Appropriate for the pirate genre, citing the parties’ “dueling experts,” a District Court recently denied Disney’s motion for summary judgment in a copyright lawsuit in which the plaintiffs claimed the films in the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise infringed plaintiffs’ copyrighted screenplay. The Court ruled against the motion “because the parties’ expert
Gaffers, Grips Going, Gone as IATSE Threatens Walkout
We are not out of the woods yet.
Just as Hollywood was coping with the early effects of the pandemic, it barely avoided a Writers Guild strike. After a long year of extensive shutdowns, things just seemed to be getting back on track after unions and management hashed out COVID protocols for productions to
Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney over “Black Widow” Streaming Release
The lawsuit brought by Scarlett Johansson against The Walt Disney Co. has struck Hollywood like a thunderclap. The litigation arises out of Disney’s decision to release Black Widow concurrently in theaters and on Disney+. Johansson claims that the streaming release deprived her of compensation she should have received otherwise. The fact that this dispute was
TV Station Consolidation OK, Say Supremes
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court voted to uphold a decision by the FCC to deregulate ownership of television broadcast stations. The Commission proposed the rule change in 2017 under Trump-appointed FCC chair Ajit Pai. The changes included an elimination of a rule that barred common ownership of stations in a market if the
Broadcast Deregulation Reaches Supreme Court
In light of the ubiquity of cable and satellite, a controversy over the ownership of terrestrial broadcast stations may seem like a sideshow. The reality is, however, that an increasing number of American households are receiving broadcast stations by means of over-the-air transmission, either exclusively or together with a subscription video service.
The Supreme Court
Follow up: Faizon Love, Universal Make Nice
We recently reported on a lawsuit that the actor Faizon Love brought in November against Universal Pictures. Love was one of the stars of the 2009 movie Couples Retreat, whose overseas publicity campaign aroused controversy when it was discovered that Love, the movie’s only Black star, and his Black female partner had been removed
ViacomCBS Sues Insurer Over COVID Claims
As the COVID-19 pandemic forced widespread postponement and cancellation of film and TV production in 2020, it brought a corresponding explosion of insurance claims by producers. This led inevitably to coverage disputes as carriers sought to deny coverage wherever they could. A recent lawsuit by ViacomCBS illustrates some interesting issues that can arise in these
DOJ Keeps the Music Playing for ASCAP and BMI
On January 15th, the Department of Justice announced it has ended its two-year review of the 80-year old consent decrees that govern the operation of the largest music performing rights organizations in the United States: ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.). The DOJ decided not to
“Stranger Things”: Copyright Challenge to Popular Series Survives Motion to Dismiss
In response to a copyright claim that the Netflix series “Stranger Things” infringed the plaintiff’s unpublished screenplays, Netflix and the other defendants filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, arguing that the works were not substantially similar as a matter of law. In connection with the motion, Netflix submitted – and the Court accepted –
Follow Up: Enola Holmes Case Settles, Leaves Unsolved Mysteries
Owners of copyright in characters are often well-advised not to press their claims too far in litigation at the risk of losing their rights altogether. This may be what motivated a quick settlement of litigation over Sherlock Holmes.
In June, 2020, the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sued Netflix and others over their