By Simon N. Pulman The use of “native advertising” online has grown at a considerable pace over the past two years, with some studies projecting that it could account for five billion dollars in spending by 2017 – far outpacing the growth of traditional online display ads. Such is the economic (and some might say

By Simon N. Pulman As the marketplace for entertainment content becomes increasingly global and the middle classes in the BRICS nations (i.e., Brazil, China, Russia, India and South Africa) become both larger and equipped with greater disposable income, content owners of all kinds are looking exploit their intellectual properties in international markets. As part of

By Simon N. Pulman Digital and direct distribution options have created new opportunities for producers seeking to leverage multiple platforms to find new revenue streams and audiences for their work. While the traditional “all rights” deal will continue to exist as long as there are major distributors willing to pay a minimum guarantee and give

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of a film financier based upon statute of frauds and bona fide purchase defenses in McDonald v. Brown. The Southern District’s decision provides reassurance to parties who obtain rights to creative projects without knowledge of prior legal claims, and

Background The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia denied the a software company competitor’s motion to dismiss in AvePoint, Inc. v. Power Tools, Inc., a case which explores the limits of what is permissible when competing for business online.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted in part and denied in part a documentary production company’s motions to dismiss with respect to its 2012 film Venus and Serena. The Court found that the plaintiff United States Tennis Association’s (“USTA”) unjust enrichment claim under state law was preempted by federal copyright law, but

On September 6, 2013, the Second Circuit narrowed the potential venues for asserting copyright infringement cases when it affirmed the Eastern District of New York’s dismissal of Troma Entertainment’s copyright infringement lawsuit against California residents Lance H. Robbins and King Brett Lauter for lack of personal jurisdiction (decision here). Defendants Robbins and Lauter had allegedly

In Quirk v. Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., the Northern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of movie studio Sony Pictures and its co-defendants. In determining that author Joe Quirk had failed to show a genuine issue as to any material fact as to copyright infringement or implied-in-fact contract claims arising from a motion picture

After reading the book and watching the film at issue, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi granted Sony Picture Classics Inc.’s (“Sony”) motion to dismiss Faulkner Literary Rights, LLC’s (“Faulkner”) copyright infringement action based on a paraphrase of a nine word quote from a William Faulkner’s work in the Woody Allen

In Gary Friedrich Enterprises v. Marvel, the Second Circuit reversed the Southern District of New York, holding that there exist genuine disputes of material fact regarding the intent of a comic book creator and publisher Marvel Comics to assign renewal rights in “Ghost Rider” via a 1978 written agreement, the timeliness of the creator’s ownership