As of April 15th, the European Union officially approved a controversial new Copyright Directive that has left members of the art and tech worlds fiercely divided. The Directive, which was narrowly approved by the European Parliament in a 348 to 274 vote last month, has now been given the green light by 19 out of […]
Property owners suing Niantic, the developer of augmented reality gaming sensation Pokémon Go, for trespass and nuisance, have likely settled after years of litigation. They submitted a proposed settlement to the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The class action, a consolidation of numerous claims filed against Niantic in 2016, alleged that
Ariana Grande’s “Sweetener” World Tour is not so sweet for the press photographers tasked with capturing her star power on stage. Major media outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press, and the Los Angeles Times have joined forces with the National Press Photographers Association to protest the pop star’s markedly restrictive photo policies. According
For Immediate Release: 2019 Harvard Sports Law Symposium Scheduled for Monday, April 1, 2019. On April 1, the Harvard Committee on Sports & Entertainment Law and the Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law are hosting the 2019 Harvard Sports Law Symposium. An annual event, the Symposium is intended to bring together sports industry–focused practitioners,
On Monday, the Supreme Court affirmed the 11th Circuit’s decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v Wall-Street.com, holding that a copyright owner may not file an infringement suit or seek other legal remedies until the Copyright Office registers their copyright. The unanimous decision resolved a circuit split on the issue of when a copyright
By Stuart N. Brotman Matt Lauer and Louis C.K. may be the latest answers on Jeopardy. But here is the real question: How do you control talent behavior in the entertainment and media fields? This inquiry has been posed for over 80 years now. When Hollywood had a studio system for the movie industry, most of
On Thursday, Judge Janis Sammartino of the Southern District of California rejected the affirmative defenses advanced by Conan O’Brien in a long-running joke theft lawsuit. The suit centers on four jokes that O’Brien told on his show Conanin 2015, which were allegedly stolen from the Twitter account of plaintiff Robert Kaseberg, a former comedy writer for
On July 17, 2014, Douglas Jordan-Benel sued Universal Studios, United Talent Agency and screenplay writer, James Demonaco, claiming the movie The Purge is based on his screenplay, Settler’s Day. Jordan-Benel alleges in his complaint that he submitted his screenplay for consideration to United Talent Agency around July 8, 2011, but the work was ultimately rejected.
On Tuesday, Frederick Zaccheo, founder of the non-profit charity The Dinosaur Project, filed suit against the creators of Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom in the Southern District of New York. Zaccheo alleges that Universal City Studios and Amblin Entertainment committed breach of contract and trademark infringement relating to their use of the phrase SAVE THE DINOS in the
The Rosenheim mansion in Country Club Park, the location of the first season of American Horror Story, is now at the center of a lawsuit. The plaintiffs, Ernest Von Schwartz and Pier A. Oaken, purchased the house from Von Steinbauer in 2015 for $3.2 million. They are suing Steinbauer’s estate as well as the Coldwell
Pharrell Williams has sent President Donald Trump a cease-and-desist letter for playing his song, ‘Happy’, without authorization at a rally. The move comes in the wake of the tragic shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The letter penned by Williams’ lawyer, Howard King, states that “on the day of the mass murder of 11
