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Abend v Spielberg - more on the ideaexpression dichotomy

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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USA
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October 15 2010

The recent decision of the Southern District of New York Court in The Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust, v. Steven Spielberg et al., No. 08 Civ. 7810 United States District Court, S.D. New York, September 21, 2010 (full text of the decision is available here) offers another opportunity to see how courts handle assessing the "ideaexpression dichotomy" in cases of alleged copyright infringement

ASCAP, SOCAN, public performances and telecommunications

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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Canada, USA
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September 30 2010

The US Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision in US v ASCAP (sometimes referred to as ASCAP v RealNetworks) has generated a surprising amount of commentary - particularly from practitioners and academics outside of the United States

Creating contracts by email - "written" doesn't always mean "in writing"

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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Canada, USA
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November 14 2011

Two recent court decisions (one Canadian, one American) serve as useful reminders that binding contracts and assignments of rights can be created via exchanges of emails almost as easily as they can be created by "written" documents

I was kidding! humour and defamation

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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Australia, USA
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November 22 2010

To what extent is "I was just joking" a defence to a defamation claim? Laura Little has written "Just a Joke: Defamatory Humor and Incongruity's Promise" (available at SSRN), which explores the ways in which courts have addressed "humour" in US and Australian defamation law

Entertainment contracts - get it in writing

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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USA
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November 6 2010

If there's a single maxim by which entertainment lawyers live, it's surely "get it in writing"

The Ninth Circuit's Eminem license vs sale decision

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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USA
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September 9 2010

When you're one of the biggest rap stars in the world, it shouldn't be surprising to find news of one of your recent court victories splashed all over the mainstream news; when that court victory prompts reactions like "staggering", no one should be shocked to see major news stories about the court decision being carried by major outlets all over the world

The Skins controversy - a Canadian perspective

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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Canada, USA
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January 24 2011

The recent premiere of MTV's show Skins (which was shot in Toronto, and is based on a show of the same name originally broadcast in the UK by E4) has ignited a minor controversy: multiple media outlets have reported that some advertisers are pulling from the show and TV watchdog groups have raised the spectre of a violation of US child pornography laws

Dick Tracy returns: the importance of specificity in reversion clauses

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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USA
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March 31 2011

Reports about Warren Beatty's recent court victory in respect of the film and television rights to the Dick Tracy property offer a chance to reflect on the wording of reversion clauses

You're getting sued for what? An E&O odyssey (Pt 4)

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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USA
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December 23 2011

This post is part of an occasional series highlighting the type of risks which film and TV producers face and which are supposed to be covered by E&O insurance, and which aims to demonstrate that what might seem to a producer to be paranoia on the part of their lawyer is, in fact, well-founded

You're getting sued for what? An E&O odyssey (Pt 7)

Heenan Blaikie LLP
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Canada, USA
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February 28 2012