PA Governor Executive Order to Temporarily Suspend Evictions and Foreclosures

Today, the Pennsylvania Governor issued an executive order which purports to suspend all evictions and mortgage foreclosure actions until July 7, 2020. This is following an order from the PA Supreme Court which previously extended such a moratorium to June 1, 2020. Query why the Supreme Court did not take this action.

Needless to say, this is an absolutely monumental exertion of executive authority, completely unlike anything I have seen in my career or lifetime. With the stroke of a pen, the Governor for the moment has intervened in the administration of every residential lease and mortgage transaction in the Commonwealth.

Read more

Copyright Update for Photographers & Content Creators

Professional photographers and content creators on Instagram: your professional lives just got more difficult.

Did you know that when you post your photographs on Instagram, under Instagram’s Terms of Service, you “grant[ed] to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to the content that [he/she] post[s] on or through [Instagram]”? According to the District Court for the Southern District of New York, you are doing exactly that.

As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details: Instagram’s Terms of Use.

Read more

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Pauses Evictions and Foreclosures Through April 30

We are living in extraordinary times. The wheels of justice are, for a time, pausing. On April 1, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued the Second Supplemental Order (“Order”) relating to judicial operations as affected by the coronavirus crisis through April 30th. This Order affects every landlord, mortgage holder and taxing authority in Pennsylvania.

Read more

Second Session Announced: Videoconference Exploring the Ninth Circuit’s Ruling in Tresona v. Burbank High School Music Boosters

Due to demand, On Friday, April 3rd at 3:30pm eastern, there will be a second videoconference on the Ninth Circuit’s decision, which I broke down initially here. The videoconference will be interactive, and will address questions from music educators about how the field of copyright law has significantly shifted this this court ruling.

Copyright Litigation: Victory for Music Educator and Music Boosters in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

The Burbank High School show choir, which was the basis for the television series Glee, has been involved in a long running copyright litigation battle waged by Tresona Multimedia, LLC (“Tresona”). A significant decision was published earlier today by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is embedded below. This is a fact intensive post, so please read closely.

Summary: Tresona is a music licensing company. Burbank (Ca.) High School has several show choirs. In 2017, Tresona filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Brett Carroll, the Burbank HS choir director, the Burbank HS Vocal Music Association Boosters Club, several Booster Club parents. Why the plaintiff chose to name the individuals, particularly the Booster Club parents, is a mystery.

All of the facts that follow are integral to the result that the Court reached: The performers are Burbank High School students. Because the costs of the ensemble are not covered by the School District’s budget, the Boosters Club (a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization) holds several fundraising concerts. One of these is an annual show choir competition. The Boosters sell tickets and advertisements in the programs for these events.

During one particular such fundraiser, one of the Burbank HS choirs performed a two minute excerpt of “Magic”, by Olivia Newtown-John. Burbank’s performance of “Magic” was contained in a medley of other songs. Similarly, Burbank HS performed a sixteen second excerpt of “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warner, which runs four minutes and twenty two seconds in total.

Read more