Media & Entertainment

  • June 21, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen JD Wetherspoon sue a Welsh pub over its name in the Intellectual Property Court, ex-professional boxer Amir Khan and his wife file libel action against an influencer, the Performing Right Society hit with a competition claim over music licensing, and Manolete Partners bring action against the directors of a bust investment firm. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • June 20, 2024

    TikTok Says Alternatives To 'Dangerous' Ban Were Ignored

    TikTok said Thursday that federal lawmakers likely didn't even consider its "exhaustive, multi-year efforts" to address national security concerns before deciding to ban the social media platform, slamming the law as "unprecedented" and warning that it sets "a dangerous precedent."

  • June 20, 2024

    NFL Sunday Ticket Is Procompetitive, Stanford Prof Tells Jury

    A Stanford University professor of economics on Thursday told a California federal jury considering multibillion-dollar antitrust claims against the NFL that the league's subscription deal with DirecTV and its method for distributing broadcast proceeds evenly to all its teams are procompetitive practices. 

  • June 20, 2024

    Calif. AG, City Atty Target SpongeBob App Over Kids' Privacy

    California's attorney general and the Los Angeles city attorney have teamed up to secure a deal that requires the operator of a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed app to pay $500,000 and overhaul its data-handling practices to resolve claims that the company gathered and shared children's personal information without consent. 

  • June 20, 2024

    'Jetflicks' Piracy Trial Results In 5 Convictions In Las Vegas

    Following a trial that stretched on for half a month, a federal jury in Las Vegas convicted a group of people who were accused of making more than $1 million running an illegal streaming website called "Jetflicks."

  • June 20, 2024

    Caltrans Tells FCC It's Against FirstNet Control Of 4.9 GHz

    California's Department of Transportation is adding its name to the list of public service entities lining up to tell the Federal Communications Commission that making AT&T's FirstNet the national manager of the 4.9 gigahertz safety band is a bad idea.

  • June 20, 2024

    Oprah Special Hiked Viacom Price, Archegos Trader Concedes

    An attorney for Archegos Capital Management LP founder Bill Hwang attempted Thursday to undercut testimony that the hedge fund boss had total control over his portfolio companies, getting a key cooperator to agree that ViacomCBS Inc.'s share price was at one point boosted by Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

  • June 20, 2024

    FCC Slams Bid In 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold

    The Federal Communications Commission told the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday it should pay no heed to a collection of net neutrality challengers arguing that "dire consequences" will ensue if the appellate court doesn't stop the agency from reinstating open internet regulations while the two sides argue the matter out in court.

  • June 20, 2024

    ACC Fights FSU's Stay Appeal In Media Rights Contract Suit

    The Atlantic Coast Conference has urged North Carolina's highest court to support a judge's decision to reject a bid by Florida State University to pause the organization's media rights lawsuit while a related action plays out in the Sunshine State.

  • June 20, 2024

    Madonna Mulls Sanctions Bid After Fans Drop 'Frivolous' Suit

    Attorneys defending Madonna, Live Nation and the Barclays Center against allegations that fans were "lulled" into buying tickets for a tardy show slammed the plaintiffs' unannounced dismissal of the "frivolous" case, telling a New York federal judge Wednesday they don't agree to bear their own costs and might seek sanctions.

  • June 20, 2024

    FCC Allows Top-4 Exception So Gray Can Sell Station

    The Federal Communications Commission has granted an exception to its rule prohibiting ownership of stations carrying more than one top-four network in a local market, allowing Gray Television to sell a Cheyenne, Wyoming, station as part of a larger deal.

  • June 20, 2024

    1st Circ. Says Song Royalties Go To Artists, Not Band Owners

    The First Circuit ruled that members of musical groups, not their owners or managers, are due royalties as featured "recording artists" under federal law.

  • June 20, 2024

    Vegas Papers Can't Pause Suit Amid Trim Appeal, Judge Says

    Rival Las Vegas newspapers won't see their acrimonious antitrust dispute placed on ice while the Ninth Circuit contemplates reversal of a partial dismissal order in the matter with no trial dates in place yet, a Nevada federal judge has determined.

  • June 20, 2024

    First Amendment Bars Models' Likeness Suit, Strip Clubs Say

    Three Philadelphia-area strip clubs facing a suit by Carmen Electra and other models over using their likeness without permission told a federal judge the plaintiffs' complaint is barred by the First Amendment because they are public figures "or limited purpose public figures."

  • June 20, 2024

    DLA Piper Adds 2 Entertainment Attys In NY From Reed Smith

    Two entertainment and advertising partners have left Reed Smith LLP to join DLA Piper, including the first woman to serve as the chief negotiator for the Joint Policy Committee, the bargaining representative for the advertising industry in negotiations for the multibillion-dollar commercials collective bargaining agreements with SAG-AFTRA and the American Federation of Musicians.

  • June 20, 2024

    EchoStar Says Customers Can Skip Junk Fees With Right Info

    Dish Network parent company EchoStar is defending early termination fees to the Federal Communications Commission, telling the agency that Dish's 2009 settlement agreement over deceptive charges can serve as a model for FCC billing guidelines.

  • June 20, 2024

    LA Boutique Adds Real Estate Pro As 4th Name Partner

    Boutique entertainment and business legal firm Freedman Taitelman & Cooley LLP is rebranding for the second time in less than a year — adding real estate and business attorney Stuart Liner to the front of the masthead.

  • June 20, 2024

    Snapchat Inks $15M Deal In Calif. Watchdog's Sex Bias Suit

    The parent company of Snapchat agreed to pay $15 million to end a California Civil Rights Department suit alleging it discouraged women from applying for promotions and failed to protect them from inappropriate sexual advances, according to a filing in California state court.

  • June 18, 2024

    Novant Pays $6.7M For Sharing Patient Data With Facebook

    A North Carolina federal judge on Monday gave the final seal of approval to a proposed $6.7 million deal resolving litigation alleging Novant Health Inc. shared sensitive patient data with Facebook, certifying a nationwide settlement class of roughly 1.3 million individuals.

  • June 18, 2024

    Ex-CBS Sports Chair Denies Fixing NFL Sunday Ticket Price

    The recently retired chairman of CBS Sports on Tuesday told a California federal jury considering multibillion-dollar antitrust claims against the NFL that his network didn't collude with the league to fix the price of the DirecTV Sunday Ticket television package.

  • June 18, 2024

    RR Donnelley Pays $2.1M To Settle SEC Claims Over Hack

    Marketing and communications giant R.R. Donnelley & Sons has reached a deal with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission to pay over $2.1 million to settle claims over a 2021 cybersecurity incident that stemmed from poor internal controls and disclosure failures, the agency announced Tuesday.

  • June 18, 2024

    IPhone Buyers Want Canadian Data In Amazon Antitrust Case

    Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. must be forced to turn over Canadian sales data as part of a lawsuit accusing the pair of hatching an anticompetitive agreement to choke third-party sales, a group of iPad and iPhone buyers told a Washington federal court.

  • June 18, 2024

    No Reason To Move Net Neutrality Suits To DC Circ., ISPs Say

    Nearly a dozen industry groups are calling on the Sixth Circuit to reject an effort by the Federal Communications Commission to move a raft of lawsuits over the FCC's net neutrality rules to the D.C. Circuit.

  • June 18, 2024

    9 Firms Vie To Lead Suit Over Ad Tech Co.'s Microsoft Ties

    Pomerantz LLP, Levi & Korsinsky LLP and several other firms have filed competing bids to lead a proposed shareholder class action alleging that shares of ad tech company Perion Network declined nearly 40% after its strategic partner Microsoft Bing "unilaterally" changed its search advertising pricing.

  • June 18, 2024

    Megan Thee Stallion Escapes IP Suit Over 'Savage' Song

    A Manhattan federal judge concluded Tuesday that rapper and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion did not rip off music from a hip-hop producer to create her hit song "Savage" in 2020, saying the plaintiff failed to show that she and the other defendants had access to his composition or that the two songs are substantially or strikingly similar.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • A Review Of 2023's Most Notable Securities Litigation

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    There is much to be learned from the most prominent private securities cases of 2023, specifically the Tesla trial, the U.S. Supreme Court's Slack decision and the resolution of Goldman Sachs litigation, but one lesson running through all of them is that there can be rewards at the end of the line for defendants willing to go the distance, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Issues High Court Is Weighing In Gov't Social Media Cases

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    Two U.S. Supreme Court cases aim to resolve a circuit split on whether public officials who block commenters from their personally created accounts are acting "under color of" state law, and the justices are grappling with determining how canonical legal principles will fit into a shifting landscape driven by advances in technology, says Alyssa Howard at Zuckerman Spaeder.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 7 Enforcement Predictions For US Export Controls, Sanctions

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    Federal agencies' assertions of coming increases in export-control and sanctions-violations enforcement are not new, but recent improvements in resources and inter-agency cooperation allow for certain predictions about how the administration’s latest approach to enforcement may be applied going forward, say attorneys at Akin.

  • Insurer's '600-Lb. Life' Win Shows Why Fraud Suits Don't Stick

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    A Texas federal court’s recent ruling that Philadelphia Indemnity Co. did not fraudulently induce Megalomedia, the production company behind reality show “My 600-Lb. Life,” into purchasing insurance, demonstrates why a policyholder’s fraudulent inducement claim against an insurer will rarely succeed, says Robert Tugander at Rivkin Radler.

  • 3 Types Of Evidence Excluded Pretrial In 2023 TM Cases

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    Dylan I. Scher at Quinn Emanuel reviews three areas of rulings on motions in limine from 2023 where parties successfully excluded evidence in a trademark dispute, for legal practitioners to consider for future cases.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Singapore

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    Singapore is keen to establish itself as a leading international financial center and a key player in the sustainable finance ecosystem, and key initiatives led by its government and other regulatory bodies have helped the Asian nation progress from its initially guarded attitude toward ESG investment and reporting, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

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    The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.

  • Reading The Fine Print On FDA's Prescription Drug Ad Rule

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new final rule regarding the disclosure of risks and side effects in ads for prescription drugs includes some broad and potentially subjective language, and some missed opportunities to address how traditional media formats have changed in recent years, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.

  • Comparing Christmas Carols: IP Issues In Mariah Carey Case

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    All that plaintiffs Andy Stone and Troy Powers want for Christmas this year is $20 million in damages from Mariah Carey in a federal copyright suit claiming her hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You" infringed on their earlier song by the same name, but they will have an uphill battle in demonstrating substantial similarity, says forensic musicologist Ethan Lustig.

  • Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.

  • 7 Critical Copyright And AI Questions Courts Need To Address

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    U.S. courts have yet to rule on many copyright issues regarding generative artificial intelligence technologies, so developers and users should consider several questions when evaluating risks, developing risk mitigation plans and making decisions about particular use cases, say John Delaney and Sean West at Perkins Coie.

  • Why E-Commerce Tools Are Under Fire Amid Privacy Lawsuits

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    As lawsuits try to shoehorn new technologies into decades-old privacy laws never intended for the digital age, e-commerce tools and the companies that use them are increasingly at risk, and retailers should act now to minimize their potential exposure, say attorneys at Benesch.

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