Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Disputes arising out of 'pay-or-play' deals between film producers and talent are among the most fertile and reliable breeding grounds for litigation in the entertainment industry. In the last year alone:
And for every dispute that results in the filing of a lawsuit, one can safely assume that there are several more being fought out behind the scenes, and either arbitrated or settled.
From a practitioner's standpoint, it might be asked why the same basic deal point gives rise with such frequency to high stakes lawsuits, particularly given the widespread agreement in the industry on its meaning. Simply put, and as various courts that have been called upon to construe pay-or-play language have found, a pay-or-play commitment generally entails a promise to compensate a person whether the person's services are used or not.
Yet as straightforward as this concept may seem at first blush, pay-or-play agreements between talent and producers or studios frequently involve nuances and applications that, in combination with the monetary amounts at issue, can create flammable situations. While each pay-or-play dispute is factually unique, many conflicts in this area tend to share certain common traits that allow for some general observations about why misunderstandings concerning the meaning and effects of pay-or-play deals recur, as well as some ways that such disputes may be prepared for or avoided.
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?