Entertainment Law Matters

A New York federal judge has declared that a film based on an Emma Thompson screenplay does not infringe the copyright of another screenplay and play based on the same historical events.   The decision in Effie Film, LLC v. Murphy, No. 11 Civ. 783, 2013 WL 1188018 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 22, 2013) (hereinafter “Murphy”) is a win for all those seeking to dramatize real historical events despite possible interference from competing versions of the same events. Continue reading »

How Veoh Reconciled with Viacom (But Went Out of Business In the Meantime)

Veoh, or what is left of it, won a recent victory in the Ninth Circuit in UMG Recordings v. Shelter Capital Partners (Veoh), No. 10-55732 (“Veoh”), a significant opinion in the evolving jurisprudence on Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbors.  In a March 14, 2013 superseding decision, the Ninth Circuit resolved a difference with Second Circuit law as set forth in the April 2012 decision in Viacom Int’l, Inc. v. Youtube, Inc., 676 F.3d 19 (2d Cir. 2012) (“Viacom”).  The new opinion therefore puts to rest the current speculation that a circuit split would set safe harbor issues up for Supreme Court review.  Continue reading »

On March 11, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment and  award of attorneys’ fees in favor of the company that produced the Broadway musical hit Jersey Boys.  The company had been sued for copyright infringement for including in the musical a 7-second clip from a January 2, 1966 episode of The Ed Sullivan Show in which Ed Sullivan introduces the Four Seasons. Continue reading »

Using a famous name in your URL can lead to more traffic to your website.  But it can also lead to lawsuits.  A recent New York case provides a good example.  On February 28, a New York federal court ruled in favor of Donald Trump (“Trump”) and found the registrant and user of the Internet domain names trumpbudhabi.com, trumpbeijing.com, trumpindia.com and trumpmumbai.com (collectively, the “Domain Names”) liable for violation of the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (the “ACPA”).  The full opinion can be read here. Continue reading »

In a December 2012 decision, a federal district court in Washington State held that  a company’s numerical “player grades” assigned to college football players to reflect their likelihood of success in the National Football League were copyrightable, but also that the republication of these grades by a sportswriter covering the NFL draft was fair use. See National Football Scouting Inc. v. Rang, 105 USPQ2d 1074 (W.D. Wash. 2012). Continue reading »

Looking back at a year that featured the most commercially successful Olympic Games and Super Bowl in history, 2012 was certainly a big year for the sports marketing industry.  It was also a big year for legal issues in the sports marketing industry.  Here’s a rundown of five sports marketing legal developments we watched with interest:   Continue reading »

On November 21, we blogged that the Northern District of California denied a motion by Rovio Entertainment Ltd. (“Rovio”), the developer of the video game Angry Birds, for an ex parte temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against alleged counterfeiters of Angry Birds plush toys. Rovio moved for the TRO in connection with its copyright and trademark infringement action against Royal Plush Toys, Inc., Western Sales and Services Inc., Royal Trade Int’l Inc. and John K. Park (collectively, “Defendants”), stemming from Defendants’ allegedly intentional and willful sale of infringing plush toys in violation of Rovio’s copyright and trademark rights. Despite denying Rovio’s motion for a TRO, Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong ordered an expedited hearing schedule on Rovio’s motion for a preliminary injunction to enjoin Defendants from manufacturing, distributing, supplying or selling the allegedly infringing merchandise. Continue reading »

Bouchat v. NFL Properties LLC, No. 11 Civ. 2878 (Nov. 19, 2012).

The Baltimore Ravens may be off to an impressive 9-2 start this NFL season, but the club’s defensive line (of lawyers) couldn’t hold off a successful copyright infringement claim by security guard and artist Frederick Bouchat based on the unauthorized inclusion of his Ravens logo design in a football video game.  The November 19, 2012 decision by Judge Marvin J. Garbis of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland was the latest in a longstanding series of lawsuits brought by Bouchat against the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens and others for their unauthorized use of a derivative of his Ravens logo. Continue reading »

The Northern District of California denied a motion by Rovio Entertainment Ltd. (“Rovio”), the developer of the video game Angry Birds, for an ex parte temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against alleged counterfeiters of Angry Birds plush toys, finding insufficient evidence of a likelihood of immediate and irreparable harm in the absence of such relief. The full Order, issued by U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong on November 6, can be read here. Continue reading »

The Second Circuit has affirmed dismissal of photographer Janine Gordon’s copyright infringement claims against photographer Ryan McGinley and several other defendants who allegedly displayed McGinley’s work, including Frankfurt Kurnit client Ratio 3 Gallery. Continue reading »