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I had an email file about auctioning off of various rock and roll memorabilia. After a bit of research, I discovered this little niche had many interesting and odd legal issues that arose in the parallel universe of auction, sales, theft, social media bidding sites, and associated nooks and crannies, and a fair number of schnooks.

I teach both entertainment law and immigration, so the intersection between these two worlds is always of interest to me, and in the shrinking world of concert venues and border crossings, a number of important cases and issues have arisen.

Given the growing number of terrorist activities in the US and throughout the world, it would have been astounding and itself newsworthy if performances and music events had not been the target of terrorists, bent upon attracting the regular news attention paid to these horrible actions, and intent on threatening our well-being and sources of our entertainment.

I review the various legal issues that arise when enormously-productive artists and authors make and record music or write material that never sees the light of day, or exists in archival fashion, with multiple versions and unreleased songs and stories. Many years later, they are remastered or reconstituted and released, often in conjunction with special dates or events.

The late, great Marvin Gaye’s children brought a copyright infringement suit against several artists involved in the popular Blurred Lines song, in essence claiming the songwriting team had copied the “style” and “feel” of their father’s Got to Give It Up. So far, they have won, big. There are also international laws concerning copyright infringement, as when the conservative New Zealand National Party lost a copyright case to Eminem for more than $500,000.

The horrific mass shooting that killed almost 60 attendees and wounded another 850 concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas has forever changed the insurance policies for concerts, including so-called PVT policies (political violence and terrorism).

If there has been a single social movement that has recently taken root and shaped its setting, it is surely the Hashtag ME, TOO phenomenon, calling out rapists and sexual harassers—first in the entertainment industry, but reaching Wall Street, corporate misbehavior, academia, athletics, politics, clergy, and even the judiciary.

Back in the day, album cover art was the subject of many youthful conversations. In the 144 square inches of olden days, bands could fully display their artistic urges, and that real estate became a branding tool and PR opportunity. Much litigation ensued.

An interesting pattern has emerged with classic artists and old materials that have not yet been published, turning legal tools into a plastic surgeon’s scalpel, to rejuvenate these hidden works.

As with many other intersections of entertainment law and the larger world with which it interacts, boycotts have become more common, more prevalent, and more politically complex.