In 1939 the first financial protection act for child performers was put in place in California as the result of child-actor Jackie Coogan’s mother and step-father plundering his childhood earnings without his knowledge.[1] Jackie Coogan was four years old when he began performing in vaudeville acts.[2] It was at his Los Angeles vaudeville performance that Charlie Chaplin […]
How to Register a Copyright & Save Yourself Money
We break down the odds and ends of registering copyrights. This article was originally published by DJBOOTH Whenever a client asks me to submit a copyright registration for them, I always tell them, straight up, “I’m happy to do it for you, but if you’re looking to save money, then this is something you can […]
Copyright Office Establishes New Rules for Group Copyright Registration
Following public suggestion, the U.S. Copyright Office has established new rules allowing for group registration of unpublished works. Whereas previously the number of unpublished works you could register was limited only by what you could upload to the system in an hour, the new system, available only via the online application (and with the deposits […]
The CASE Act: Small Claims Court for Copyright Litigation
In September 2019, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee passed the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act. The CASE Act would give claimants the ability to enforce copyrights in their creative works without having to shell out for expensive federal copyright legislation, which can cost around $397,000, according to the American Intellectual Property Law […]