Leslie José Zigel, Chair of the Entertainment, Media & Technology Group at Greenspoon Marder offers his thoughts on entertainment industry issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 01, 2020Stan Soocher
While every industry is dealing with massive upheaval as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, few are as visible as sports and entertainment. While many who practice in this area anticipate a slowdown in overall legal work, certain pockets of work are being pushed to the forefront, creating demand for the services these attorneys provide.
May 01, 2020Patrick SmithCan a commercial tenant that is required to be closed during the COVID-19 pandemic be relieved of, or does it have a defense to, the obligation to continue to pay rent? The short answer is possibly yes, but the situation is unprecedented and the answer may have to be determined in litigation.
May 01, 2020Terrence DunnThe U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that individual states are free to commit copyright infringement. The Court held that Congress attempted to abrogate states' sovereign immunity in an unconstitutional manner when enacting the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act of 1990 (CRCA).
May 01, 2020Shaleen J. PatelThe COVID-19 pandemic is already leaving its mark on the bankruptcy asset sale landscape. Despite the uncertainty — or even because of it — bankruptcy should still be viewed as a useful tool to effectuate the acquisition of assets. The current situation and anticipated distress across many industries presents opportunities for purchasers to acquire assets on favorable terms.
May 01, 2020Hugh McDonald and Deborah Kovsky-ApapAt this moment in COVID-19 time, if your case involved stopping the sale of counterfeit unicorn products on the Internet, sorry, that wouldn't be an emergency. That was the message from U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger, in a decision denying a request for a temporary restraining order filed on behalf of Art Ask Agency, the exclusive licensee for the fantasy art of British artist Anne Stokes, who is popular among the Dungeons and Dragons crowd.
May 01, 2020Jenna GreeneWith Uncertainty As to When the Pandemic Will Ease, Bankruptcy Courts Do Not Seem to Be a Panacea Leading to Successful Reorganizations or Orderly Liquidations for Troubled Companies The impact of COVID-19 on efforts of businesses to reorganize or even orderly liquidate in bankruptcy has been swift and devastating
May 01, 2020Joseph H. LemkinIn April, a U.S. District Judge tossed a six-count, $100 million-complaint against Universal Music Group that was filed after a 2008 warehouse fire that reportedly destroyed master recordings. The class action was originally brought by or on behalf of recording artists. After the ruling, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partners Scott Edelman and Deborah Stein and associate Nathaniel Bach, who served as defense counsel in the litigation, discussed the case.
May 01, 2020Jenna GreeneWhile AI is rising as a key commercial player at the global scale with an expected market size of almost $400 billion by 2025, are patent laws around the world equipped to incentivize this revolution?
May 01, 2020Gunjan AgarwalThere are currently several bills in various stages of being passed into law in several states as of early April, which would restrict, on a temporary basis, the eviction of commercial tenants from their leased premises for failure to pay rent, Whether these bills get signed into law and survive judicial scrutiny remains to be seen. The question then is whether a landlord may enforce the security deposit section of its lease and take the deposit should the tenant miss a rent payment.
May 01, 2020Ira Fierstein
