Neflix’s original series “When They See Us” was released in May of this year and portrayed the prosecution of five teenagers of color who were wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in Manhattan’s Central Park in 1989. The series depicts the detectives and police abusing the teens, isolating them from their parents, and subjecting
Phillie Phanatic Could Become a “Free Agent” in 2020
Currently standing nine games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and vying for a National League Wild Card spot, the last thing the Phillies need is to have to fight to keep its most valuable player on the
Lanham Act’s Prohibition of Immoral and Scandalous Marks is Officially “FUCT”
The U.S. Supreme Court this week officially pulled the plug on the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the registration of trademarks that comprise “immoral” or “scandalous” matter on First Amendment grounds. The prohibition, found in Section 2(a) of the Act, was already on life support after the Court’s
Court Kicks Joke Experts Off Stage As “Stolen Joke Case” Heads for Trial
The cast list for the upcoming trial between TBS late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien and comedy writer Alex Kaseberg just got shorter as District Court Judge Janis Sammartino dropped the curtain on Kaseberg’s two expert witnesses. Kaseberg intended to team up with David Barsky, a mathematics
Winter Is Coming: Writers and Agents Hunker Down for a Battle of Attrition
This is an update on my blog post regarding the face-off between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the major talent agencies, through the Association of Talent Agencies (ATA).
To summarize–OMG!! 
The WGA issued an ultimatum requiring the agents to sign their Code of Conduct forswearing package commissions. This is the practice by which
O’Brien Roasts Plaintiff in Copyright Dispute Alleging Jokes Too Stale to be Stolen
The drama is building in the comic clash between TBS late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien and comedy writer Alex Kaseberg over jokes Kaseberg claims O’Brien and his writing team stole from him. As previously reported, O’Brien was able to knock out two of the five
TVEyes Closed at Last
The TVEyes v. Fox saga has reached its conclusion. Following the Supreme Court’s denial of TVEyes’ petition for certiorari, the video clipping service had little choice but to settle Fox News’s copyright infringement lawsuit. The parties filed a permanent injunction in the Southern District of New York under which TVEyes agreed to eliminate all Fox
Lawsuit Over McGyver Series Illustrates Dizzying Distinction Between “Spin-Off” and “Remake”
Readers over 40 will remember the TV series MacGyver, which ran on ABC from 1985 through 1992. The show starred Richard Dean Anderson as a mild-mannered secret agent with an uncanny ability to escape the gravest perils by repurposing ordinary objects around him. The show was such a hit that “macgyver” entered the lexicon to
Decades-Long Fight Over $30 Million Pissarro Painting Stolen By Nazis is on Full Display as Court Wraps Trial
The oil painting by renowned impressionist Camille Pissarro titled “Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain” appears innocent enough. The work depicts a boulevard in Paris during a dreamy drizzly afternoon in 1897. But it is what appears
Supremes Shut TVEyes
The Supreme Court turned down the petition of TVEyes for reconsideration of the ruling of the Second Circuit that TVEyes infringed Fox News copyrights. TVEyes is a media monitoring service that records virtually all TV news broadcasts in a searchable database. Subscribers can search for content by keyword and download 10-minute clips from the