Last week, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied a motion for summary judgement submitted by Stranger Things creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, in a breach of implied contract suit filed by independent filmmaker Charlie Kessler. Kessler claims the Duffers stole the idea for their show after he pitched his own project to the brothers […]
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
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.
In a victory for daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled last week that the names, likenesses, and statistical information of college athletes are newsworthy and may be used without players’ permission. A group of NCAA athletes sued DraftKings and FanDuel on the basis that players should be paid for
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
On Monday, October 22nd, 2018, Tracy Chapman slapped Nicki Minaj with a copyright lawsuit. In her complaint, Chapman alleges that her song “Baby Can I Hold You” was sampled in Minaj’s song entitled “Sorry” without Chapman’s permission. Beginning in June 2018, Minaj and her representatives made multiple requests to license “Baby Can I Hold You,”
Kylie Jenner and her makeup company Kylie Cosmetics have both faced a number of lawsuits in the past few years, and the latest one comes from indie makeup company Sheree Cosmetics. Kylie Cosmetics recently launched a new line of products called “Born to Sparkle.” Sheree Cosmetics brings forth the claim that they already had a
