Dallas Bar Association
HEADNOTES December 2010 Volume 35 Number 12
Focus Sports & Entertainment Law
Lisa Blue Baron Donates $100,000 to Equal Access to Justice Campaign by Alicia Hernandez
Seeking Justice and Changing Lives. Most lawyers say that this concept drove their decision to go to law school. The opportunity to see wrongs made right and to make a difference are the beacons that continue to guide them through their days as starving students, to young associates, and on to being experienced attorneys. Lisa Blue Baron is certainly one of those lawyers. The pursuit of what is just and fair for others has been her constant refrain. The changes she has made in the lives of those she serves have been extraordinary. From her days in the Dallas County District Attorney’s office through her evolution into a nationally renowned trial lawyer, Ms. Blue Baron has been entrusted with making a difference in the lives of everyday people. Her helping hand has again been extended very graciously to the neediest among us. The disabled, the abused, those who have bravely served our country, and innocent children are some of the many people she will help in the coming year through her support of the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP). On November 18, Ms. Blue Baron announced her gift of $100,000 to the 2011 Equal Access to Justice Campaign benefiting the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program. Ms. Blue Baron has made this—the single, largest donation in the 16year history of the campaign—in memory of the Honorable Merrill Hartman. Judge Hartman, the founder of legal clinics for the poor and a pro bono advocate for nearly 30 years, died on October 15, 2010. “Judge Merrill Hartman was my close friend and mentor,” said Ms. Blue Baron. “Whether it was at lunch, a party or at his assisted living, the conversation was always on helping others and projects for the less fortunate. Judge Hartman taught me many valuable lessons, but the three most important were the value of giving back, a positive attitude and a belief that anything is possible. I miss and think of my friend often and was blessed to have him in my life.” Ms. Blue Baron’s donation comes at a time when it is needed more than ever. U.S. Census Bureau poverty statistics released in October 2010 are staggering. Twenty-five percent, or 600,000, of the 2.4 million people living in Dallas County are eligible for free legal aid. To qualify for free legal aid, a family of four cannot have an annual income of more than
Focus
Lisa Blue Baron
$27,563. Hiring a lawyer is a luxury that DVAP’s clients simply cannot afford. “We are truly touched by Lisa’s generosity,” said Ike Vanden Eykel, President of the Dallas Bar Association. “Her gift is an incredible memorial to Judge Hartman who made it his life’s work to bring justice to the poor. Thousands of poor people have been helped, and thousands of lawyers have heeded the call. And, now, many more will be served.” Bringing the services to those in need is Ms. Blue Baron’s priority. She not only gives money, but she has also given her time. She is a DVAP volunteer who has used her Spanishspeaking skills to interview clients at the West Dallas Legal
Clinic and to help prove up, or finalize, family law cases for Spanish-speaking clients who are participating in DVAP’s Spanish Pro Se Program. Over the years, Ms. Blue Baron has also made CLE presentations to Legal Aid staff attorneys and launched Baron & Budd’s pro bono program while she was at the firm. Like Ms. Blue Baron, DVAP strives to live up to the standard set by Judge Hartman by continuing to develop and improve innovative ways to serve more people with quality legal help. DVAP’s Pro Se Divorce Program, where people learn how to handle their own simple divorces with the help of DVAP volunteers and staff, has served as a model for other similar programs in the State of Texas. DVAP’s “night court” for pro se litigants and pro bono attorneys is extremely efficient, finalizing dozens of cases in less than two hours and giving pro bono lawyers and clients the option to finish their cases after regular business hours. DVAP’s outreach to law firms and corporations helps spread the word to the legal community about the need for pro bono legal services and how everyone can help. DVAP’s Pro Bono Week, which was held in October with the DBA Pro Bono Activities Committee, featured CLE programs presented by other Dallas legal aid agencies and demonstrates DVAP’s commitment to support other groups in their efforts. These are just a few examples of the programs DVAP has to offer. “Ms. Blue Baron’s gift will have a tremendous impact on our pro bono program,” said Jerry Alexander, Chair of the 2011 Equal Access to Justice Campaign. “Judge Hartman was a leader and innovator. He has shown so many lawyers how and why to serve, and Lisa is doing that too. We are so proud that she is helping to carry on his legacy through Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program.” The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program is a joint program of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. For more information on the Campaign, please contact Alicia Hernandez at (214) 220-7499 or ahernandez@dallasbar.org. Recognition levels and donor benefits are available. In addition, all individual donors at or above the $1,000 level and all firm and corporate donors at or above the $5,000 level will be recognized in an ad in the Dallas Morning News during HN the week of December 20, 2010. Alicia Hernandez is the director of the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program and the DBA director of community services. She can be reached at ahernandez@dallasbar.org.
Sports & Entertainment Law
SoundExchange—A Digital Royalty by Craig C. Crafton
A song contains two different legal elements: 1) the underlying song or composition; and 2) the recorded performance of the song. Whenever a song is publicly performed, a royalty is owed to the songwriter (or the songwriter’s publisher) for the use of the underlying song or composition. See generally 17 U.S.C. § 106. ASCAP and BMI collect and administer that royalty. But historically, no royalty was owed under United States law for the use of the sound recording when that sound recording was publicly performed (on radio or in an establishment). Put simply, broadcast radio played and made money from sound recordings at will, without having to pay for use of the copyrighted sound recording. In fact, the sound recording copyright owners (SRCO) competed to have their copyrighted sound recordings
exploited. Conversely, in Europe, artists and copyright owners have historically been paid for the public performance of sound recordings. But as the financial model for the music business has changed, so have the legalities regarding the exploitation of sound recordings. The Digital Performance in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 granted, for the first time, a performance right for sound recordings. Those two Acts apply to non-interactive digital transmission—satellite radio and Internet radio (webcasting)—and require payment of a royalty to the SRCO (typically a music label) and the performing artist for the use of the sound recording. See 17 U.S.C. § 114(d)(2). The U.S. Copyright Office designated SoundExchange, a private, non-profit organization, as the sole administrative entity for the issuance of the statutory
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license under the Copyright Act and collection and remitting of the digital performance royalty for sound recordings. SoundExchange monitors the playing of songs on Internet and satellite radio by gathering reporting data. SoundExchange then pays the SRCO, the performing artist (the band), and even featured performers, a royalty based on the number of plays a song receives. Although the royalty rate, as set by the Copyright Royalty Board, is fractional, many plays can add up to significant revenue. Under the statute, SoundExchange pays the SRCO 50 percent of the collected royalty and 45 percent to the performing artist. See 17 U.S.C. § 114(g). The remaining 5 percent of the collected royalty is reserved to pay side artists through musicians’ unions. According to SoundExchange Executive Director John Simpson, SoundExchange is now the secondcontinued on page 13