Copyright & Media Update

July 8, 2016

Mike Huckabee Settles for $25,000 Over “Eye of the Tiger” Copyright Infringement

BY TIMOTHY GEIGNER: If you’ll recall, back when the American presidential campaign was still in full swing and we weren’t all left with only two candidates that basically distill the concept of the lesser of two evils argument for voter participation, Mike Huckabee held a rally for Kim Davis and played Eye of the Tiger by Survivor to introduce her. While there was enough wrong in the entire episode to fill up many, many pages, Techdirt focused first on Frank Sullivan of Survivor’s lawsuit against Huckabee for copyright infringement. READ MORE…

Publishing Industry Expresses Disappointment Over DOJ Ruling

BY ED CHRISTMAN:For over two years, music publishers and songwriters have petitioned the Dept. of Justice for changes to the 75-year-old rules they were governed by, requesting amendments in order to stave off dwindling royalty rates caused, in their view, by antiquated U.S. government regulations. Last week, in a decision one executive said would result in a “a clusterf—k of epic proportions,” the DoJ announced that it would instead impose further rules on music publishers and songwriters — all who now fear a further recession for their royalties. READ MORE…

7 Misconceptions About Copyrights and Infringement

BY KIM GARST: The topic of copyright and infringement is an important one, especially if you own and operate a website or blog where you use images that are not your own. If you think this doesn’t apply to you, think again. There is a very good chance that you have an image on your site that violates copyright law. Whether on purpose or by accident, if you are caught you run the risk of getting sued. So…being proactive and being informed is extremely important. READ MORE…

The 3 Best Sites for Free, Legal Stock Photos

By JONATHAN BAILEY: Fortunately, more and more people are growing wise to the fact that it’s a terrible idea to use Google to search for stock images. While there are searches that you can perform to find legal images to use, just pulling up Google Image Search and typing in a keyword will turn up copyrighted images that are not available for free use on your site. READ MORE…

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Christian ministries “do music right.” CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches, as well as representation, administration and advocacy for copyright owners. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.