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National Conference of Personal Managers Interchange 2023 33rd Annual Entertainment Law Institute
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Force Majeure Clauses Are Taking Center Stage In Uncertain Times
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.
Features

Impact of New U.S. Guidance for O-1B Visa On TV and Movie Industries
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.
Features

Termination Notices and Copyright Act Claims Accruals
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.
Columns & Departments
Players On The Move
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Columns & Departments
Fresh Filings
Notable court filings in entertainment law.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights
Features

U.S. Tax Court Considers Whether Net Operating Losses from Film Production Companies Are Deductible
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).
Features

More Lawsuits Enter AI/Content Creators War
The litigation warfront over the use of entertainment content in artificial intelligence software is rapidly escalating.
Features

Insurance Issues In AI-Related Risks
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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- Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright LawsThis article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.Read More ›
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- The Anti-Assignment Override ProvisionsUCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?Read More ›
- The Stranger to the Deed RuleIn 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.Read More ›