Features
Author and Licensee Content Rights in Agreements for TV Productions
These times are heady for creators of books and stories that may be suitable for television production. In addition to the traditional broadcast networks, a legion of pay and basic cable exhibitors and, more recently, direct-to-consumer streaming outlets are voraciously licensing product from those creators. Much press is given to the compensation aspects of the creators' agreements with exhibitors, but attention also should be paid to the extent and duration of the exhibitor's exclusivity in the property in which rights are being acquired,
Features
Compensation Issues from Cancelled Roseanne TV Show
It is rare that a hit network television series is cancelled, as recently occurred with the ABC series <i>Roseanne</i>. But when that happens, the immediate and long-term implications for the network, producers, talent and other entities related to the series can be significant.
Features
Thinking Outside of the Big-Box: Understanding License Agreements
One critical component to the successful evolution of a shopping center is creating a stronger connection with community through attractions, events and promotions that bring a fresh vibrancy to the centers. These specialty relationships and other short-term relationships are generally memorialized in a license agreement rather than a traditional lease.
Features
A Legal Primer for Making Indie Movies
While thousands of films are made each year in the United States and Canada, less than 800 were theatrically released in 2017, with many exceptional films failing to obtain commercial distribution because of legal issues.
Features
<i>Decision of Note:</i> Live Nation Can't Force Arbitration over Online Ticketing Site
Agreeing to arbitration was supposed to be as easy as clicking a button, but Live Nation was unable to show that a man seeking to sue the company actually clicked any of the buttons indicating his consent to arbitrate.
Features
Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider Language
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.
Columns & Departments
Counsel Concerns: Ambiguous Offer for Daddy Yankee to Settle Suit Ends in Attorney Fees Denial
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.
Features
How Ticket Software Lost Trade Secret Protection
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.
Features
Decision of Note: TV Reality Show Release Overrides Objection Clause
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.
Features
Smart Contracts and Blockchain
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.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The Right to Associate in the DefenseThe "right to associate" permits the insurer to work with the insured to investigate, defend, or settle a claim. Such partnerships protect the insurer and can prove beneficial to the insured's underlying case and ultimate exposure.Read More ›
- Delaware Chancery Court Takes Fresh Look At Zone of InsolvencyOver a decade ago, a Delaware Chancery Court's footnote in <i>Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland, N.V. v. Pathe Communications</i>, 1991 WL 277613 (Del. Ch. 1991), established the "zone of insolvency" as something to be feared by directors and officers and served as a catalyst for countless creditor lawsuits. Claims by creditors committee and trustees against directors and officers for breach of fiduciary duties owed to creditors have since become commonplace. But in a decision that may have equally great repercussion both in the Boardroom and in bankruptcy cases, the Delaware Chancery Court has revisited zone-of-insolvency case law and limited this ever-expanding legal theory.Read More ›
- Ransomware – COVID-19 & Upgrading Your DefensesIt's pretty shameful that in the current crisis we're seeing ransomware on the rise. It's even more shameful that organizations involved in fighting the virus seem to be especially at risk.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- Removing Restrictive Covenants In New YorkIn Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?Read More ›
