Harnessing Creativity or Creating Liability?
October 29, 2007
The growth of online social networking has not been lost on marketers, who hope to enlist Internet users in campaigns to promote their products and services. This article will appear in three installments. This first part examines the use of user-generated content ('UGC') and user participation as part of a promotion.
Internet Gambling Law Challenged
September 27, 2007
A federal law that targets online gambling by making it illegal to make or receive payoffs violates the First Amendment, a federal suit charges. A not-for-profit association of Internet gamers and gaming companies is asking a federal judge in Trenton, NJ to block enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act ('UIGEA') and to issue a temporary restraining order.
Bit Parts
September 27, 2007
Film-Script Submissions/Implied-in-Fact Contracts<br>Record-Label Trademarks/Laches<br>Uruguay Round Agreements Act/First Amendment
Counsel Concerns
September 27, 2007
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted partial sanctions against plaintiffs' counsel in a copyright-infringement suit.
Cameo Clips
September 27, 2007
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi decided that a woman seen for three seconds at a religious meeting in the movie 'Borat' could proceed with her claim of misappropriation of likeness for commercial gain. <br>The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that middle episodes of 'The Andy Griffith Show' from the 1960s not properly renewed for copyright nevertheless were derivative works of earlier episodes and thus subject to copyright protection from unauthorized distribution.
Block to Perpetual Attorney Fees
September 27, 2007
Entertainment law firms in California commonly charge the talent they represent on a percentage basis, rather than an hourly one. The typical arrangement requires the client to pay 5% of gross income derived from contracts entered into during the course of the representation. Earlier this year, a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles addressed the enforceability of this fee structure in the context of an acrimonious dispute between two entertainment firms. The principal issue in the case, and the focus of this article, is whether clients who had departed for the new firm had a continuing obligation to pay that 5% fee to the old firm as a matter of contract law.
Digital Era Causes Shifts in Roles of Record Labels and Music Publishers
September 27, 2007
The digital-music era has resulted in many shifts in the music business. A major one has been the creative and economic repositioning of record labels and music publishers. In the following interview, coordinated by <i>Entertainment Law & Finance</i> Editor-in-Chief <b>Stan Soocher</b>, <b>Keith C. Hauprich</b> and <b>Bob Donnelly</b> discuss this repositioning and related issues from the publisher's and artist attorney's perspectives.
10b5 -1 Plan Abuse
September 27, 2007
Last month, we wrote that the latest hot topic in corporate executive abuses may be manipulation of traders under prearranged Rule 10b5-1. We said that once a determination is made to review the historical operation of a 10b5-1 plan, reviewers should consider as a threshold issue whether they are sufficiently independent from the subject plans and traders to be properly regarded as objective. We continue with a list that describes several steps that could be taken to reveal some of the 10b5-1 plan abuses that commentators speculate may exist.
The Place to Network: Network Your Way to an International Practice
September 26, 2007
In today's Internet age, from strictly a networking standpoint, the world is officially your oyster. Never before has it been so easy for attorneys to communicate with clients and colleagues from all over the world to attract, develop and secure international business.
