Entertainment and Sports Law

  • FIFA Decision Confirms Long Arm of Honest Services Fraud

    United States v. Napout The U.S. government's lead role in the prosecution of corruption within the Zurich-based FIFA may be a paradigmatic example of U.S. law enforcement acting as the world's policeman. If corruption is based on foreign executives violating their duties of loyalty to foreign private entities, how does that translate into a violation of U.S. criminal law? Does it matter that the conduct in which the foreign executive engaged — commercial bribery — may not be illegal under the law of the executive's home country?

    September 01, 2020Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

  • Players on the Move

    A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.

    September 01, 2020Anne Bagamery, Dan Clark and Varsha Patel

  • Bit Parts

    Film Clips Included in Talent's Acting Reel Are a Copyright Fair Use Ninth Circuit Finds Judd/Weinstein Meeting Within Scope of California Sexual Harassment Statute Personal Manager's Lawsuit in New York Against Former In-House Counsel Can Move Forward

    September 01, 2020Stan Soocher

  • Man of La Mancha Revival Dispute Involves Whether Attorney/Client Relationship Arose

    A thorny concern for lawyers is whether — and if so, when — an attorney/client relationship has been formed with a party with whom the lawyer has entered into a business arrangement. Current litigation over an agreement involving theatrical production rights to the Tony Award-winning musical Man of La Mancha offers some perspective on the issue.

    August 01, 2020Stan Soocher

  • How COVID-19 Has Impacted Broadway Productions

    While the theaters of Broadway remain dark, the New York theater community has been left to grapple with challenging legal issues relating to governmental directives, contracts, insurance coverage, refunds, presenting live and prerecorded content on the Internet, and what health and safety measures will be needed once the theaters can reopen.

    August 01, 2020Matthew Windman

  • Copyright Considerations In Artificial Intelligence

    In the process of creating new content, AI, which has moved into the entertainment industry, may create copies of copyrighted works in memory storage as a byproduct of its overall output sequence. This article explores authorship and ownership of such AI-generated content, and to what extent, if any, can copyrights be infringed upon when AI reproduces copyrighted works for machine learning.

    August 01, 2020Shaleen J. Patel and Sushmitha Rajeevan

  • Delaware Court Dismisses Fox Stockholder's Suit Over Disney Deal

    In a decision that narrowed what actions can be brought by Delaware companies' stockholders in the context of a merger, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed claims brought against former 21st Century Fox executives, including three members of the Murdoch family.

    August 01, 2020Ellen Bardash

  • Bit Parts

    DGA's "Qualification List" Isn't a "Labor Organization" Under Georgia Law Unlicensed Use of Van Halen Photo in Conjunction With Museum Exhibit Ruled Fair Use

    August 01, 2020Stan Soocher

  • Recent Court Views on "Making Available" Controversy in Copyright Infringement

    Federal courts have long disagreed over whether the unauthorized "making available" of a plaintiff's works to the public is sufficient to constitute copyright infringement under the U.S. Copyright Act. Two June District Court decisions demonstrated the differences between the views of the Fourth and Ninth Circuits.

    July 01, 2020Stan Soocher

  • Does Insurance Policy Cover Media Office COVID-19 Closure?

    According to news reports, and judging from the plethora of lawsuits filed seeking insurance coverage for lost income incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, insurance companies are for the most part denying claims for business interruption losses. The type of insurance claim at issue may make a difference.

    July 01, 2020Howard B. Epstein and Theodore A. Keyes