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Entertainment Law & Finance
Ninth Circuit Focuses On Extrinsic Test In Ruling On Choreography Copyright
Stan Soocher
Reversing and remanding, the Ninth Circuit emphasized: “The district court’s approach of reducing choreography to ‘poses’ is fundamentally at odds with the way we analyze copyright claims for other art forms, like musical compositions.”
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Entertainment Law & Finance
AI’s Growing Impact On the Gaming Industry
Katherine A. Baker, Jeffrey M. Kelly and Joshua L. Kirschner
The gaming and wagering sector has begun to cross paths with artificial intelligence technology in ways both predictable and unforeseen. As with other industries, AI technology inevitably has found its way into various components of the gaming experience. What is striking, however, is how AI is revolutionizing gaming for operators, regulators, suppliers and patrons alike.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Student Athletes Try to Form Labor Union
Jeffrey Campolongo and Scott M. Badami
Does the ability to receive remuneration for being a college athlete mean that the students are deemed employees of the university? Do employment laws apply? Are labor laws enforced? Does OSHA enter the equation? What about HIPAA concerns relating to medical conditions and injuries?
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Grappling With Post-Term Commissions In Personal Management Contracts
Stan Soocher
A recent judicial decision in a dispute between a management company and r&b artist KEM involved in part whether discussions about extending the term of years between the parties and increasing the manager’s commission were binding, even though post-term commissions weren’t discussed.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Web of Rights In Digital Sports Memorabilia
Andrew Dana
Here’s a look at the jungle of rights, including insights from a top racetrack executive on the use of NFTs. We also lay out some practical tips for athletes, agents and attorneys on how to navigate the digital sports memorabilia landscape, including in contract negotiations and disputes.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
How Energy Drink’s “Purple Rain” Trademark Application Was Rejected
Bridget H. Labutta
Despite the fact that the trademark manual of examining procedure (TMEP) are readily available and searchable online, there are still a large number of applications that trademark examiners and judges must reject because the application does not conform to one or more conditions set forth in the Lanham Act or TMEP.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Upcoming Event
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
Copyright Law Year in Review
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Band Name Rights at Center of Battle Between Founding Isley Brothers
Stan Soocher
A current dispute over a band name that’s worth tracking is one between two founding members of “The Isley Brothers,” the legendary r&b group, that focuses on what happens to ownership of the band name rights when one member stops performing with the group but continues to be involved in its business affairs.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
The Cold War Between NCAA And States Over Athletes’ NILs
Andrew Hope/Michael A. Mora
Over the past four years, the NCAA aggressively lobbied Congress to pass a uniform NIL standard. Roughly a dozen bills have been sponsored by Democrats and Republicans alike, though none has ever advanced to a vote. Consequently, it appears increasingly likely that the courts will be called upon once again to intervene.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
How D.C. Fed. Court Denied Copyright to AI-Created Artwork
Robert W. Clarida and Thomas Kjellberg
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently upheld a final refusal by the U.S. Copyright Office to register a visual work that was “autonomously created by a computer algorithm running on a machine,” which the plaintiff called the Creativity Machine and identified as the “author” of the work.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Upcoming Events
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
National Conference of Personal Managers Interchange 2023
33rd Annual Entertainment Law Institute
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Force Majeure Clauses Are Taking Center Stage In Uncertain Times
Michelle Davis
Force majeure is lurking in the shadows of the Hollywood strikes, offering struggling studios a potential lifeline out of debt. But the best attorneys and the strongest contracts are proactive, rather than reactive. Thus, consider the following drafting tips to strengthen your force majeure language now, in the calm before the next storm.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Impact of New U.S. Guidance for O-1B Visa On TV and Movie Industries
George Ernst
This year’s update from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service for O-1B visa petitions has knock-on effects for the movie and TV industries. The update has clarified the correct standard of adjudication for an individual with both elements of an O-1B artist and O-1B motion-picture-and-television-industry (MPTV) classification, meaning situations where a foreign national will be working in the U.S. as an artist, but some of their work will be in MPTV.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Termination Notices and Copyright Act Claims Accruals
Thomas Kjellberg and Robert W. Clarida
Termination is not automatic. It may be effected only through affirmative action on the part of the author or his or her statutory successors, who must serve an advance notice, signed by or on behalf of all of those entitled to terminate the grant, on the current copyright owner within specified time limits and under specified conditions.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On The Move
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights
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Entertainment Law & Finance
U.S. Tax Court Considers Whether Net Operating Losses from Film Production Companies Are Deductible
Stan Soocher
Structuring finances for independent film productions isn’t for the faint of heart, especially where there are multiple entities formed in different states involved in the productions; loans involving different entity members; and efforts on tax returns to deduct net operating losses (NOLs).
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Entertainment Law & Finance
More Lawsuits Enter AI/Content Creators War
Riley Brennan and Allison Dunn
The litigation warfront over the use of entertainment content in artificial intelligence software is rapidly escalating.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Insurance Issues In AI-Related Risks
Cassandre Coyer
Most entertainment industry organizations have by now heard the warning bells of risks that come with the use of artificial intelligence technology, from data privacy and cybersecurity threats to potential copyright infringement and discrimination claims. In face of the recent spike in AI-related litigation, such risks could soon prove costly, leaving one last barrier of defense for entertainment companies that use AI: insurance.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
New FTC Guidelines for Social Media Influencers
Brad Kutner
Internet celebrities with big social-media followings are often approached for advertising and marketing deals, and the money flowing from these third-party arrangements can be in the millions. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) moved to update the guidelines for those who profit from such arrangements, and lawyers are saying the new rules involve big but unsurprising changes.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
Dispute Over Jay Livingston Songwriter Contracts Sent to Arbitration
MeTV Viewers Aren’t “Subscribers” Under Video Privacy Protection Act
TV Series Production Contract Is Assignable In Bankruptcy
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Entertainment Law & Finance
UPCOMING EVENT
ELF Staff
31st Cutting Edge Entertainment Law Seminar. New Orleans, Aug. 24-26, 2023
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Keeping Tabs On Antitrust Actions In Entertainment Industry Sectors
Stan Soocher
The growth in size of companies dominating sectors of the entertainment industry has been subject to antitrust challenges with mixed results. What are some notable recent developments in this area?
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Supreme Court’s ‘Bad Spaniels’ Decision Didn’t Overturn Rogers, But …
Brad Kutner
In a win for trademark holders, the U.S. Supreme Court offered a narrow ruling in the dispute involving “dog toys and whiskey.”
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Entertainment Law & Finance
The Problem With Sup. Ct. Majority Opinion In Andy Warhol Foundation
Nicole D. Galli and Andrew J. Costa
Commentary
The high court’s decision’s future application is anything but clear and clarification of the parameters of a “transformative” fair use is left open for another day.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
9th Circuit Bases Attorney Fees On What Class-Action Clients Get In Hand
Avalon Zoppo
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit made clear its view — that class-action plaintiffs’ lawyers generally should not be awarded fees that exceed the amount their clients get from a settlement — as the court struck down a $1.7 million fee award in which a copyright plaintiffs’ class received less than $53,000 in an infringement dispute settlement.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
The Other Recent Infringement Lawsuit Judgment Over Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’
Stan Soocher
The lion’s share of attention to copyright-infringement claims against Ed Sheeran over his 2016 Grammy-winning Song of the Year “Thinking Out Loud” recently focused on the trial in New York federal court. But in September 2022, a related infringement suit over the same songs’ matching chord progression and harmonic rhythm was allowed to proceed.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Current Landscape of NIL Contracts Under NCAA Policy
Phil Petrina
As we wait to see if Congress does indeed adopt a preemptive federal standard on NIL, the question becomes: What do business owners, interested investors and attorneys need to know prior to signing a college athlete to a NIL contract under the current landscape?
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Entertainment Law & Finance
IP Experts Discuss AI Art Copyright Litigation
Isha Marathe
IP experts weigh in on a case involving AI-created images based on an original work. The outcome of the case may have a significant impact on AI development and generative art.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
No Bad Faith Found In Tidal Streaming Service Investment
Ellen Bardash
Block Inc.’s board may have made a bad deal when it acquired music-streaming company Tidal, but that’s its right without evidence of bad faith.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
ELF Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Ticket Resellers’ State House Campaign Raises Resale Royalty, Securities Law and Money Laundering Issues
Chris Castle
Should resale royalties be paid to artists and venues when tickets are resold? Such a resale royalty might encourage artists or sports teams to permit transferability for some or all their tickets. It would also help to value that property right. So how would that work?
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Licensing AI Content
Jonathan Bick
The primary issue associated with securing a licensor’s consent for Internet AI intellectual property is that normally the licensor is a computer program, hence not a legal person.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Fresh Filings
ELF Staff
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Players On the Move
ELF Staff
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
“Sister Sledge” Sibling’s Use of “Sister Sledge Sledgendary” Isn’t Trademark Infringement
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Upcoming Event
ELF Staff
New York State Bar Association Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section Annual Spring CLE Meeting
Read More ›
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Music Publishing and Recording Rates and Royalties 2023: Past, Present and Future
Jeff Brabec and Todd Brabec
Part Two of a Two-Part Article
In the United States and in most foreign countries, the “performance right” is one of the most important rights of copyright and, in many cases, the most lucrative. In the United States, there is no statutory license under the Copyright Act for this right. Songwriters, composers, lyricists (jointly “writers”) and music publishers join these organizations, which in turn negotiate licenses with the users of music, collect the license fees from those users and distribute the monies to writers and publishers based on surveys of performances, specific payment schedules and distribution rules, as well as other factors.
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