Legal Liabilities in the Entertainment Industry

Legal Liabilities in the Entertainment Industry

Unfortunately, in the Entertainment Industry there are various means of liabilities that occur—whether the use of a song, piece of work, or lyrics.  Long story short, artist, producers, and those of the like are encouraged to used their original pieces.  When unable to be original, gain the right permissions—or else, be prepared to pay the price. Below we will discuss three examples of legal liabilities in the industry.

Alicia Keys vs. Earl Shuman

Alicia Keys recently released the hit single “Girl on Fire.” A blogger, Roger Friedman of Showbiz411.com apparently identified the similarities of “Hey There Lonely Girl” and “Girl on Fire” during a small portion of the song; catching the attention of original songwriter of “Hey There Lonely Girl”, Earl Shuman. (Boardman 2012) Earl Shuman has now filed copyright infringement suit against Keys for the use of the melodic “lonely girl” in her song. (Boardman 2012)

In my opinion, this is a classic case of copyright infringement--"when someone exercises one of the copyright holder’s exclusive rights without permission" (Butler 56).  If it weren’t for the blogger, Earl Shuman may have never sought the opportunity to take action against Keys.  It leads me to believe, that this would not be a case without the mention of similarity on Showbiz411.com

Aereo vs. Broadcasters

Aereo, an Internet company that offers inexpensive, $8 montly, live television online in New York City is planning to expand in the spring. (Matthews 2013) "This is an opportunity of a lifetime to build up something meaningful to change how people access TV.", CEO and founder of Aereo—Chet  Kanojia. (Matthews 2013) Broadcasters are pleading copyright violation—for “1992 federal cable law allows broadcasters to demand licensing fees from services that retransmit their signals, even if a station offers its signal over the air for free.” (Matthews 2013)  Recently, a federal court “tentatively and reluctantly endorsed its legality” prompting the company to expand into 18 additional markets this spring. (Matthews 2013)

I agree with the judge in this case.  This is a very fine line. Aereo claims to be free of the cable law, for he is retransmitting signals versus acting as a direct source.  However, Aereo is not transmitting channels that charge—if this were the case Id agree completely with the broadcasters. (Matthews 2013)

Azealia Banks’ vs. Perez Hilton

                            In an article on Vibe.com, there was discussion about Azealia Banks—a rapper and Perez Hilton.  Apparently, the two engaged in a twitter war, which resulted in a proposed lewd comment toward the LGBT community (Krishnamurthy 2013). Hilton interjected in a heated discussion between Banks and rapper Angel Haze, which resulted in Banks--open bi-sexual--tweeting a homophobic slur, “lol what a messy f----t you are,” to Hilton--open lesbian (Krishnamurthy 2013). The associate director from GLAAD, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, released a statement speaking toward the disappointment in Banks “…As far as we’ve come in this society, seeing it used by an artist many young people may look up to is painful, but even more so for those young fans, many of whom GLAAD has heard from” (Krishnamurthy 2013). In her defense, Banks declared the word was used in a non-violent matter.

            This article was used to display how sensitive one must be when in an angry place. In this case, Hilton was clearly in the wrong for interjecting in a dispute that had nothing to do with her.  While Banks feels as though the intent of use of the word was non-violent, it is hard to assume that others will not perceive it to be so. The author, Krishnamurthy, leads Banks to consider “What will designers like Alexander Wang or Karl Lagerfeld, who once backed the rapper, say now?” (Krishnamurthy 2013) While an official lawsuit is not in the works, a loss of money is sure to come. 

The aforementioned give lieu to the various legal liabilities that exist in the entertainment industry. Each case has a valid or possible violation of legality.  It is our desire that each of you would gain valuable insight and awareness from this article.

References

Boardman, Madeline. (2012, December 18) Alicia Keys' Lawsuit: Singer Accused of Copyright Infringement For 'Girl On Fire' Retrieved from Huff Post Entertainment: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/alicia-keys-lawsuit-copyright-infringement-girl-on-fire_n_2322080.html

Butler, Joy R. The Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Clearing Copyrights, Trademarks and Other Rights for Entertainment and Media Productions. VitalSource Technologies/MBS, 062007. <vbk:MBS1001866#page(56)>.

Krishnamurthy, Sowmya. (2013, January 9) Opinion: How much will Azealia Banks’ use of the "f-word" cost her? Retrieved from Vibe News: http://www.vibe.com/node/136617

Matthews, Bebeto. (2013 January 9) TV-Over-Internet Service Expands Despite Lawsuits. Retrieved from NorfolkDailyNews.com: http://www.norfolkdailynews.com/entertainment/tv-over-internet-service-expands-despite-lawsuits/article_261882ce-5a6e-11e2-baaa-0019bb30f31a.html