Grappling With Liability Issues For Entertainment Attorneys
Attorneys are faced with a variety of potential liability issues in handling matters for clients. Malpractice insurance can help, but such policies don't eliminate the raising of liability claims. These claims may include disqualification of counsel based on alleged adverse interests of clients, malpractice allegations based on transactional and litigation work and the threat of Rule 11 sanctions. <br>The entertainment business presents its own lawyer liability concerns.
Bit Parts
Recent developments in entertainment law.
Editing Software Reignites Ire Of Film Directors
This spring, RCA launched a DVD player that includes a software program by ClearPlay Inc. that is preprogrammed to filter out nudity, sex, violence and harsh language from hundreds of movies ranging from "Lost in Translation" to "The Cat in the Hat." <br>The technology has created a furor in Hollywood, with a group of 16 prominent directors ' including Stephen Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Robert Redford and Stephen Soderbergh ' teaming up with seven motion picture studios to get it off the market. The directors claim the editing violates their trademarks by mutilating and diluting their movies, while the studios argue it infringes their copyrights by creating derivative works.
Attorney Fees Update
Depending on the circumstances and the law, parties on either side of an entertainment suit may ask a court for an award of attorney fees. Following are recent court rulings that deal with this and related concerns. In this and future issues, <i>Entertainment Law & Finance</i> will report on such relevant rulings in Attorney-Fee Updates.
Arbitration Update
Many contracts in the entertainment industry include arbitration clauses. <i>EL&F</i> will periodically provide updates on how courts are interpreting and enforcing these clauses and appeals to arbitrators' rulings.
Courthouse Steps
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
<b>Decision of Note:</b><b>Agency Contract Found Properly Disaffirmed</b>
A Manhattan federal district court granted summary judgment dismissing a claim against a Canadian modeling agency for tortious interference with contract. <i>NYC Management Group Inc. v. Brown-Miller</i>. The defendant had secured New York agency representation from the plaintiff's modeling agency for 16-year-old Jessica Stam, who later disaffirmed the minor's contract based on her unhappiness with the plaintiff's agency.
The RIAA's New Frontier
In response to the Verizon decision, the RIAA has turned to the use of "John/Jane Doe" lawsuits as the mechanism by which to identify file-sharing customers of ISPs and obtain judicial relief against copyright infringement. Since January, and continuing through the end of last month, the RIAA has filed hundreds of lawsuits against "Doe" defendants in federal district courts around the country.
