A decade-old legal dispute over a 29-second YouTube clip featuring a baby dancing to a barely audible Prince tune may not have its day before the Supreme Court, at least if the nine justices take the suggestion of the Justice Department. [More]
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Supreme Court Asks Feds To Chime In On Decade-Old “Dancing Baby” YouTube Case
By 10.31.16
A nearly decade-long copyright dispute over a silly YouTube video of a baby dancing to a barely audible Prince song continues, with the U.S. Supreme Court now asking for the federal government to give its thoughts on the matter. [More]
“Dancing Baby” YouTube Lawsuit May Go Before Supreme Court
By 8.12.16
The nearly decade-long legal battle over a 29-second YouTube clip of a toddler dancing to a barely discernible Prince song may end up going before the Supreme Court after free speech advocates representing the mother who shot that video petitioned the nation’s highest court. [More]
Appeals Court Makes Important Ruling In “Dancing Baby” Copyright Case
By 9.14.15
By now, you’ve probably heard about the “Dancing Baby” lawsuit, involving a botched attempt by Universal Music to have YouTube remove a video 29-second video of a playful toddler because a Prince song can be heard in the background. Today a federal appeals court sided on one important issue with that kid’s mother, who is suing Universal, claiming the music giant overstepped the law by not considering that the background music falls under the umbrella of an acceptable fair use. [More]
Universal Music Group: Throwing Away Promotional CDs Is An "Unauthorized Distribution"
By 4.10.08
All promotional CDs are forever the property of Universal Music Group and giving or throwing them away are “unauthorized distributions,” according to a brief filed by UMG. In a lawsuit filed in federal court, UMG claims that ownership rights to promotional CDs, typically sent to DJs, reviewers, and others in the music business to generate hype for new releases, are expressly retained by the label. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is taking up the fight against this absurd position in UMG v. Augusto.
RIAA Accused Of Extortion and Conspiracy
By 6.4.07
According to Recording Industry vs The People, a new RIAA case in Tampa, Florida has some interesting counterclaims by the consumer, including extortion, conspiracy, and deceptive trade practices.
In the case of UMG v. Del Cid, the defendant has filed the following five (5) counterclaims against the RIAA, under Florida, federal, and California law:
