Author: Judith Finell

Sixth Edition Music Authorship in AI + Human Collaborations By Judith Finell Technology has been expanding the dissemination, audibility, andaccessibility of music since the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century.With Thomas Edison and others, the advent of sound recordings revolutionized thefield, along with wax cylinders, phonographs, amplification, player pianos, radio,digitization, and more. […]

Fifth Edition Coming Next: AI Generative Music Issues By Judith Finell Since the invention of the printing press in 1440, technology and music have had a symbiotic relationship. Technology has both enabled widespread growth and access to musical expression, while also fighting to loosen the controls over its financial and artistic expression. This conflict escalated […]

Fourth Edition New and Noteworthy: Recent Developments in Music and Copyright By Judith Finell Unlicensed Tweets? There has been long-standing pressure from the music industry to require Twitter to pay for and license music on its platform. According to David Israelite (President and CEO of The National Music Publishers’ Association), Twitter “stands alone as the […]

Interview with Desiree Talley By Judith Finell and Don Franzen Your Inside Track’s co-editors, Judith Finell and Don Franzen, recently interviewed attorney Desiree Talley about the use of lyrics agaisnt rap artists in criminal cases. This interview occurred on September 1, 2022. Since then, the California Assembly Bill discussed has been enacted into law by […]

Third Edition Interview with Richard Busch Part II By Judith Finell Part I of the interview appeared in the Second Edition of Your Inside Track™ Newsletter. Split between the 9th Circuit and 6th Circuit on Bridgeport v. Dimension Films Judith Finell What do you think about the circuit split between the 9th Circuit and the […]

Third Edition Frenemies: Collaboration and Conflict between Music Creators and Digital Platforms Ingenuity and technology continue to partner in making music more central to our lives. The pandemic has been a catalyst for new platforms for musical expressivity and circulation. With such social media as TikTok, the building of international audiences continues to expand beyond […]

Second Edition Interview with Richard Busch Part I By Judith Finell Legal Career Development, Client Relationships, and Milestones Judith Finell I wanted to talk a little bit about your career, because some of the people reading this will be embarking on a legal career or are in law school. I’d love to hear what you […]

Second Edition Transcending the Inverse Ratio Rule: Musicological Hierarchies Continue to Apply Judith Finell, Musicologist Clear and convincing evidence of access will not avoid the necessity of also proving substantial similarity since access without similarity cannot create an inference of copying. (2 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 14.3~4 at 634.) […]

First Edition Inverse Ratio Rule By Judith Finell The “inverse ratio rule” applies the premise that the greater the access to the music allegedly copied, the lower the standards for a determination of substantial similarity between the musical works at issue. While access opportunities may provide for a path toward circumstantial proof of copying, access […]