IATSE, the union representing below-the-line production workers from cinematographers and editors to grips and hair stylists, has moved a crucial step closer to its first strike since 1945. In a strike vote with over 90% turnout, over 98% of members agreed to authorize union leadership to call a strike if negotiations fail.
Although wage increases
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
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
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
In what must be counted as a victory for solidarity among WGA members and the often controversial tactics of its executive director David Goodman, the leading agency WME reached a deal for a franchise agreement with the union. This will permit the agency to resume representing writers almost two years after its writer clients fired
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
In response to a copyright claim that the Netflix series “Stranger Things” infringed the plaintiff’s unpublished screenplays, Netflix and the other defendants filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, arguing that the works were not substantially similar as a matter of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 –
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
Happy New Year to all. To kick off 2021, I’ve provided quick takes below on some of the bigger stories we’ll be watching
WME v. WGA
Just before Christmas, CAA closed a deal with the Writers Guild regarding phasing out of package commissions and partial divestiture of its ownership of production entities. That left WME
In my last blog, I expressed cautious optimism that the WGA was making progress in settling its long-running dispute with CAA and WME, the two largest talent agencies and the last two holdouts in signing a franchise agreement that would permit them to represent writers. In April 2019, the WGA directed its members to