Litigation

To determine whether a defendant's work is substantially similar to a plaintiff's work in a copyright infringement case, courts generally first discard any unprotectable elements from the plaintiff's work. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently ruled that the use of one actor to play multiple roles in the plaintiff's 1949 comedy film Kind Hearts and Coronets wasn't a protectable element for proving infringement by the authors of a stage musical adapted from the film.

More film productions have become international affairs, with shooting in faraway exotic locations, post-production in still other foreign countries, production funding from international sources, and sales in both foreign and domestic markets. The question then is how best to resolve disputes arising among the vast cast of characters in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that a time-bar for copyright ownership under the statute of limitations also bars a related copyright infringement claim.

The first quarter of this year has been marked by a rise of awareness and legal activity surrounding the question of behavioral, or targeted, advertising ' a significant area of operation and interest for e-commerce firms.

Analysis of a recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit.

In-depth analysis of recent important rulings.

Recently, a Colorado bankruptcy court considered the effects of Bankruptcy Code ' 552(a) on a lender's security interest in the proceeds of an FCC broadcast license.

A split among bankruptcy courts has called into question whether supply contracts for commodities such as hogs, electricity and gas will receive the same protection that has been extended to swaps and other financial contracts under ' 546 of the Bankruptcy Code.