Contractual Disruptions: How They Arise and How to Prepare

With the recent spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and its unprecedented precipitation of social-distancing, work-from-home policies, shelter-in-place orders, and limitations on foreign travel, many individuals may be questioning whether certain contractual obligations are excused. This article provides a primer on the contract concepts of force majeure, impossibility and impracticability, and related provisions that affect,

Gray v. Perry: The Pendulum Swings on Copyright Infringement Verdict against Katy Perry

Following hot on the heels of the Ninth Circuit’s en banc decision clearing Led Zeppelin of copyright infringement allegations relating to the classic “Stairway to Heaven” (which we reported here), a California federal judge last week overturned a jury’s finding of copyright infringement against Katy Perry regarding the pop hit “Dark Horse.”  Songwriters still nervous

Judge in Amateur Photojournalism Case Rejects Lack of Originality Argument

In a decision that will likely be seen as a victory for photojournalism, a judge in the Eastern District of New York recently rejected the legal argument that an iPhone photograph, taken by a passerby who was in the right place at the right time, lacked originality.  The decision represents a turn away from what

“I Promise” Documentary Series Debuts on Quibi in April 2020

Shown in 8-minute segments, “I Promise” documents the first year of the I Promise School that LeBron James opened in his hometown of Akron, Ohio in an effort to close the achievement gap by creating a new model of urban public education. Executive produced by James and CDAS client Marc Levin, among others, “I Promise”