With the rise of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, the demand for online content has increased exponentially. Given this new reality, online content creators must take steps to ensure that their online creations don’t land them in legal hot water.
Close-Ups
Entertainment and Media News
Close-Ups, published by Venable LLP, focuses on legal developments and issues related to intellectual property, defamation, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. The blog covers topics including updates to publicity rights statutes, challenges in defamation law and anti-SLAPP protections, and the intersection of AI with copyright and fair use principles. It also addresses practical legal questions about opinion versus defamation and liability for spreading rumors. The content reflects Venable LLP's expertise in navigating complex legal landscapes involving technology, media, and individual rights.
Latest from Close-Ups - Page 9
Taxpayers Claiming QBI Deduction May Face Increased Audit Risk
Although many businesses providing services in the field of performing arts are not eligible for the qualified business income (QBI) deduction, some entertainment businesses that do not fall in this category have taken the position that they do qualify. Recent…
Court of Appeal Affirms: No First Amendment Protection for Misleading Commercial Speech
The California Court of Appeal (the Court) has affirmed a trial court’s grant of preliminary injunction, enjoining HomeAdvisor’s use of allegedly misleading language in advertisements. See People ex rel. Gascon v. HomeAdvisor, Inc., No. A154960 (Cal. Ct. App. June…
Virtual Events Raise Real World Legal Issues
Among the countless casualties of COVID-19, many much-anticipated events had to be canceled. Instead, some of the world’s largest entertainment industry events are becoming virtual experiences.
Comic Con, which boasts over 135,000 annual attendees, announced that its in-person convention…
First Amendment Protects True-Crime Show From Negligence Liability
A Texas Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of a case against Kirkstall Road Enterprises (Kirkstall), the production company behind the true-crime show The First 48, holding that Kirkstall could not be held liable for the shooting of a…
CBD Advertisements: What Celebrity Influencers Need to Know
An increasing number of celebrities and social media personalities are endorsing the use of cannabidiol (CBD) products through social media. Many of these “influencers,” however, fail to account for and comply with the complex regulatory environment surrounding CBD advertisements. In…
As the Entertainment Industry Gets Back to Business, COVID-19 Compliance Officers to Have a Starring Role
One of the key elements in the White Paper from the Industry-wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force is the agreement among producers and unions to have an “autonomous” COVID-19 Compliance Officer for each production. The Compliance Officer will not be…
Instagram Users: Post at Your Own Risk. Your Public Content May Be Legally Sublicensed
On April 13, 2020, a federal district court in the Southern District of New York[1] held in Sinclair v. Ziff Davis, LLC, and Mashable, Inc., 180CV0790 (KMW) (Order), that an Instagram user who posted a photograph to a…
California Allows Production to Resume June 12, Subject to County Rules
On June 5, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released statewide guidance for music, film, and television production to restart. This guidance is the latest development in the reopening of the entertainment industry in California as the state continues…
Industry Task Force Proposes Guidelines to Restart Production in California and New York
On June 1, the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force (Task Force), composed of representatives of producers and the unions of the motion picture and television industries, submitted to the governors of California and New York a white paper proposing…