The Briefing: Trademark Basics - Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
The Briefing: Anthropic, Copyright, and the Fair Use Divide
Will I Get Sued if I Create Another Hospital Drama? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: Sinking the Rogers Test? What Pepperdine’s Lawsuit Could Mean for Hollywood
The Briefing: Sinking the Rogers Test? What Pepperdine’s Lawsuit Could Mean for Hollywood
Mickey Mouse: un ratón con abogado
(Podcast) The Briefing: The Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Eleanor’s Copyright Claim
The Briefing: The Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Eleanor’s Copyright Claim
Why Can't I Clean the Graffiti Off My Walls? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: When a TikTok Costs You $150,000 - Copyright Pitfalls in Influencer Marketing
The Briefing: When a TikTok Costs You $150,000 - Copyright Pitfalls in Influencer Marketing
Can Tattoos Be Copyrighted? The Legal Battle Over Mike Tyson's Iconic Ink — No Infringement Intended Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Mayhem – Lady Gaga Gets Sued for Trademark Infringement
The Briefing: Trademark Mayhem – Lady Gaga Gets Sued for Trademark Infringement
(Podcast) The Briefing: The Future of TV? A 2025 Digital Media Trends Analysis
The Briefing: The Future of TV? A 2025 Digital Media Trends Analysis
The Briefing: Everyone Loves the HBO Series 'White Lotus,' Except Duke University
(Podcast) The Briefing: Everyone Loves the HBO Series 'White Lotus,' Except Duke University
The Briefing: Sequel, Spin-Off, or Something Else? The Legal Battle Over "ER" and "The Pitt"
(Podcast) The Briefing: Sequel, Spin-Off, or Something Else? The Legal Battle Over "ER" and "The Pitt"
Drag queen Vicky Vox failed to revive her lawsuit accusing Netflix and several creators of an animated series of using her likeness without permission....more
Sixth Circuit affirms dismissal of lawsuit brought by granddaughter of late composer Jay Livingston, holding that termination notices served and filed by Livingston’s daughter were valid and that granddaughter retained no...more
A federal judge has ruled that training Claude AI on copyrighted books—even without a license—was transformative and protected under fair use. But storing millions of pirated books in a permanent internal library? That...more
In this episode, Rusty and Austin explore the potential legal hurdles they might encounter if they were to venture into creating their own hospital drama. With the television landscape already saturated with series like ER,...more
Superman has soared back onto the big screen, and unless you’ve been locked in the Fortress of Solitude, you already know his origin story: Rocketed from the doomed planet Krypton. Raised in Kansas. Secretly, a mild-mannered...more
The release of Skillhouse, a horror film streaming on the platform GenTV, shares headlines with a high-profile lawsuit brought by rapper 50 Cent based on alleged violations of his intellectual property (IP) rights....more
Michael Crichton, author, director, and visionary created works that resonate today like Jurassic Park, Twister, Westworld, and ER. Now, his estate is suing the production team and leading actor of the newly released medical...more
“I love reality TV!” Cue the eyerolls. For many, admitting to watching reality TV is often done begrudgingly or dismissed as a “guilty pleasure.” But why the stigma? Reality television has it all: drama, competition, social...more
In this episode of The Briefing, Scott Hervey and Richard Buckley dive into Pepperdine University v. Netflix, a trademark showdown over the use of the name “Waves” in the Netflix series Running Point. After Pepperdine’s...more
The PGA Tour announced a significant structural change Tuesday hiring longtime NFL executive Brian Rolapp as the first CEO in the organization’s history while beginning the transition away from commissioner Jay Monahan, who...more
In a new precedential decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. v. Halicki that “Eleanor,” a stable of Ford Mustangs that appears across four action films, is not a copyrightable...more
On June 11, 2025, Disney (including Lucasfilm, Marvel, and 20th Century Studios) and Universal Pictures (including DreamWorks) filed a Complaint for direct and secondary copyright infringement in the Central District of...more
Can a car be a copyrightable character? In Carroll Shelby Licensing v. Halicki, the Ninth Circuit said no — ruling that “Eleanor,” the iconic Mustang from ‘Gone in 60 Seconds,’ lacks the distinctiveness and consistency...more
The Copyright Act does not expressly address the protection of individual characters in expressive works, but courts have long recognized that certain characters, particularly those with strong visual or narrative identities,...more
Some of the largest movie studios have entered the fray of GenAI copyright litigation. Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and DreamWorks sued the image-GenAI company Midjourney, Inc. in the...more
In this episode of No Infringement Intended, hosts Austin Padgett and Rusty Close delve into the 5Pointz case, where graffiti art clashed with property rights in Queens, NY. Explore how the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA)...more
Court Narrows Scope of Character Copyright, Drawing Sharp Line Between Props and Protectable Expression - Not every film icon gets legal protection. On May 27, 2025, the Ninth Circuit ruled that Eleanor—the legendary Mustang...more
The former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. has pushed back against efforts to force him to hand over documents relating to his alleged sexual misconduct and hush money payments in a class action over the company’s...more
In this episode, Austin Padgett and Rusty Close discuss the legal implications of Mike Tyson's face tattoo in the context of intellectual property law. They explore the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by tattoo artist S....more
Pop icon Lady Gaga is no stranger to making waves, but a new lawsuit initiated by California-based surfboard company Lost International (aka Lost Surfboards), shows that even superstars can find themselves navigating choppy...more
Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” tour has sparked legal trouble. In this episode of The Briefing, Scott Hervey and James Kachmar analyze a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by surf brand, Lost International, which claims Gaga’s use of...more
Nike was hit with a proposed securities class action on Friday accusing the athletic apparel giant of touting its nonfungible tokens before abruptly abandoning that business, in a “brazen rug pull” that left purchasers of...more
Jack Nicklaus just scored a $1 million win in a New York court, striking back against his former company’s attempt to control his personal brand....more