Greetings OWBA and OWBF!  It is so hard to believe we are entering the fall season!  Along with apple picking, football, and bonfires, fall 2022 will mark the return of our newsletter.  We hope you enjoy it and please let us know if there are specific topics you would like to see covered in the future.

As we complete the onboarding of our new administrative team, OWBA leadership is focused on increase!  We want to increase our engagement, increase our opportunities to network, and increase communication.  We recognize COVID has changed the way people work and receive information.  However, we want the OWBA to continue its legacy of providing opportunities for women lawyers from throughout Ohio to connect with each other, support each other, and educate each other.  This takes effort, and I ask you to consider serving on one of our committees or providing creative networking ideas.

We are excited about our upcoming Leading the Way event where we will celebrate a phenomenal lawyer and human – Janica Pierce Tucker – and recognize the incoming cohort of the

OWBF Leadership Institute.  Please join us for an inspiring evening with OWBA and OWBF members!

I don’t know about you but time is passing too quickly for me.  While I try to balance all of my demands, I appreciate this quote from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, “I think you have to be comfortable with perhaps not being perfect at everything all the time.  There are things that you have to kind of let go – ‘This is good enough’ – because it’s very hard to do everything at once at such a high level.”  Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on being a ‘first’ and why she loves ‘Survivor’ - The Washington Post

I hope to see you this fall and thank you for your continued support of OWBA!

Hello OWBA/OWBF members!

I am delighted to be serving as President of OWBF this year and to be 

working alongside an incredible group

of compassionate, intelligent women who make up the boards of OWBA and OWBF. We are more motivated than ever to come together with the shared goal of advancing women lawyers across the state.

We are welcoming in our 12th Leadership Institute class this year and have an extraordinary program planned. Since 2011, more than 150 women lawyers in Ohio have graduated from the Leadership 

Institute. The support of our sponsors makes it possible, and we thank you.

The continued success of the OWBA/OWBF relies on active members, and we want to encourage all of you to become involved! Please reach out with any initiatives, volunteer opportunities, educational programs, or events that you have in mind.

Looking forward to connecting with you!

Congratulations, Sarah!

OWBA Member and Trustee-At-Large, Sarah Perez, was recently recognized by Columbus Business First as a C-Suite Awards Honoree, Most Admired Executives, CEO – Private Companies with 26 to 100 Employees.

OWBA/OWBF is pleased to announce our new Association Management team, 

J&M Business Solutions, LLC!

Founded in 1994, J&M Business Solutions, LLC is an association management company that specializes in helping trade and professional non-profit organizations achieve their mission, create value, and advance their causes, industries and professions.

Our main points of contact at J&M will be Sheri Maskow and Carlita Skok.

Music is ubiquitous in most people's daily lives.  Everywhere from coffee shops to gyms to retail shops play music non-stop.  However, even if everyone can hear it, the music isn't free.  Businesses risk running afoul of copyright law by permitting live music, karaoke, DJs, and also by playing music in ways that the law considers "performances" without obtaining the proper licensure.

When individuals pay to download or stream music, what they are really purchasing is a license to listen to that music privately.  The license received from a service like Spotify or Apple Music is a non-commercial license – meaning users are permitted to use the music for personal use but not permitted to "publicly perform" the music.

"Public performance," according to copyright law, simply means to play the copyrighted work in public – it is not limited to live bands or karaoke.  Pursuant to copyright law,

 performance includes playing potentially any music in a business at all.  Businesses that "perform" (or play) recorded music must therefore be mindful of the licensure requirements in order to avoid running afoul of copyright law.  Licensure of copyrighted music is managed generally by performance rights organizations that parcel music catalogs – consisting of millions of songs –  into a single license.  These organizations both offer licenses to business based on a formula considering the size and other specifics of the business and bring litigation against non-compliant businesses.

A business that fails to obtain the proper licensure when performing music is subject to damages pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 504.  These damages can be either actual or statutory.  Actual damages mean the actual amount of damage caused by and profits received from the performance of music.  Statutory damages are $750 to $30,000 per any single song – unless the copyright infringement is willful.  When a copyright owner establishes that the copyright infringement was committed willfully, the court may increase the statutory damages award to $150,000.  The statute further permits the court to award recovery of the full cost to any party and reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party as part of those costs. 

Some businesses may meet the exemption provisions, but navigating these exemptions can be complicated.  A business may be permitted to play music via a radio station or TV, if the business meets certain exemption requirements.  For example, one business that may be exempt is a restaurant that is less than 3,750 gross square feet.  Or a restaurant with more 3,750 gross square feet of space but fewer than six loudspeakers and fewer than four televisions with a diagonal screen size greater than 55 inches.  Another type of potentially exempt businesses is a retail store or office with less than 2,000 gross square feet – or more than 2,000 gross square feet and fewer than six loudspeakers and fewer than four televisions with a diagonal screen size greater than 55 inches.  Even if a business meets the requirements described here, it may not be exempt under other components of the exemption provisions.

Finally, copyright law dictates that certain willful infringements of a copyright is a criminal offense.  These offenses can derive from infringement for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain or reproduction or distribution of copyrighted work.