Category: Media

Should the Media Use Official Portraits When Reporting Misconduct?

Allen Murabayashi

Two police officers in Georgia were fired after videos showing them brutally beating a motorist spread like a wildfire on social media. A criminal investigation has been initiated over their conduct, and photos of the two officers have emerged in the media. The official police portraits from the Gwinnett County Police paint a radically different […]

The post Should the Media Use Official Portraits When Reporting Misconduct? appeared first on DIY Photography.

The evolving shift in the employer/talent business model

Attorney Matthew B. Harrison

By Matthew B. Harrison SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –– We are in the early stages of a significant shift in the way radio station owners/operators will be managing and paying for content creation. It is becoming increasingly important for radio talent to take stock of their current business relationship with their employers and consider these changes when […]

The era of intellectual property law

Attorney Matthew B. Harrison

By Matthew B. Harrison SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –– In a recent article, Michael Harrison predicted that Intellectual Property Law would dominate talk radio’s legal concerns in the era that is unfolding. (It is filed at www.talkers.com under Michael Harrison and is titled “The Ticking of the Clock.”) As talk programming evolves into new means of digital […]

Rihanna settles with LaChapelle

Attorney Matthew B. Harrison

Pop singer Rihanna has settled the copyright dispute with photographer David LaChapelle. LaChapelle had claimed the music video for the singer’s single ‘S&M’ contained elements similar enough to his photos for it to infringe his copyright. In July a New York judge rejected Rihanna’s lawyer’s attempts to have the case dismissed on the basis of […]

Copyright News Roundup

Attorney Matthew B. Harrison

Copyright News Update: Rapper 50 Cent has another notch in his court battle belt as a federal judge in Newark dismissed an infringement allegation against both himself and his record label, G-Unit. The plaintiff, author Shadrach Winstead, claimed the rapper plagiarized his book, The Preacher’s Son – But the Streets Have Turned Me Into a […]

The Idea / Expression Dichotomy

Attorney Matthew B. Harrison

By Matthew B. Harrison SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –– Good talk radio hosts draw upon multiple sources for material. News, media, pop culture and their own lives and interests are standard sources for talking points. In today’s digital world two pressing legal questions should be on your mind: 1) How difficult is it to infringe upon someone’s […]

Putting it out there without giving it away

Attorney Matthew B. Harrison

By Matthew B. Harrison, Esq. Photos & The Law dot com as originally published in issue 219 of TALKERS magazine SPRINGFIELD, MA — On May 16th, at 6:30 am Stefanie Gordon boarded a Delta flight from New York to Palm Beach. Somewhere along the flight, out the window of her airplane seat, she took a […]

Understanding Audio Content Ownership Rights

Attorney Matthew B. Harrison

by Matthew B. Harrison, Esq. Harrison Legal Group SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –– Understanding ownership rights of audio content is one of the more common issues to cross my desk. While most of the information that exists on the topic, including court cases and their analysis, is centered on music-based audio, the rules can be similarly applied […]