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
Congratulations to CDAS Client Colson Whitehead on Winning a Second Pulitzer Prize
Just announced, Colson Whitehead received the Pulitzer Prize for The Nickel Boys. He was previously awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for his best-seller The Underground Railroad, making him one of only four authors to win the Pulitzer twice for fiction.
MiMO Studio to Adapt “The Pout-Pout Fish” as Animated TV Movies
On behalf of publisher Macmillan, Simon Pulman and Marc Hershberg negotiated the deal for MiMO Studio to adapt award-winning pre-school book series The Pout-Pout Fish, written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna, for multiple animated TV movies. A New York Times best seller when released in 2008, The Pout-Pout Fish received the Bank
Content in Quarantine: Copyright Best Practices During a Pandemic
At a time when we are stuck at home, working or “working” (or, sadly for many, not working) the tenet that content is king has never been more relevant. From Disney+ releasing “Frozen II” and “Onward” early to help placate restless youngsters, to DreamWorks releasing “Trolls World Tour” for “theatrical” in-house rental, to Instagram sensation
CDAS IP Group and Partner Nancy Wolff Recognized in Chambers USA 2020
The highly regarded “Guide to the Top Lawyers and Law Firms” described CDAS as a “highly skilled boutique offering excellent capabilities handling trademark and copyright infringement cases, as well as substantial portfolio management matters. [CDAS] exhibits expertise acting for market-leading entertainment, media and digital platform clients.” In addition to recognizing the firm for Intellectual Property:
Nancy Wolff Featured in ABA Grassroots Initiative Discussing the CASE Act
As part of ABA Day, Nancy participated in a CASE Act Introduction and discussed implications of The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2019 and its creation of the Copyright Claims Board as an alternative forum to pursue low-value claims of $30,000 or less. Listen to the panel here.
S.D.N.Y. Holds that Publishers May Embed Content Publicly Posted on Instagram Platform — (Sinclair v. Ziff Davis, LLC et al.)
Since the emergence of social media, courts, content creators, and publishers alike have been grappling with legal issues concerning the practice of “embedding” copyrighted content. Following the controversial February 2019 decision in Goldman v. Breitbart News, LLC – rejecting the Ninth Circuit’s “server test” and holding that an embed constitutes a “public display” exposing a
How Broadway Podcasts Are Bucking the Trend
As the spread of COVID-19 has forced almost all Americans to stay at home, many podcast programs have seen the size of their audiences shrink. One podcast publisher shared that the number of people downloading its shows has dropped 19 percent over the past two weeks, and Lindsay Graham of the audio production company Airship confirmed
Allen v. Cooper: Supreme Court Upholds State Sovereign Immunity in Copyright Row Over State’s Unauthorized Use of Videos and Images of Blackbeard’s Famed Shipwreck
In a technical win for states facing federal claims under the Copyright Act, on Monday, March 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court struck down the Copyright Clarification Act of 1990 (the “CRCA”), which had allowed states to be sued in federal court for copyright infringement. Allen v. Cooper, No. 18-877, 2020 WL 1325815 (U.S.
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,