Did you know that every song generally includes two copyrights? One is the composition, which are words and music, also known as the publishing rights. The other copyright is the master, which is the recording of the composition and is also called the sound recording.
Join our own Dave Ratner and the Colorado Film & Video Association for a lunchtime discussion about services agreement for video production folks who are hired to provide services. Bring your questions and we will see you there!
Where: Online!
When: Wednesday, June 22, 2022
The long-awaited Copyright Claims Board is open for business! At the beginning of 2021, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (“CASE Act”) was signed into law, signaling what could be considered a great aid for individual creators and small businesses: the Copyright Claims Board. So what is the CASE Act, what is the Copyright Claims Board, and how can this aid individual creators and small businesses in the protection of their copyrights?
While copyright has always been an extremely important and valuable tool for the protection of the intellectual property rights in the creative works, the rights have often been difficult to enforce. Because federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over copyrights, and federal litigation can be prohibitively expensive, many copyright owners cannot afford to defend their rights in court when someone infringes their work. With federal litigation rarely being an option for copyright owners, countless infringements go unchallenged, leaving creators with valuable rights, but no real remedies. The CASE Act looks to bridge this gap and provide remedies for smaller claims without the need of expensive litigation.
The CASE Act creates a three-judge tribunal called the Copyright Claims Board within the United States Copyright Office to handle small copyright claims. The Copyright Claims Board can hear three types of claims by copyright owners and copyright users, including:
Infringement claims brought by creators against infringers;
Requests by copyright users for a declaration of non-infringement stating that their activity does not infringe a copyright owner’s exclusive rights; and
Challenges brought by copyright users who have received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice that they believe contains some form of misrepresentation relating to the alleged infringing activity.
The CASE Act is designed for small claims. It limits statutory damages to $15,000 per claim and no more than $30,000 in total damages. The exact fee to file a claim under the CASE Act will vary based on Copyright Office regulations, but will be less than the cost of federal litigation. Claims under the CASE Act are entirely optional. Any creator may opt to file under the CASE Act or pursue federal litigation to protect their rights. Further, if a party does not want to defend their rights in front of the tribunal, they may opt out. The CASE Act will create a streamlined process to allow creators and small businesses the opportunity to uphold and protect their copyrights without the burdensome time and costs of federal litigation. This provides a new and powerful tool for creators and will help support the copyright system as a whole.
The Copyright Claims Board is, as of June 16, 2022, now open to start hearing copyright disputes. eCCB, the CCB’s electronic case management and filing system, is now available at https://dockets.ccb.gov/#about. For more information on the CASE ACT, filing a claim with the Copyright Claims Board, what happens after one is filed, and responding to or opting out of a claim please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at the Creative Law Network!
We could use your help. It's always a pleasure to present at Denver Startup Week and we have an informative workshop on #licensing planned for this year if you'll show your support.
Join us for a lunchtime discussion with Dave and the Colorado Film and Video Association (CFVA) as they discuss all the contracts you need for your film or vide production. Bring your questions for Dave to answer. See you there!
When: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 12pm - 1pm MST
Where: Online! Click Here to Register!
We are excited to announce that Dave Ratner has been named a 2022 Top Lawyer by 5280 Magazine!
Dave has been recognized as a 5280 Top Lawyer since the list was created!
Congratulations, Dave!
From our family to yours, Creative Law Network would like to wish you a happy and safe holiday season!
Please note that our office will be closed on Friday, December 24th. We will reopen on Monday, December 27th. Our office will close again on Friday, December 31st and reopen on Monday, January 3, 2022.
Happy holidays and see you soon!
Today is Colorado Gives Day!
Colorado Gives Day was founded in 2007 as a way to show support for our state’s non-profit organizations. ColoradoGives provides donors with a safe and trusted way to support nonprofits, and each organization's online profile is screened by Community First Foundation to ensure specific standards of transparency. Join us in helping our local non-profits grow and “Give Where You Live”!
Dave joined Michael Brandvold and Jay Gilbert on their podcast Music Biz Weekly to talk about all things contracts!
“David Ratner joins us to talk about recording contracts and what has changed in contracts and how COVID is changing performance contracts. Dave channeled his passion for music – and all creative arts – into Creative Law Network, a law firm built specifically for creative professionals. And he built a team at Creative Law Network that is passionate about the arts, ensuring creative work is protected, and helping creatives leverage the law to maximize the value of their work.”
Catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Youtube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
Unfortunately, not quite. But that doesn’t mean they have to be a mystery.
You may have seen the term “NFT” floating around recently. It’s just about everywhere, from Saturday Night Live skits, memes, and social media, all the way to Wall Street and the global tech giants. So what exactly is an NFT? While an explanation of NFTs can often sound like a mess of jargon and confusing principles, NFTs can be broken down to some reasonable basics.
What does NFT stand for?
NFT is short for “non-fungible token.” Clear as mud, we know, but bear with us. Non-fungible is another way of saying that something is unique and can’t be replaced with something else. Something that is fungible is anything that is interchangeable because they are identical, like money. With money, you can swap a $20 bill for two $10 bills and have the same value. A non-fungible item however is something that is one of a kind. A non-fungible item has unique qualities that cannot be interchanged with something else. NFTs are unique digital assets that can be bought and sold like any other piece of property, but have no tangible form of their own. So, an NFT is a unique digital token, the value of which lies in its unique nature. The digital token can be thought of as a certificate of ownership for virtual or physical assets.
How do they work?
From the 10,000 foot view, NFTs are part of a cryptocurrency blockchain. A blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions across a network of computer systems. NFTs are recorded in a digital ledger in the same way as cryptocurrency, so there is a listing of who owns each NFT. What makes an NFT unique is the digital asset it is connected to. This can be any non-fungible digital work such as an image, artwork, a meme, a song, sports memorabilia, and much more, that is uploaded to an NFT marketplace where the NFT is sold. These works can be uploaded to the marketplace and sold as NFTs, and the purchaser of the NFT will be added to the blockchain ledger as the owner of the NFT.
Does this mean the purchaser owns the image, art, meme, or song connected to the NFT?
No it doesn’t. This concept can be very strange, but the person who buys the NFT doesn’t own the actual asset on which the NFT is based. The purchaser of an NFT owns the token, but the creator of the original work retains the intellectual and creative rights. The purchaser has a record, hash code, and metadata in the blockchain showing ownership of the unique token associated with the original work. But this is digital art; can’t it be replicated and distributed infinitely? Of course, but we can look at it like art prints. There are hundreds of thousands of prints and reproduction of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, but since they are not the original, they are far less valued. The same principle applies to NFTs, you can copy and paste an image but only the original, together with the hash code and metadata, digitally signed by the artist, holds value. The buyer is purchasing the NFT which contains the digital work as well as the indelible signature of artist and all transactions associated with the artwork as digital proof of authenticity and uniqueness.
So how can you take advantage of NFTs?
As an artist you might be interested in NFTs because they are a new way to sell digital versions of your work, while retaining your ownership rights. This type of sale creates an easily trackable ledger where you can follow the ownership of these NFTs. Also, you can keep some control as to resale of the NFTs, including a percentage of each resale of the NFT on the blockchain. While there are fees involved for an artist, including fees required to make and sell the NFT through the specific marketplaces, savvy digital artists can find a great market for their work as NFTs grow in popularity.
As for buyers, NFTs present a unique opportunity to own a piece of art or pop culture history. The NFT serves as contracted proof of ownership that lives on an easily traceable digital ledger. NFTs offer a blockchain-created certificate of authenticity for the digital asset and tracks the ownership. This proof can be very valuable to buyers and collectors alike.
NFTs are a new and exciting market for creatives, but can initially be tricky to navigate. We at Creative Law Network are always ready and able to help if you have any questions, or are hoping to dive into the world of NFTs and are looking for protection and a knowledgeable guide!