Leibovitz Finds a New Creditor to Take Copyrights as Collateral

By: Ian McClure

According to a recent Bloomberg article titled "How Leibovitz Found New Partner for $24 Million Debt, Archive", Anne Leibovitz has apparently left her financial troubles behind with Art Capital and has solicited a new creditor, to the tune of $24 million, for her lifetime catalog of copyrights.  According to the article, L.A.-based private equity firm Colony Capital, LLC is willing to take on her $24 million debt to Art Capital, and the contract will be collateralized by Leibovitz's archive of about 100,000 ... Read More

Categories: Today in IP

Message from the Battlefield: Properly Secure Intangible Assets Before Managing Them

By: Ian McClure
masterlock-main_full

Consider a hypothetical:  Imagine you are the CEO and sole owner of a new business enterprise.  You hire a few employees who will have some innovative roles within your business model, whereby they may have some opportunities to create original work product that will be important to your business' success.  This work product may be a process, a technology, a marketing plan, a human resource protocol, a work of art, or a memorandum.  Now assume that, a few years down the road, ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus, Patent Prospects

When an international IP legal regime and an old business model clash: the book publishing industry

By: Ian McClure
books

It happened to the music industry. The business model was ripe for reform, but the industry players didn't want to change. So, the radicals changed it anyways, going digital and online, and the players still won't let go. The book publishing industry held on as long as they could, but digitization and online access is here. Google is the radical in this case. The issue is the same as it was/is in music: the industry is using copyrights and copyright holders as its ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus

Disney Pays Premium for Marvel Intellectual Property

By: Ian McClure
marvel_logo

You've heard the news.  Disney is paying $4 Billion for Marvel's intellectual property portfolio, including 5,000 characters, but the deal will leave a few licensing deals for movies and toys in place without substitution.  According to the the NY Times, "[t]he deal was valued at about $50 a share, a 29 percent premium. On Monday, Marvel shares shot up 25 percent to $48.37."  Some believe the premium paid for the IP is too much.   Nevertheless, there may be implications on the wider M&A market ... Read More

Categories: Today in IP

U.S. Copyright Industries Continue to Have Positive Impact on U.S. Economy

By: Ian McClure
iipa

Proof that our economy continues to evolve into a knowledge economy. In the most recent report in a series of 12 released by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), it is confirmed that U.S. Copyright Industries continue to add value to the U.S. Economy and GDP, outperforming many other industries. According to the report: " . . . in 2007 the gross consumption expenditures and investments of the entire U.S. federal government (a much broader measure than value added) were $979.3 billion. This figure is only ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus, Today in IP

Supreme Court Leaves 2nd Circuit Cablevision Decision In Place

By: Ian McClure
cablevision

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision which may allow lower-cost use of DVR services without cable boxes.  Cablevision Systems Corporation allows users to record television shows on Cablevision's central computer servers, instead of on cable boxes in the user's home.  This allows more space for recordings, and eliminates the cost of installing cable boxes to store the recordings.  Cablevisions system was challenged by a number of television networks, who allege that the ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus, Today in IP

Copyright as an Asset During Insolvency

By: Ian McClure
3d_copyright

IP Finance posted a great informational blog today explaining the inherent characteristics of a copyright in the hands of a business, specifically during insolvency.  Some of the references to particular statutes should be disregarded if you are a U.S. reader, but the gist is the same under any copyright law system.  Of interest is the section on Assignment and Sale of copyright licenses.  Read the entire post HERE Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus, Today in IP

Can You Copyright a Tweet, Continued.

By: Ian McClure
birdandt_tcm18-151058

A while back I had a few discussions with attorneys regarding whether you could copyright a tweet on Twitter. The discussion was sparked when it was announced that start-ups were trying to capitalize on Twitter by creating ways to monetize the 140-character "tweets" created by millions of users worldwide. This was inevitable, because when money is involved, property ownership becomes more important. If ownership of subject matter determines who gets paid a portion of any proceeds produced by that subject matter, of ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus

Justice Department Begins Antitrust Probe Into Google Publishing Deal

By: Ian McClure
books1

A NYT article broke the news that lawyers for the Justice Department have begun discussions with groups that oppose the book deal that Google struck with publishers and authors to place their books on Google's massive online library.  The license agreements, says its opposition, would lend Google the exclusive right to exploit this literature online.  According to the article, conversations have begun between the Justice Department and groups such as the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild, but the Department has not ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus, Today in IP

Documentary - Lawrence Lessig, copyright, and remix culture

By: Ian McClure
user_photo_opensourcecinema156

I'm a little late on this one, but in case you missed it: This documentary film was forwarded to me by my father, a professor/academician/scholar/ and self-pronounced egghead who specializes in the relationships between philosophy, theology, ethics, popular culture and preaching.  The film, a product of Open Source Cinema, is called "RiP: A remix Manifesto", and touts itself as  . . . an open source documentary about copyright and remix culture. Created over a period of six years, the film features the collaborative remix work ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus