At the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.
Attorneys who sued “Despacito” artist Daddy Yankee for defamation should have heeded the song's title and drafted their settlement offer slowly, a federal appellate court ruled.
Trade secret protection applies only to confidential information. In almost all circumstances, broadcasting to the world the intricate details and applications of a trade secret extinguishes whatever “property right” an entertainment industry holder once possessed. What is a sufficient method of contractually notifying a software user of the trade secret status of certain information is a closer question.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld a release clause signed by an entertainment attorney who appeared in WE network's reality TV show Money. Power. Respect.
As the entertainment industry continues to assess digital blockchain-distribution technology for tracking transactions, it's essential to consider the legal implications for smart-contracting and contract management.
There are several clauses that rarely find their way into a landlord's initial draft of the lease that may be beneficial to a tenant. In addition, certain real estate tax provisions that are typically included in a landlord's standard lease form need to be carefully reviewed to make sure they are fair to both the landlord and the tenant.
Smart contracts are self-executing agreements written in code on the blockchain. Parties contract digitally using distributed ledger technology. This article offers a layperson's, non-technical summary of the underlying technology and consideration of certain legal implications for smart-contracting and contract management.
Trial Required to Disprove Malice
Court Upholds Conditions Imposed on Zoning Variance
Lease Identified
Notice of Termination Not Defective for Being Sent By Attorney
Hearing Required to Determine Whether Lease Denied for Unconstitutional Reasons
Several of the same concepts that are in agreements between performing artists and managers also apply to agreements between authors and literary representatives.
In a case brought against former baseball player Lenny Dykstra by a social media ghost writer, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has offered the additional lesson that a writing other than a formal settlement agreement may constitute an enforceable agreement — even if one of the parties expects that additional "standard" provisions will be added to the agreement.
