On Demand
Audio
Fair Use in Entertainment Law (Update)
Produced on February 07, 2019
Course Information
Course Description
At its core, the entertainment industry is based upon the development and exploitation of intellectual property – screenplays, music, dance, and video images, to name a few. Individuals and companies involved in entertainment should therefore have a basic familiarity with the laws protecting intellectual property, not just because they give guidance about protecting their rights in their own work, but because they also affect their ability to use the work of others. Creative artists are constantly riffing and expanding upon the images and ideas that they see and hear around them. But as a general matter of copyright law, only the person who creates the original work has the right to copy and/or use it. Is copyright infringed when one work contains quotes or “homages” to another? Does the copyright law mean that no one can ever use an artist’s work without that artist’s express permission? This presentation explores the concept of “fair use” and how it affects the rights of the originating artist and those of the artist who wants to use the work of another.
Authors Guild General Counsel Cheryl L. Davis covers the essentials of understanding basic IP principles and how “fair use” is being interpreted and applied in the entertainment industry. Davis addresses recent developments and issues in “fair use” analysis and discusses best practices to monitor both how your own IP is exploited as well as how you use the IP of others.
Learning Objectives:
- Examine intellectual property rights, including copyright, trademark, and patents
- Comprehend “fair use” principles and how they apply in both copyright and trademark law
- Become familiar with recent court decisions (such as Fox News v. TVEyes and Capitol Records LLC v. ReDigi Inc.) addressing various fair use issues in the entertainment industry
- Develop “best practices” for assessing when your IP can be used by others and when you can use the IP of others
Credit Information
Faculty
Cheryl Davis
The Authors Guild
Cheryl L. Davis is the General Counsel of the Authors Guild. She is a former partner at the firm of Menaker & Herrmann LLP, a general commercial practice firm in New York City. She is a litigator who concentrates in intellectual property matters (particularly copyright and trademark cases), employment, and real estate/construction related matters. She has counseled architects and design professionals on how to protect their intellectual property, and has made multiple industry presentations on the topic. She is also a co-author of Law for Architects: What You Need to Know.
Professional & Community Involvement:
- Diversity Co-Liaison of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries and Vice Chair of the Arts and Museums Committee of that Forum
- Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee for the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section for the New York State Bar Association
- General Counsel for the League of Professional Theatre Women
- Vice President of Theater Resources Unlimited, and a former member of the Theater Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts
- New York City Committee of the Law Firm Access to Justice Campaign Committee of Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, Inc.
- Participated in a NEA panel on Musical Theater
Representative Speaking Engagements:
- Panel Member in a program entitled “Architecture Law: Contract Negotiation, Intellectual Property and Claims” presented by Hudson Valley Bank
- Presentation on “Copyright and Intellectual Property Law” to National Academy of Neuropsychology
- Presentation on “Intellectual Property and Architects” (both live and webinar)
- Presentations on “Contracts, Options and Underlying Rights” and “Differences between Commercial and Not-for-Profit Theater” to theatrical producers, for which she was interviewed by NY1 (Theater Producers Strategize To Ensure Their Shows Go On)
- Presentations on employment issues, such as Social Media Concerns in 2015, Sexual Harassment and the “Employee Who Complains”
Publications:
- “Intellectual Property: A Two-Edged Sword,” Inside, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Fall 2012).
- “Building Your Business: Protecting Your Intellectual Property,” Form: Pioneering Design, August 2014.
- “Disputes in China,” Inside, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Winter 2012), co-written with Yao Fu Bailey.
- Contributed to Law for Architects: What You Need to Know.
Reviews
Great course- complex topic explained simply. Well done!
Very interesting and informative!
Excellent! Thank you
Wonderful! Very thorough and interesting.
Good presentation
Informative.
Thank you.
Contemporary and informative course materials.
She is a wonderful teacher!!! Excellent course!!!
Cheryl is always great!
Thank you.
great topic.
Very smart lady.