This is not about copyright infringement. It’s about how not to get effed by your own entertainment lawyer.
I hope my artist friends will check it out, and I hope it helps.
What the “Blurred Lines” Lawyer Taught All Artists
For a minute, forget about the “Blurred Lines” verdict, the lyrics and whether or not you love Marvin Gaye.
The New York Times just ran a profile on Richard S. Busch, the lawyer who won the $7.4 million case for the Gaye estate.
In explaining how he did it, Busch says something I hope all artists caught:
“By being on the outside,” he said, “everyone who hires me knows that they get 100 percent of my loyalty.”
Why is that noteworthy? Because there’s an assumption that you can hire an entertainment attorney — that’s the guy on your side, remember — and not get 100 percent of his/her loyalty.
It’s pretty hard to win a legal battle with a lawyer who might not be riding with you. You’d think loyalty was a given, but, as Busch casually explains it, that’s not the case.
Read on at Cuepoint.