Practice Areas

Intellectual Property

The lifeblood of the broadcasting industry is content. Radio and television stations are constantly creating new content and repackaging existing printed, audio and visual material to engage listeners and viewers.  Maximizing the value of one’s content requires vigilance against authorized use; protecting yourself against legal liability requires knowledge of copyright and trademark laws. 

Attorneys at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, P.L.C. assist broadcasters and others on both sides of this equation.  We regularly advise and assist clients on protecting their content by filing required applications to register copyrights and trademarks at the federal and state level and taking necessary action when these rights are infringed, including litigating under relevant sections of the Copyright Act and trademark statutes, including those which protect against Cyber-Squatting.

The firm’s attorneys also counsel clients on avoiding liability for copyright and trademark infringement.  In this area, we:

·          Advise broadcast clients on the process of clearing rights for use of music in audio or video productions, including explanation of the processes by which the station will interact with the three performance rights organizations that license musical works for performance on radio and television. This includes determinations as to whether a certain use of audio or video would constitute a “fair use” under the United States Copyright Act.

·          Explain the somewhat confusing statutory license applicable to performance of sound recordings on the Internet (also known as web casting) to broadcasters and assist them in making royalty payments, adjusting over-the-air playlists to conform to the requirements of the statutory license when simulcating on the Internet and filing required records of songs performed. 

·          Assist clients wishing to take advantage of the designated “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which protect against liability for copyright infringements by third parties.