#BlackTikTokStrike: How TikTok Dance Creators Can Begin to Protect Their Choreographic Works

The hashtag “BlackTikTokStrike” has been viewed more than six million times on TikTok, a free video-sharing-focused social networking service. TikTok has created superstars like Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio, but these stars have mostly been white women and girls, and they have often gained notoriety and received millions of views by parroting dance routines primarily

Legal Drama over Docudramas: New York Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Film Producer in Porco v. Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC

On June 24, a New York appeals court ruled in favor of docudrama makers in Porco v. Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC,clarifying when filmmakers and producers who make unauthorized use of an individual’s name or likeness are shielded from liability under New York’s statutory right of publicity. The decision is a victory for First Amendment advocates

California District Court Dismisses “Tiger King” Case, Citing First Amendment Interests

After captivating home-bound viewers earlier this year, Netflix’s documentary series “Tiger King” had its day in court recently when a California district judge dismissed a case brought by the publisher of Hollywood Weekly Magazine (“HW”) against the producers and distributors of the show.  See Prather Jackson v. Netflix, Inc., Case No. 2:20-cv-06354-MCS-GJS (C.D. Cal. Dec.

Homeowner Turns to Copyright to Protect Against Unauthorized Use of Home in Adult Films

What recourse exists when a tenant hands over a rental home to an adult film production company, which proceeds to film fourteen feature-length adult movies onsite, without the owner’s knowledge or permission, over the course of five months? Turns out, copyright law. This was the crisis facing Martha’s Vineyard homeowner Leah Bassett in 2015, when

Five Qualities of Next Generation Entertainment Platforms

If your only exposure to TikTok is seeing the occasional funny video pop up on Facebook or watching your nieces studiously rehearse one of Charli D’Amelio’s signature dances, then you could be forgiven for wondering what all of the fuss about a potential ban is about. Likewise, if you’ve heard of Fortnite but you have

August Wilson to be Honored in Hollywood

CDAS is pleased that Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winning playwright August Wilson will be honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fred Bimbler is counsel to the Estate of August Wilson.

Proposed Guidelines for Resumption of Motion Picture, Television and Streaming Productions

Earlier this week, the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force released proposed policies and guidelines for the recommencement of productions, known as the White Paper. As of June 1, the White Paper was submitted to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and California Governor Gavin Newsom for review. The Task Force, comprised of the Alliance of

Character Exclusivity in Rights Deals

In this increasingly competitive media landscape, companies are seeking to create entertainment brands that can endure, serve as the basis for dozens of hours of content on the new generation of owned-and-operated premium platforms, and extend across various forms of media. However, transmedia deals are seldom straightforward, and may create issues that one is less