The battle between the Writers Guild of America and the major agencies has been waged on two fronts for over a year, with mixed results.
Attention recently has focused primarily on the WGA’s pressure campaign to require agencies to sign a Code of Conduct renouncing package commissions and ownership of production companies as a condition
These have been hard times for the movie theater business. Attendance peaked in 2002 at approximately 1.6 billion tickets sold. In 2019, that number had dropped by 25%, to around 1.2 billion. The proliferation of subscription streaming services is not the only force driving this trend, but it is certainly a substantial one. Against this
UTA has just announced that it reached agreement with the Writers Guild to sign a franchise agreement that will permit it to resume representation of writers.
This will bring a partial end to a dispute that has lasted for over a year. The WGA had directed its members to fire their agents over
In a down to the wire bargaining session, the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee reached agreement with the studios on a new three-year deal. This was unanimously approved by the governing boards of the WGA West and East and will go to the membership for likely ratification later this month. The pact averts what
A planned Netflix movie about Sherlock Holmes’s sister is the target of a lawsuit from the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the legendary detective. The estate has asserted both copyright and trademark claims.
The estate will have to walk a narrow path to prevail on its copyright claims. All but the last
The performers union, SAG-AFTRA, has reached a deal with the studios for a new three-year contract covering theatrical, television and new media production. The proposal will still need to be approved by the national board and the membership before taking effect.
The proposed contract is patterned on the agreement struck by the Directors Guild earlier
Another blow was struck in the litigation between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the top three talent agencies.
In April, the agencies prevailed in their motion to dismiss eight of the nine claims asserted against them by the WGA in the pending US District Court case. They have now moved to dismiss the
The US Copyright Office issued a lengthy report concluding that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has “tilted askew” in favor of tech companies. It called on Congress to make changes in the act that will favor copyright owners.
Congress passed the DMCA in 1998. One goal of the Act was to accommodate the
After something of a war of words, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have resumed negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. This agreement will cover writers for film, TV and digital productions.
Residuals for series and feature-length productions made for streaming services are expected
The full service agencies APA and Innovative Artists have signed the Writers Guild of America’s new agency franchise agreement. As a result, each will be free to resume representing writers but with some critical restrictions. (For background on the long-running battle between the WGA and the agencies, see our earlier posts here and here.)