Joseph Fishman
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jpfishman.bsky.social
Joseph Fishman
@jpfishman.bsky.social
Professor at Vanderbilt Law School & Blair School of Music

Researching intellectual property, creativity, & music.

https://law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/?pid=joseph-fishman
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
🚨BREAKING: Federal judge concludes that using copyrighted works to train generative A.I. is transformative and ultimately a fair use. (Nevertheless, Anthropic can’t beat the lawsuit because it pirated books for another purpose too.) First of kind ruling. www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...
Bartz
www.documentcloud.org
June 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
“no coincidence [Trump] acted less than a day after [Perlmutter] refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.” www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
Trump fires top U.S. copyright official
Democrats are alleging foul play.
www.politico.com
May 11, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
I bet this list of law firms signing onto an amicus brief in support of Perkins Coie will be passed around by law students. They’ll note the absentees. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
April 4, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
12 copyright infringement actions vs. OpenAI and Microsoft will be consolidated to one court in Southern District of New York
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
April 4, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Thrilled to be hosting the 2nd Annual Vanderbilt Music Law Summit tomorrow!

Featuring panels on streaming fraud and the future of PROs, a keynote from Concord CEO Bob Valentine, an update from the Copyright Office, and more.

⬇️ Check it out here:
law.vanderbilt.edu/music-law-su...
Music Law Summit - Vanderbilt Law School
Vanderbilt Law is excited to host the 2025 Music law Summit: The Future of Music Rights and Enforcement on April 3, 2025.
law.vanderbilt.edu
April 2, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Extremely proud to be a Jenner alum
Jenner & Block, truly one of the preeminent law firms in America today, sued the Department of Justice and essentially the entire Federal Government this morning in a devastating 64-page complaint,
March 28, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
To state the obvious, Jenner is drawing a VERY sharp contrast with Paul Weiss and other Big Law firms capitulating to Trump. They're mounting a full-court press against the administration with the coordinated lawsuit and statement declaring their intent to fight this to the end and win. Refreshing!
March 28, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
Read Jenner & Block's lawsuit challenging Trump's unconstitutional assault on their firm.👇 Very glad to see Jenner fighting back. They're represented by Cooley, which is taking a risk here too.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
March 28, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
I have been looking forward to this Passover graphic novel for years, ever since I first heard the idea from Dara Horn. Can't wait to finally read it!
Dara Horn returns to history — and literature — after Oct. 7
The writer, who was thrust into the world of antisemitism with ‘People Love Dead Jews,’ sees modern Jewish struggles reflected in her new Passover graphic novel
jewishinsider.com
February 28, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
The lead prosecutor on the Adams investigation - Hagan Scotten - resigns from SDNY.

“I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion [to dismiss Adams charges]. But it was never going to me.”

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Read the Resignation Letter From Hagan Scotten
Hagan Scotten, an assistant U.S. attorney, wrote to Emil Bove, acting deputy attorney general, refusing to drop the case against Mayor Eric Adams.
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
This tracks with everything I've covered for years. It's not in people's heads: America is getting more antisemitic, and that starts with the young. When people focus on antisemitic politicians, they need to grasp that in a democracy, those politicians are downstream from voters.
Explicit antisemitic attitudes are now much more common among young voters - 18 year old registered voters are now ~5x more likely to say that they have an unfavorable view of the Jewish people than 65 year olds.
February 9, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
Man I wish I were Noone
All I’m saying is I think way more lawyers should be ending your letters with “we will chase them to the end of the Earth to hold them accountable.” Really has a certain ring to it.
February 7, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Like Universal, Warner now also sidesteps Spotify's "bundled" payouts under the statutory mechanical license by entering into a direct deal with it.

variety.com/2025/digital...
Warner Music Announces New Deals With Spotify and Amazon as Part of Mixed Earnings Report
Warner Music struck a new deal with Spotify ending the companies’ disputes over a 'bundling' subscription option, as part of a mixed earnings report.
variety.com
February 6, 2025 at 6:24 PM
This is a very good explanation of a very dense topic. Copyright folks, if you're not already following @wordsbykristin.bsky.social, you should be.
What’s the drama between Spotify and songwriters/music publishers?

If you need a full debrief, I gotchu. I made a TikTok explaining it in great detail

www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2rN2jSn/
Spotify and songwriters/publishers have had a hard time getting along… what’s the story?
TikTok video by Kristin Robinson - Billboard
www.tiktok.com
February 6, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Sorry @apublicgood.bsky.social but I won’t miss this gif
a basketball player with the number 22 on his jersey is giving a thumbs up
ALT: a basketball player with the number 22 on his jersey is giving a thumbs up
media.tenor.com
February 6, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
Following Chappell Roan's Grammy speech, I've seen a few people advocating for "fair wages" for recording artists, including proposals to make them employees. There's lots of ways record companies should be doing better, but I'd caution against recording artists being employees.
February 4, 2025 at 10:27 PM
I'm pleased to have contributed to this @bloomberglaw.com video explainer on music copyright disputes.

If you'd like a concise summary of the Ed Sheeran case (or just a palate cleanser from the rest of your timeline these days), check it out:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVPM...
Marvin Gaye, Ed Sheeran & the 'Blurred Lines' of Music Copyright
YouTube video by Bloomberg Law
www.youtube.com
February 4, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Last week, a court dismissed the MLC's lawsuit against Spotify over its bundling of music+audiobooks. MLC called it a sham to reduce music royalties, but court ruled the governing reg clearly allowed it. Meanwhile, UMG sidesteps the issue via a direct deal.
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/spoti...
Spotify's Court Win Exposes Gap in Streaming Royalty Debate
Spotify USA Inc.’s victory over claims it contrived the premium subscription plan to reduce songwriter royalties creates a blueprint for other streaming services and leaves publishers scrambling for r...
news.bloomberglaw.com
February 4, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
Spotify + UMG made a deal which sources say helps pay UMPG + its songwriters better than b4. Good for them.

This opens the door for other big pubs + their writers to get similar deals. Also, good...but what about the indies? Do they get left behind?

My analysis:
www.billboard.com/pro/spotify-...
The Spotify/UMG Deal Signals Hope for Publishers — What Comes Next?
Spotify's new direct deal with the Universal Music Group is good news for publishers and songwriters. Will other companies get to benefit as well?
www.billboard.com
January 30, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Reposted by Joseph Fishman
You used to call me on my self-own
Drake just signed a legal document acknowledging "Not Like Us" did him great harm.

Is this not the biggest defeat in hip-hop history?
November 26, 2024 at 2:18 AM
This is a really, really good explainer on the Miley Cyrus motion to dismiss in the Flowers lawsuit, & the mess that is 9th Cir law on when a copyright co-owner can sue an alleged infringer without the the other co-owners’ involvement
NEW: My deep dive into Miley Cyrus's surprising new motion to dismiss the "Flowers" copyright infringement lawsuit, and a look at the controversial precedent that creates hurdles for enforcing co-owned copyrights. Up now on Copyright Lately!

copyrightlately.com/flowers-copy...

#copyright #music
'Flowers' Copyright Case Gets Tangled In Ninth Circuit's Weeds
Miley Cyrus’s new motion to dismiss the 'Flowers' lawsuit highlights the Ninth Circuit’s flawed approach to copyright standing for co-owners.
copyrightlately.com
November 25, 2024 at 6:27 PM
Starting soon!
One week until our *livestreamed* roundtable at #ams24, "Forensic Musicology Now." Friday 11.15 4-5:30pm CT, registration is free:
Forensic Musicology Now - AMS 2024 Annual Meeting
search.app
November 15, 2024 at 9:27 PM
Excited to be in Chicago for the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society, where I’ll be speaking about forensic musicologists’ increasingly significant role in music copyright disputes.

chicago2024.ams-net.org
Home - AMS 2024 Annual Meeting
chicago2024.ams-net.org
November 15, 2024 at 2:16 AM