While most of us look back on the last twelve months as a horrible dream, Hollywood’s labor unions can actually point to a string of successes. Early in the pandemic, all three of the above-the-line guilds closed new three year deals that among other things included significant increases in residuals for high-budget streaming programs. Just
Stories to Watch in 2021
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
App Store Purchasers Entitled to Bite at the Antitrust Apple, Says Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court decided this week that purchasers of apps through the Apple App Store have standing under federal antitrust law to bring a class-action lawsuit against the tech giant.
The Sherman Antitrust Act makes it unlawful for any person to “monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other
FCC Briefing: Two Things to Watch
Here in the Hollywood bubble, it’s easy to get wrapped up in our own tales of heartbreak, victory and scandal and forget that events outside of LA can also impact the entertainment business. One of these is that the FCC is now Republican-controlled. The new FCC chair Ajit Pai has already signaled that we can
Three Takeaways from the Disney/Netflix Split
The media community has been buzzing with the news that Disney plans to launch its own digital subscription channel for movies and series content. Its current license deal with Netflix expires at the end of 2018, after which new Disney and Pixar titles will move to the new channel. Disney will also be launching a
2017 Upfronts: Broadcasters Take Digital Head On
The upfront selling season is when broadcast networks sell the majority of their advertising inventory. That season kicks off this week as the networks present their fall schedules to advertisers in lavishly staged events. The networks have been losing viewers to online platforms steadily for years, particularly younger viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic. Ad
What Actually Happened In Equals Three v. Jukin Media
As a copyright attorney, a guilty pleasure of mine is watching YouTube debates on fair use. Seeing these debates is nothing short of inspiring because they prove an important point: anyone – not just attorneys – can understand and debate the law (as it should be). Since YouTube has become one of the primary laboratories
Ninth Circuit to Hollywood: Swiss Cheese Copyrights Now Toast
Joshua Bornstein writes:
Actress Cindy Lee Garcia was duped. She agreed to perform as an actress in an action-adventure thriller set in ancient Arabia titled, “Desert Warrior.” The script called for a concerned female to deliver the following lines: “Is George crazy? Our daughter is but a child?” Garcia performed her role and, in July
5 Trends That Are Shaking Up Online Media
The online media landscape is constantly evolving. Here are five trends to watch in 2015:
1. Mobile. Online consumers are shifting from desktop computers to mobile devices. This is disrupting the digital advertising market. Banner ads are more intrusive and less effective on smaller screens, challenging advertisers to adapt campaigns to suit the