prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work
Distribute copies of the work
Publicly perform the work
Publicly display the work
In the case of SRs, to publicly perform the work via digital audio transmission

9. Authorship/Ownership
Copyright ownership vests initially in the author or authors of the work.

10. Authorship Intellectual concept
Creative person who contributes to the work
Result of creative efforts/intellectual labors
Economic Concept
Work for hire
Employer/Employee or
Specially commissioned work
(Defined by statute)

11. Joint Authorship
Each owner owns an equal, undivided interest in the entire work.
Either author may license or use the work without permission from co-author
No infringement against co-owners: duty to account.

12. Ownership/Claimant Authorship: creative author or work for hire
Ownership/Claimant Authorship: creative author or work for hire Written transfer Operation of law: Will Court orders: Bankruptcy Divorce Judgment debtor Termination of transfer

13. Termination of transfers
Second chance to author and family to benefit from author’s mental labors. Not applicable to works for hire Pre-1978 works and post-1978 works are treated similarly but different code sections apply.

14. PARALEGAL’S ROLE Copyright registrations Termination of transfers
Gathering data for application
Dates of birth/citizenship/dates of creation
Calculating filing fees
Uploading and/or mailing deposits
Termination of transfers
Gathering data
Works’ titles/dates of creation/dates of transfers/transferors’ names

15. ® or ™ Circle R - Registered mark
TRADEMARKS
Trademark A brand name used for a product A word, name, symbol or device (or combination of thereof)
Service Mark A name used for services
® or ™ Circle R - Registered mark
TM - No legal meaning/notice of pending application

16. PARALEGAL’S ROLE GATHERING DATA APPLICANT’S CORRECT LEGAL NAME
SPECIMENS FOR SUBMISSION
CALENDARING DEADLINES
USE/INTENT TO USE DEADLINES DIFFER
10 YEAR LIFE OF MARK
THREE YEARS: ABANDONMENT OF MARK
FIVE YEARS: AFFIDAVIT OF USE
TEN YEARS: RENEWAL
OFFICE ACTIONS
EXTENSIONS OF TIME

17. OTHER IP PATENTS TRADE SECRETS RIGHTS OF PUBLICITY PARALEGAL’S ROLE:
Data gathering
Calendaring
Confidentiality