In 2007, F.B.T. Productions, the label that first signed rap artist Eminem to a recording contract, filed suit for breach of contract against Universal Music Group subsidiary Aftermath Records, with which F.B.T. contracted for exclusive rights to Eminem’s recordings. Under the contract, Aftermath was required to pay the artist 12%-20% of the adjusted retail price for every record sold, and 50% for every record “licensed”. The gravamen of F.B.T.’s complaint was that UMG had breached this agreement as to digital downloads by paying royalties at the lesser rate designated for a record “sale” rather than the significantly higher rate for a record “license”, based on its position that digital downloads are more akin to a the licensing of a record than the physical sale of a record.
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Labels Matter
By ELIZABETH HALL, ESQ.

“Simply stated: labels matter.” These were the words of the California Supreme Court in its recent decision, Kwikset Corporation v. Orange County, 51 Cal.4th 310, 328 (2011), when it determined that consumers will chose one product over another because of a label, amongst other things. In fact, the Court noted how an entire body of trademark law has been created to “protect commercial and consumer interests in accurate label representations as to source, because consumers rely on the accuracy of those representations in making their buying decisions.” Id.
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Currently, there are two major processes by which medical devices requiring U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review come to the American market. Medical devices receive approval either Pre-Market Approval (PMA) or receive clearance to market through the 510(k) process.
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