The Show Goes On: “Vape” is Ruled a Permitted Parody of Broadway Classic “Grease”
“Vape,” a theatrical parody of the original Broadway musical “Grease” that was later adapted in the 1978 feature film, recently prevailed in a copyright case where the court held that Vape was a fair use that did not require permission from the owners of Grease. The case, Sketchworks Industrial Strength Comedy, Inc. v. Jacobs, was
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.
Three Tips for Broadway Producers Recording their Shows for Streaming Platforms
Broadway producers interested in recording musicals for streaming platforms should pay attention to a new lawsuit. The complaint was filed by Chapman Roberts, a Broadway music arranger, and alleges that a team of Broadway producers entered into an agreement with the plaintiff in 1994 to make original vocal arrangements of some famous songs from Jerry
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
Keeping Theatres Open During Coronavirus Pandemic
The show continues to go on in some countries, and not everyone is happy about it. After the number of individuals suffering from COVID-19 soared in late February, South Korea raised its infectious disease alert to the highest level. Read on to see how EMK Musical Company responded.
Marc Hershberg was Featured at NAMT’s Technology & Theatre Virtual Conference
CDAS Entertainment attorney Marc Hershberg fielded questions at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) Technology & Theatre Virtual Conference: Digitizing the Fourth Wall, a curriculum designed to help regional theatres, in particular, use new digital technologies to reimagine staged theatrical storytelling.
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,
Marc Hershberg was cited in the Fordham IPM&E Law Journal
“Anything You Can Use, I Can Use Better: Examining the Contours of Fair Use as an Affirmative Defense for Theatre Artists, Creators, and Producers,” by Benjamin Reiser, Fordham Intellectual Property Media & Entertainment Law Journal, Vol. XXX, No. 3 (2020). Find the article here.
CDAS Partners Briana C. Hill and Benjamin Jaffe Named Co-Chairs of the Entertainment and the Digital Media & Technology groups, respectively.
Briana Hill, Co-Head of the Beverly Hills office of Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, joins Fred Bimbler and Simon Pulman in leading the firm’s Entertainment group, which includes televison (traditional to broadband), streaming, film, new media, talent, theatre and podcasting. The group assists clients with their entertainment projects through early development, the solicitation of
“The Heiress” has Broadway “in the Palm of its Hand”
The Heiress, the Broadway revival of love and betrayal based on the classic Henry James novel, Washington Square, is a “crisp, first-rate production” writes Entertainment Weekly after its opening last week at the Walter Kerr Theatre. It has been 17 years since this Tony Award winning play last appeared on Broadway.