Courts Carve Out Boundaries for What Are Viable Legal Claims Under Federal Digital Music Statutes
January 01, 2026
There are two key federally created entities whose mission it is to issue licenses and collect royalties on behalf of rights holders for digital transmissions of music: SoundExchange and the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). This article reports on recent court rulings over whether the plaintiffs had viable causes of action related to SoundExchange and MLC royalty payments.
Defamation Lawsuit Over Peacock Docuseries Reinstated on Appeal
January 01, 2026
Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal revived a defamation lawsuit of a Palm Beach County woman after finding the trial judge had improperly dismissed her case, which accuses a Peacock TV docuseries of falsely depicting her as the “madam” of a prostitution ring, among other crimes.
Disney-OpenAI’s Sora Deal: What it Signals for Licensing and Responsible AI
January 01, 2026
The Walt Disney Co.’s newly announced, three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI to bring more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars to Sora marks a pivotal moment at the intersection of intellectual property and generative AI. For rights holders, platforms, and brands, the deal illustrates an emerging blueprint for commercializing iconic IP in AI-native formats while attempting to manage legal, regulatory, and reputational risk.
Fresh Filings
January 01, 2026
Notable recent court filings in entertainment law.
Players On the Move
January 01, 2026
A look at moves among attorneys, law firms, companies and other players in entertainment law.
Mid-Trial Settlement of Racing Teams’ Antitrust Suit Against NASCAR
December 24, 2025
In 23XI Racing LLC v. National Association of Stock Car Racing LLC (NASCAR), racing teams 23XI and Front Row Motorsports Inc. sued NASCAR, including over the latter’s inclusion of a waiver clause in agreements that permit teams to compete in NASCAR’s pinnacle Cup Series.
Fair Use Decision on Van Halen ‘Frankenstein’ Guitar Photo
December 01, 2025
Early in Van Halen’s career, Neil Zlozower shot photos of the music group at Sunset Sound Studios with Eddie holding his famous "Frankenstein" guitar. Years later, Zlozower sued the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, alleging copyright infringement after the institution included two of his Van Halen photos, unlicensed from and uncredited to Zlozower, in exhibits at the museum.
Holes in U.S. Copyright Office’s Guidance for AI-Assisted Works
December 01, 2025
When can an artist using AI tools copyright their work? Earlier this year, the Copyright Office addressed the issue and rejected the proposition that only prompting an AI model can create a copyrightable work. But Copyright Office’s analysis missed that “randomness” for a computer means something entirely different than we generally think, ultimately underselling the amount of control someone can have over a model’s output.
