The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Jenner & Block Sues Sirius XM Over Royalties

Updated at 12:11 p.m.

Music copyright lawyers: Don't touch that dial. Nonprofit SoundExchange Inc., which collects and distributes digital performance royalties and distributes them to artists and copyright owners, filed a lawsuit yesterday accusing Sirius XM Radio Inc. of underpaying.

In the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, SoundExchange claimed Sirius wasn't including certain revenues in a formula designed to calculate how much the satellite radio company should pay in royalties under its license. Sirius, according to SoundExchange, excluded revenues from pre-1972 recordings, certain premium subscription packages and products developed by XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. before it merged with Sirius in 2008.

Jenner & Block's Michael DeSanctis, the firm's former managing partner and a member of the content, media and entertainment practice, is leading SoundExchange's effort to recover damages the nonprofit estimated were worth a minimum of $50 million and possibly more than $100 million. DeSanctis said today that SoundExchange had been a "long and very good client" of the firm since around 2005.

D.C. Circuit Goes 'Capriccioso' in Goat Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had in its sights today a case about the straight-horned markhor, "an impressive subspecies of wild goat that inhabits an arid, mountainous region of Pakistan."

But just like a game animal not yet mature enough for a good trophy, the judges on Tuesday decided not to pull the trigger and declined to rule on the merits of the dispute.

That didn't stop Chief Judge Merrick Garland from having a little fun with the topic in the case, Conservation Force, Inc. v. Jewell.

Especially noteworthy to Garland was the fact that safari clubs, hunters and international conservationists described the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's failure to take certain actions regarding the markhor as "arbitrary and capricious." (The phrase, of course, isn't unusual at all in litigation over agency actions.)

Congress Hears Pleas for Stronger Copyright Protections

Members of a U.S. House of Representatives panel saw copyrights through different lenses Thursday.

Donning special glasses, members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet viewed a 3-D video clip as part of a hearing that featured music, photo, and movie industry representatives, all touting the economic benefits of strong copyrights. Leaders from the Copyright Alliance, Getty Images Inc., the American Society of Media Photographers, Yep Roc Records and Redeye Distribution Inc., and 3-D moviemaker Stereo D LLC said robust copyright protections are vital for their industries' growth and survival in the digital age.

John Lapham, senior vice president and general counsel of Getty Images, said his company faces challenges with copyright infringement online. The media company has technology in place to pursue pirated content, but it isn't enough, according to Lapham. But Congress can help, he said.

Law Firm Bands Tuning Up for Homeless Benefit

The tenth annual Battle of the Bands, the lawyer-led benefit for the homeless in D.C., gets underway Thursday night. Eighteen bands will play on two stages starting at 7 p.m. at The Black Cat in Northwest D.C. The band that raises the most money from fans and colleagues will be declared champion, more or less regardless of talent.

The event, also known as Banding Together, is sponsored by Gifts for the Homeless, Inc., a non-profit founded in 1986 by law firms and legal organizations. All the proceeds go toward the purchase of clothing, blankets and other essential items that are distributed free to homeless shelters throughout the area. Last year's competition among 16 bands raised $275,000. This year, bands have encouraged fans to donate beforehand on crowdrise.com. "It's shaping up as more, bigger and better than ever," said GFTH board member Jim Villa.

As usual, the competition is fierce -- and not just over the music and donations. It's also about the band names, many of which only lawyers could love, or understand. There's Constantine Cannon's band called Nunc Pro Funk, and Jazz Ipsa Loquitor, a creation of lawyers from Foley & Lardner and Lerman Senter. The Soul Practitioners draw lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis, Dawson & Associates, and Sullivan & Worcester, and then there are the Estoppelgangers from Latham & Watkins.

Cool Music Soothes Supreme Court

If there is any tension among Supreme Court justices as they tackle the tough pending cases of their current term, it was nowhere to be seen Wednesday afternoon at the court's spring musicale.

As they have off and on since 1988, justices took time off for an afternoon to bask in top-notch musical performances by internationally known artists in the court's East Conference Room. Usually, the talent is drawn from the classical and operatic world. But the justices have also heard memorable jazz and cabaret-style performances by the likes of Bobby Short and Marian McPartland.

Wednesday's performance may have topped them all, with renowned cabaret and concert singer Barbara Cook making an appearance, backed up by famed jazz sidemen including guitarist John Pizzarelli. Pizzarelli's wife Jessica Molaskey was the warm-up singer before Cook performed. In introducing the ensemble, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called Pizzarelli "incomparably cool." Ginsburg, perhaps the court's greatest music fan ever, has presided over the musicales since 2002, taking over from Sandra Day O'Connor who had picked up after the departure of the tradition's founder, Justice Harry Blackmun.

Shakespeare Theatre Company Wins Preliminary Injunction in Building Dispute

The Shakespeare Theatre Company won the latest round of litigation yesterday against a nonprofit group serving as its de facto landlord, with a District of Columbia Superior Court judge granting a preliminary injunction to the theater company.

The theater company sued Lansburgh Theater Inc. (LTI) in June, accusing the nonprofit of trying to push the company out of a theater space in downtown Washington by raising the rent. Following two days of testimony this week, Judge John Ramsey Johnson entered an order allowing the theater company to continue using the theater, at least for the time being.

"We're happy with the victory," said Randall Miller of Arnold & Porter, lead counsel for the theater company. "The court's order acknowledges that this is not a commercial relationship between the Shakespeare Theatre Company and LTI. It’s a…charitable relationship in which LTI is obligated to act on STC's behalf."

Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Shakespeare Theatre Lawsuit

The curtain closed Friday afternoon on the latest act of the Shakespeare Theatre Company's lawsuit against its landlord, when a District of Columbia Superior Court judge denied the defendants' motion to dismiss.

The ruling set the stage for a December 10 hearing on the theater company's motion for a preliminary injunction. The company wants Judge John Ramsey Johnson to stop Lansburgh Theater, Inc., the non-profit organization that maintains the theater's building in downtown Washington, from going ahead with a proposed rent increase that the theater claims would threaten its ability to operate.

Friday's hearing offered a preview of arguments likely to come up at next week's hearing. An attorney for Lansburgh, Patrick Conner of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, told Johnson that Lansburgh needed more funds to pay for costly capital improvements, especially since the theater company had failed to take care of day-to-day maintenance. If the theater company couldn't or didn't want to pay the necessary costs, he said, Lansburgh could find another organization to replace it under the terms of Lansburgh's articles of incorporation.

Ginsburg, Verrilli and Arias of Agreement

Updated at 9:45 am on August 3

In the health care cases decided in late June, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Solicitor General Donald Verrilli were singing pretty much the same tune. On Friday, they will be on stage together to discuss tunes of another kind: operatic arias, and how they relate to the law.

They will be on a presidential showcase program at the annual meeting of the American Bar Association in Chicago, titled "Arias of Law: The Rule of Law at Work in Opera and the Supreme Court." Also on the panel will be Anthony Freud, general director of the renowned Lyric Opera of Chicago.

And pulling it all together is moderator Craig Martin, Jenner & Block's litigation department co-chair and a member of the executive committee of the Lyric Opera. He is also co-chair of the ABA's litigation section's committee for the 2012 meeting. "It's the confluence of two of my interests," said Martin. He has also known Verrilli for many years as a colleague at Jenner & Block. Martin recalled running into Verrilli and his family by accident during a vacation in Tuscany a few years back.

National Symphony Orchestra Musician Sues Airlines After Fall

Lewis Lipnick, a celebrated bassoon and contrabassoon player with the National Symphony Orchestra, is suing United Air Lines, Inc., and Lufthansa, claiming he suffered a bad fall after the airlines failed to make necessary accommodations for him and his instrument.

According to the complaint (PDF) Lipnick filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, he was on his way home from Germany in September 2010 after traveling there to buy a new contraforte, a type of contrabassoon. He bought a separate ticket for the 70-pound instrument and claims he was told that the airline would accommodate him.

At the airport in Munich, though, Lipnick alleged that when he asked if he could take an elevator to travel to the gate instead of the escalator, given his bulky carry-ons, an employee said no and told him to take the escalator "without offering any additional assistance." As he tried to balance the instrument and his other luggage on the escalator, according to the complaint, he fell and injured his neck, back and left arm.

Law Firm Bands Compete Thursday to Benefit the Homeless

If you want proof that not all D.C.-area lawyers work 24/7, head to the Black Cat on 14th St. N.W. on Thursday night. Sixteen law firm bands will be showing off talents they did not learn in law school on two stages from 7 p.m. to midnight.

It's the ninth annual "Battle of the Law Firm Bands" to benefit Gifts for the Homeless, which uses all proceeds to buy winter clothing and distribute it to 35 area shelters. Last year, the event raised $150,000. GFTH was founded in 1986 by lawyers and law firm staff.

The event has grown in size and popularity. The 16 bands performing Thursday are up from 12 last year. Many of the bands have names only lawyers could love -- like Jazz Ipsa Loquitur (See: res ipsa ...) with lawyers from Foley & Lardner and Lerman Senter, and Attractive Nuisance, showcasing talent from Steptoe & Johnson.