“Come Together” at the Law Center and learn the essentials of music copyright law with a little help from John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Jim Jesse, Esq. is the founder of Rock N’ Roll Law and the program presenter. His programs on music CLE have been very popular in other states, and now he brings his program to NJICLE. His course on copyright will entertain you and keep you humming long after the program has ended.
Jim will be joined by Robert J. Burger, an accomplished attorney and musician, whose practice focuses on technology, software and entertainment.
“We learned more from a three-minute record than we ever learned in school.”
Together, they will use the music of the Beatles to elucidate the basics of music copyright law, including what the exclusive rights are afforded by a copyright, what those rights mean under federal law and how to establish and register a copyright for your client’s music. You will learn about some of the most famous copyright cases from the past, hear about some of the current cases and listen to the songs in question to see if you agree with the courts’ decisions. You will also learn the basic rules regarding proving a copyright infringement case, calculating damages and defenses such as fair use.
Bob draws on his experience as a musician to talk about the very practical way the law affects orchestration and performance.
As the former General Counsel for Cool Music Network and a singer/songwriter himself, Jim will explore how the music industry has changed over the years and how those changes have affected the law. He will also look to the future by examining issues of music streaming and sampling and how the way songs are constructed could lead to future controversies.
The course also explores user-generated content and the role of performing rights organizations in music.
Robert J. Burger, Esq. is Special Counsel with McCarter & English, LLP primarily practicing in software, technology and entertainment matters. Mr. Burger concentrates his practice in software licensing, music publishing, copyright, EULAs, software development and services agreements. His experience encompasses software, music publishing, Web3, cloud computing, open source, networking, database, e-commerce, electronic/digital signatures, blockchain, privacy and data security issues. He has 25 years of experience as an attorney in the IP field having reviewed and drafted hundreds of software and music-related agreements. Mr. Burger also has a dual career as a musician earning a Gold Record songwriter award and performing with Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Roger Waters, Max Weinberg and Southside Johnny. His band “The Weeklings” is a Beatles-inspired group that has released five albums to date and is regularly featured on Sirius/XM “Little Steven’s Underground Garage” and “The Beatles Channel”. Bob is also a member of “Max Weinberg’s Jukebox” touring extensively at theatre venues throughout the USA.