Episode 10: Music Streaming and DMCA Requests; Trademarks in Craft Beer Industry
The Fordham IPLJ Podcast tackles two different topics this week. First, Online Editor Anthony Zangrillo and James Sammataro, Managing Partner of Stroock, Stroock, & Lavan’s Miami office discuss the increase in DMCA takedown requests associated with the increase in music streaming subscribers.
According to Google’s Transparency Report, the tech giant is now fielding more than 24 million individual takedown requests per day, compared to 11.2 million last year and 1.7 million in 2012. This equates to a 115.2% increase in one year and a 14-fold increase in just four years. While Google believes that this unprecedented growth pattern is a signal that the takedown process is working efficiently, the music industry sees the situation as an unbeatable game of whack-a-mole that’s only getting worse.
James states that content holders want “a system of notice and stay-down.” This advocates a policy to identify and stamp out repeat offenders, while also shifting the burden away from content holders to police the marketplace. James mentions that the current system follows the policy that “with great rewards, comes great obligations [for content holders].” Despite the role that artists and their music play in attracting eyeballs to search engines and content platforms, there remains a large gap between the financial state of the music and technology industries: Google, for example, is valued at just under $500 billion while the entire recorded record industry is valued at around $15 billion. For more, visit: http://www.fordhamiplj.org/2016/11/15/dmca_takedown_requests_music_streaming/
Secondly, Staff Member Christina Sauerborn and Attorney Jordan Greenberger discuss the trademark troubles in the Craft Beer Industry. he craft beer industry has exploded over the past decade, representing a twelve percent market share of the beer industry overall. With more than 4,600 breweries now in the United States, increased competition finds craft breweries turning to litigation to protect their brands. Additionally, because beer trademarks are lumped into the same international trademark class as non-alcoholic beverages, for new entrants to the beverage industry, finding a non-infringing trademark is even more difficult. Because trademark disputes are often extremely costly, most of them are resolved out of court.
The collaborative community spirit within the industry has also encouraged alternative, sometimes unconventional forms of dispute resolution. Such solutions can generate goodwill and allow breweries to capitalize on what could otherwise become a protracted, expensive legal battle. Another workaround that can be used to navigate trademark disputes is a “coexistence agreement,” where two or more parties consent to one another’s registrations and mutually plan how they will distinguish themselves in the marketplace. However, the existence of such an agreement does not automatically tip the scale away from finding a likelihood of confusion. Thriving perhaps the most in this changing landscape? The self-described “craft beer attorneys,” some of whom have authored blogs and books to educate new entrants to the industry. With new breweries popping up almost daily, there remains a steady flow of trademark questions for this niche group of lawyers. For more visit: http://www.fordhamiplj.org/2016/11/08/trademark-craft-beer-industry/
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