In the latest blow against Netflix’s aggressive recruiting practices, a California appellate court has affirmed a trial court’s injunction against Netflix and in favor of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (“Fox”), thus...more
California employers and executives might view fixed term employment agreements in a new light following a California appellate court’s unpublished decision suggesting employers do not violate California’s long-established...more
Amid the frozen free agent market this hot (cold) stove season is a potential transaction that, while not necessarily dictating the headlines, could have significant positive effects on how Major League Baseball (MLB) games...more
In June, I reported on a copyright infringement case concerning Oscar-winning film, The Shape of Water. The suit was filed in February in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, on the same day that the Academy voters started...more
The DOJ has given Disney its official nod in its $71 billion bid for the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox, contingent on Disney’s divestiture of Fox’s 22 regional sports networks (a condition all about Disney’s ESPN...more
The Shape of Water, winner of four Oscars this year, is defending itself in a copyright infringement lawsuit which asserts the film copies a 1969 sci-fi play. The suit was filed on February 21, 2018, just one day after Oscar...more
We got an official first look at the Fed’s revised Volcker Rule yesterday, and the “sweeping plan to soften” the rule will open “the door for banks to resume some trading activities restricted as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank...more
The notoriously close-to-the-vest Amazon revealed for the first time yesterday in a letter to shareholders that its popular Prime program boasts more than 100 million paid members globally....more
Addressing the issue of trademark infringement specific to the title of an expressive work, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s conclusion that Twentieth Century Fox’s use of the name...more
Did you ever wonder why some movies use fictional names for companies or sports teams? TV and movie producers intentionally avoid using brand or company names in order to avoid any potential of an entanglement with a...more
In a move that will likely benefit game developers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explicitly held that First Amendment protection extends to use of third-party trademarks in the commercial promotion of an...more
In December 2016, a California federal court issued a preliminary injunction against VidAngel, Inc.’s custom-filtered video streaming service. Thursday, in Hollywood Studios v. VidAngel, Inc., a Ninth Circuit panel affirmed...more
Several Hollywood companies have agreed to pay $170 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by animators who claimed their wages were depressed by unlawful anti-poaching agreements. The recent settlements highlight that now...more
Rupert Murdoch and 21st Century Fox have fulfilled a mission derailed five years ago by a UK phone hacking scandal and have taken full control of British satellite TV giant Sky. Fox paid just shy of $15 billion to acquire the...more
The Department of Justice’s recent Yates Memo creates a new emphasis on individual accountability for corporate or entity wrongdoing. It also enhances the risk to corporate employees that they will need to choose between...more
It has been about a year since we published Harry Potter Lawsuits and Where to Find Them, my attempt at a comprehensive review of Harry Potter-related litigation. Why update the article now? Two reasons. First: The...more
In another episode involving the First Amendment and the Lanham Act, Twentieth Century Fox’s “Empire” notched a win for the First Amendment. In Twentieth Century Fox Television, et al. v. Empire Distribution Inc. the United...more
On February 1, 2016, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson ruled that Twentieth Century Fox Television’s (“Fox’s”) use of the term “Empire” in the network’s hit TV series was protected by the First Amendment. Judge Anderson...more
In 2003 the U.S. Supreme Court in Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. emphasized that “[t]he rights of a patentee or copyright holder are part of a ‘carefully crafted bargain,’… under which, once the patent or...more
In 2006, the media conglomerate News Corporation, referred to as Old News Corp, entered into a Settlement Agreement to settle stockholder litigation filed in Delaware in 2005. Subject to certain exceptions, the Settlement...more
The Northern District of Illinois recently held that the Supreme Court’s decision in Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 539 U.S. 23 (2003), did not protect a karaoke bar from claims of trademark infringement...more
An undercover app. Internet innovators have for some time been trying to cash in on the public’s mounting desire for anonymous messaging platforms, with varied success. As we recently noted, at least 11 students at colleges...more