Entertainment Legal Questions

The answer depends on the DJ and on the source of the music and the location of the event. It may be that the venue is licensed through performing rights organizations (PRO) to have music performances. That would usually include such things as radio, live bands, live DJs, and other sources of music performances in the venue. The venue or DJ should be submitting a cue sheet or list of songs to the PRO after each event. Whether the DJ has been licensed to do whatever it is that is being done to the music, that is a question you'd need to ask the DJ. Each DJ runs their business differently and some are more legal than others. If you are holding your party at a venue that has not bought music licensing from PROs and if your DJ has also not bothered to get licensed through the PROs and for use of the music through the copyright holders, then the music is most likely not licensed.... Read Answer

If you own mansions and plan to run such a business, your group should hire a lawyer who will work with you on these issues. Offhand, I think you will need proper zoning, proper parking, an entertainment license, event insurance, alcohol licensing, and proper security. The zoning is probably going to stop you dead in your tracks. But hire a lawyer and work closely with them and have them on call for the entire life of the business.... Read Answer

Your sense that this is a cloudy issue is accurate. It is not lawyers who decide if something is illegal, but legislators and courts. If an attorney general thinks something is illegal, they might try some test cases and you surely do not want to be one of the people that gets snagged. There is no lawyer who can tell you that you will be safe, although usually it would be the owners of such a company that would be in trouble first.... Read Answer

This is a good question. I have answered questions on this site that are very similar to yours. You may want to look those up. You should work closely with a lawyer on your business project. Your exact needs will depend on the exact county, city, state and building where you will hold each party. It will also depend on whether your organization is a for profit, a nonprofit, a church, a school, or some other type of entity. It also depends on what sort of entertainment your group is providing, particularly if any of the entertainment is considered adult or sex entertainment. Any adult or sex based entertainment creates many more limitations and requirements. For any sort of gathering, two major factors are parking and insurance. In many locations, you will need to provide for parking nearby. That can be anything from letting the guests know where they can find nearby parking lots, to providing valet service, to shuttling guests in from a distant parking lot. In almost all locations, you will need to buy insurance to cover the event and name the owners of the building as being co-insured. Many buildings have an insurance company already and will be able to connect you up with a policy for a few hundred dollars. Other locations will require you to have insurance, but will leave you on your own to find it. Typical insurance amounts are one or two million dollars, which, depending on the nature of the gathering, will range from several hundred dollars on up. Insurance companies will refuse to insure any event or group that sounds too risky. Most places will require you to hire the security company that they work with regularly. Most locations also limit catering to companies they have approved. Buildings develop exclusive contracts with specific vendors for security, catering, bartending, valets, coat check, sound and lighting, and other such services. All of these considerations I have listed sound complex, but are not really. Work with a lawyer. Once you get the hang of running such events, all these considerations will come easily. Most potential venues have an events person on staff and that person can work it all out for you. In places that are experienced venues, it may be very simple and all you need to do is provide enough money, while the venue will provide everything you need. Consider calling a few potential event venues and speaking with them about what you want to do. They can give you an idea of the feasibility and costs involved. That sort of information gathering will be very valuable to you in formulating your business plans. Your events should be so well-planned and well-organized that they appear to the guests to be effortless.... Read Answer

It sounds like you may very well have a case against your mother and possibly against the bank and possibly against others who allowed this situation. You should definitely book up an appointment with a reputable law firm that does litigation in this field and allow them to analyze the situation. They will need to ask you many questions and look at this closely. That is your first step. Taking that first step means you are gathering information. Once you have the information, you can decide from there what to do.... Read Answer

When you sell a used CD, you are not making a copy of it. You are selling a hard physical thing and you no longer have it. If you were to sell a used digital copy, you would be making a copy of it. There is no other way to transfer a digital copy than to transfer a copy of it to someone else. Since you are making a copy, that violates Copyright law, which gives the right to copy to the owner of the copyright on the sound recording. Therefore, selling a digital copy of a song you bought legally is illegal.... Read Answer

Since you are starting businesses and LLCs, you should really hire a business lawyer and consult with the lawyer on these and other issues. You should not consider trying to register a trademark, except with a lawyer doing it for you. Every business needs a lawyer. Put a lawyer in your budget and include it in your funding.... Read Answer

Contact the game company and tell them what you want to do. You cannot do it without their written permission because you would be using the name of their fame, their trademarks, and possibly their character photos, on which they own the trademark and copyright. The company might very well say yes if you present yourself in a professional, organized manner. If you run the tournament without their permission, you risk they will send you a Cease and Desist letter and wreck all your fun midstream. On the other hand, if they like you and what you plan to do, the tournament could be good publicity for their game. Go ahead and contact the company. You won't know till you try.... Read Answer

Yes, you should copyright your music. It is inexpensive and registration offer you protection that being unregistered does not. There are several types of copyrights you might need. Feel free to contact me for a free consultation and I can give you a quote once I have more information.... Read Answer

An adult entertainment business that is online is extremely different from one that is in person. An in person business is located in one location, which means the laws of one state, one county, one city or suburb. An online business is located everywhere in the world. Since you are located in the U.S., you need to be concerned mainly with the laws of the U.S. In running an online business, you must be aware of federal laws, such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Communications Decency Act, and laws regarding pornography, obscenity, privacy laws, and many more. You also need to be concerned with the laws of every state, or be gearing to the strictest laws in the nation. Obscenity is illegal, and material can be adjudged to be obscene at the place where it is received or viewed, not just at the place where it is produced or sent. Also, in an in person business, you can easily control access as to who enters. In an online business, anyone can enter and you do not actually know if the person is under 18 or anything about that person. You need to be very careful. So what kind of lawyer do you need? Someone who knows these laws and someone you will listen to. Please be aware that when people get in trouble regarding pornography or obscenity, they usually get in terrible trouble. The stakes are very high. Get a lawyer who will nitpick with the laws to keep you out of trouble.... Read Answer

You need to talk to a lawyer about this as soon as possible. There are many questions that will be asked. Do you have a contract with these friends? Where are they getting your words and concepts? Are they using your name? Did you ever write or record your ideas? To gain copyright on your words or ideas, all you need to do is set them into tangible form. You can simply put your words and ideas into writing or make a recording. You can then register copyright online on the U.S. Copyright website which costs thirty five dollars. Putting it onto YouTube would publish it and you don't want to do that until after you register copyright. All of this may or may not keep the friends from publishing a book, too. You need to speak with a lawyer immediately.... Read Answer