Self-Serving Post: The [Legal] Artist Made The ABA Journal's Top 100 Blog List For 2015

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Every year the American Bar Association Journal picks its top 100 legal blogs for its Blawg 100 directory. This year, The [Legal] Artist made the cut. It's gratifying to know that there are people outside of my circle of family and friends who read and enjoy this blog.  I don't know what the future holds for The [Legal] Artist, but I know the last three years have been an extraordinary experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. 

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In Brief: Taylor Swift Kicks Apple In The Nuggets, Is Proclaimed Savior Of Music By All [UPDATED]

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As everyone knows, Apple has a new Spotify/Tidal/Rdio/Pandora killer coming out this fall called Apple Music. In order to entice consumers, it will give everyone who signs up a free 3-month membership. But since Apple will receive no compensation in this time, neither will any of the artists featured on it. "That dog won't hunt," said Taylor Swift, probably.

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A Brief Review of Important Matters: Beastie Boys Legal Fees, Amazon vs. the FAA, and Trump vs. Young

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Amazon (among other large companies) is calling on Congress to limit restrictions on commercial drone flights so that it can continue to push forward it's harebrained drone-delivery system. The FAA's current proposed drone rule still carries pretty hefty limitations and would all but decimate Amazon's desire to fill the skies with box-carrying robots.

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A Brief Review of Important Matters: Artist Uses Social Media To Fight Infringer, Comcast's Terrible Deal, and James Bond Needs A New Home

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It will now be harder for victims of online harassment to pursue criminal actions against their tormentors. In a 7-2 decision that came down this month, the Court ruled in Elonis vs. United States that a person making a threat on social media has to possess an objective intent to threaten a victim. It's not good enough for the victim to believe the threat to be real. No, the threatener must also believe that the threat is real, even if they ultimately decide not to carry it out. While the idea of intent (or mens rea) has forever been a staple of criminal law, the actual effect, mainly on women, is hard to ignore.

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A Brief Review of Important Matters: Copyright vs Actors, Godzilla vs Nacho, and DC vs Rihanna

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Toho Studios, the owner and creator of Godzilla, is suing Voltage Pictures over a monster movie it is producing starring Anne Hathaway. The film, entitled "Colossal," will feature Hathaway as a woman whose mind is connected to a giant lizard that is destroying Tokyo. Haha what??!! You kind of have to respect the audacity to run with an idea that sounds like it came from someone's drug-induced fever dream.

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A Brief Review of Extremely Important Matters: Sports Leagues Banning Live-Streaming Apps, Getty Wanting Amateurs, Hollywood's Gender Bias, and Other Miscellany

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A lot of people are unhappy about the Mayweather-Pacquaio fight, and not because Pacquiao lost. The fight of the century was rebroadcast on Periscope and Meerkat, the live-streaming apps, allowing people to watch the fight for free instead of ponying up the $100 pay-per-view fees. Now, the PGA and NHL are banning the apps outright and threatening any live-streamers with infringement suits.

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A Brief Review of Extremely Important Matters: Release Forms, Drones, and Other Miscellany

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My latest Cinema Law column for Moviemaker Magazine is out and deals with whether or not to get waivers from background people and passers-by when they walk through your shot. I won't give it all away here (you have to go to the article to hear what I have to say), but I will say this: you probably don't need to be as diligent as I used to be back in my days as a young producer. Head over to Moviemaker Magazine to check it out in full!

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