Current copyright litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland involving Clancy's widow Alexandra and his former wife Wanda King is complex, but involves fundamental issues of copyright ownership.
March 01, 2021Stan Soocher
In response to a copyright claim in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that the Netflix series Stranger Things infringed on Irish Rover Entertainment's unpublished screenplays, Netflix and the other defendants filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, arguing that the works were not substantially similar as a matter of law.
March 01, 2021Alan R. FriedmanThe audit clause is a necessary means for the licensor to protect its interests and to guard against unscrupulous licensees. But it is a mistake to think that the clause is there solely to prevent malfeasance.
March 01, 2021David SchniderThe CASE Act fulfills the longstanding goal of the U.S. Copyright Office to establish a small claims court. The measure tasked the office with establishing the Copyright Claims Board and adopting governing regulations.
March 01, 2021Scott GrahamTwo former shareholders allege in federal court that an auto-racing video game creator swindled them out of more than $200 million in stock.
March 01, 2021Ellen BardashWe sadly note the passing of Entertainment Law & Finance editorial board member and entertainment attorney Michael I. Rudell.
March 01, 2021Stan SoocherPart Two of a two-part article While the livestreaming of music performances is not an entirely new phenomenon, the COVID crisis has transformed the live performance landscape, compelling artists from around the world to reach their fanbase by producing "quarantine streams," in which they livestream their sets on social media platforms. Unsurprisingly many questions have arisen.
February 01, 2021Gwendolyn SealeIn Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P. v. ComicMix LLC, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit held in December that ComicMix's illustrated book combining elements of several Dr. Seuss children's books with characters, themes and other features of the popular sci-fi series Star Trek was not a fair use of the Seuss material from which it had admittedly been "slavishly" copied.
February 01, 2021Robert J. Bernstein and Robert W. ClaridaThe court's decision means that in the Ninth Circuit commercial mash-ups will have to do more than place new characters in old settings to qualify for fair use.
February 01, 2021Scott GrahamThe New Jersey Supreme Court disbarred lawyer Gary Mason after finding he knowingly misappropriated $690,000 that investors paid to support the work of a fledgling filmmaker.
February 01, 2021Charles Toutant
