SDNY Judge Dismisses “Hustlers” Invasion of Privacy and Defamation Claims
In an opinion rife with references to adult entertainment and drugs, a judge in the Southern District of New York recently dismissed an invasion of privacy and defamation case over a plaintiff’s apparent depiction in the 2019 film “Hustlers.” See Barbash v. STX Financing, LLC, Case No. 1:20-cv-00123-DLC (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 10, 2020). For the uninitiated,
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
The Copyright Discovery Rule: Living on Borrowed Time?
A statute of limitations is often called a statute of repose, “repose” meaning the “elimination of stale claims, and certainty about a plaintiff’s opportunity for recovery and a defendant’s potential liabilities.”1 By mandating “repose,” a statute of limitations expresses the judicial system’s understanding that, despite its “instinct to provide a remedy for every wrong[,] . .
Copyright Office Procedures During COVID-19
As COVID-19-related disruptions and social distancing measures continue across the country and throughout the summer, many public institutions are seeing continued curtailment to their operations. It can be overwhelming to parse through ever-changing, institution-specific pandemic protocols, which is why we have put together an overview of the Copyright Office’s current practices in response to the
Line By Line Media’s “Instant Family” Ordered by USA
CDAS is production counsel for the Line By Line Media show “Instant Family” which was just ordered by the USA network as a half-hour reality series.
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.
When Social Media Finally Holds Feet to the Fire, Trump Fires Back: Undermining the Communications Decency Act’s Safe Harbor by Executive Order
Like most other providers of interactive computer services, such as websites or mobile applications that allow their users to post or contribute their own content, Twitter through its Terms of Service and community guidelines has long prohibited its users from posting or communicating, among other things, defamatory, profane, infringing, obscene, unlawful, exploitive, harmful, racist, bigoted,
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
Blumhouse’s Sci-Fi Feature “Upgrade” to Become a TV Series
Briana Hill represented Blumhouse in the deal to adapt sci-fi thriller feature “Upgrade” as a TV series. Leigh Whannell, who wrote and directed the movie, is set to direct the series.