Features

Author and Licensee Content Rights in Agreements for TV Productions
These times are heady for creators of books and stories that may be suitable for television production. In addition to the traditional broadcast networks, a legion of pay and basic cable exhibitors and, more recently, direct-to-consumer streaming outlets are voraciously licensing product from those creators. Much press is given to the compensation aspects of the creators' agreements with exhibitors, but attention also should be paid to the extent and duration of the exhibitor's exclusivity in the property in which rights are being acquired,
Features

Compensation Issues from Cancelled Roseanne TV Show
It is rare that a hit network television series is cancelled, as recently occurred with the ABC series <i>Roseanne</i>. But when that happens, the immediate and long-term implications for the network, producers, talent and other entities related to the series can be significant.
Features

Thinking Outside of the Big-Box: Understanding License Agreements
One critical component to the successful evolution of a shopping center is creating a stronger connection with community through attractions, events and promotions that bring a fresh vibrancy to the centers. These specialty relationships and other short-term relationships are generally memorialized in a license agreement rather than a traditional lease.
Features

A Legal Primer for Making Indie Movies
While thousands of films are made each year in the United States and Canada, less than 800 were theatrically released in 2017, with many exceptional films failing to obtain commercial distribution because of legal issues.
Features

<i>Decision of Note:</i> Live Nation Can't Force Arbitration over Online Ticketing Site
Agreeing to arbitration was supposed to be as easy as clicking a button, but Live Nation was unable to show that a man seeking to sue the company actually clicked any of the buttons indicating his consent to arbitrate.
Features

Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider Language
At the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.
Columns & Departments

Counsel Concerns: Ambiguous Offer for Daddy Yankee to Settle Suit Ends in Attorney Fees Denial
Attorneys who sued “Despacito” artist Daddy Yankee for defamation should have heeded the song's title and drafted their settlement offer slowly, a federal appellate court ruled.
Features

How Ticket Software Lost Trade Secret Protection
Trade secret protection applies only to confidential information. In almost all circumstances, broadcasting to the world the intricate details and applications of a trade secret extinguishes whatever “property right” an entertainment industry holder once possessed. What is a sufficient method of contractually notifying a software user of the trade secret status of certain information is a closer question.
Features

Decision of Note: TV Reality Show Release Overrides Objection Clause
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld a release clause signed by an entertainment attorney who appeared in WE network's reality TV show Money. Power. Respect.
Features

Smart Contracts and Blockchain
As the entertainment industry continues to assess digital blockchain-distribution technology for tracking transactions, it's essential to consider the legal implications for smart-contracting and contract management.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- How AI Has Affected PRWhen we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.Read More ›
- <b><i>Online Extra: </b></i> 7-Eleven Hit With Discovery Sanctions in NJ Franchise Case </b></i>A federal magistrate judge in Camden has sanctioned 7-Eleven Inc. for what he said were repeatedly deficient discovery responses in a case alleging the company unlawfully targeted South Jersey franchisees and owners for termination.Read More ›
- Tips for How Women Lawyers Can Chart a Different Course, Part 3Along the way to charting your own course, below are critical habits to be implemented as you stay focused on growing a fulfilling and prosperous career.Read More ›
- Client Speak: Is the Burden of AFA Here to Stay?The recent dramatic downturn has created something relatively unknown to law firms: the "insistent buyers' market" (or "ibm"), wherein all the pent-up frustrations of the past have suddenly found a voice and now have to be confronted and no longer ignored.Read More ›