In light of the ubiquity of cable and satellite, a controversy over the ownership of terrestrial broadcast stations may seem like a sideshow. The reality is, however, that an increasing number of American households are receiving broadcast stations by means of over-the-air transmission, either exclusively or together with a subscription video service. The Supreme Court recently heard arguments over moves taken by the FCC in 2017 to loosen regulations on broadcast stations. These included lifting…

While most of us look back on the last twelve months as a horrible dream, Hollywood’s labor unions can actually point to a string of successes. Early in the pandemic, all three of the above-the-line guilds closed new three year deals that among other things included significant increases in residuals for high-budget streaming programs. Just this month, the WGA finally closed the book on its two-year campaign to bar talent agencies from collecting package commissions…

In what must be counted as a victory for solidarity among WGA members and the often controversial tactics of its executive director David Goodman, the leading agency WME reached a deal for a franchise agreement with the union. This will permit the agency to resume representing writers almost two years after its writer clients fired the agency en masse. In exchange the agency will phase out package commissions on scripted projects and will reduce its…

We recently reported on a lawsuit that the actor Faizon Love brought in November against Universal Pictures. Love was one of the stars of the 2009 movie Couples Retreat, whose overseas publicity campaign aroused controversy when it was discovered that Love, the movie’s only Black star, and his Black female partner had been removed from the key art. In his 2020 lawsuit, Love said that he refrained from suing at the time in reliance upon…

As the COVID-19 pandemic forced widespread postponement and cancellation of film and TV production in 2020, it brought a corresponding explosion of insurance claims by producers. This led inevitably to coverage disputes as carriers sought to deny coverage wherever they could. A recent lawsuit by ViacomCBS illustrates some interesting issues that can arise in these disputes. ViacomCBS had a Television Production Portfolio Policy with Great Divide Insurance Company that covered all of its productions. The…

On January 15th, the Department of Justice announced it has ended its two-year review of the 80-year old consent decrees that govern the operation of the largest music performing rights organizations in the United States: ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.). The DOJ decided not to take any action to modify or terminate the decrees, but left open the possibility of changes in the future. The DOJ’s underlying…

In response to a copyright claim that the Netflix series “Stranger Things” infringed the plaintiff’s unpublished screenplays, Netflix and the other defendants filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, arguing that the works were not substantially similar as a matter of law.  In connection with the motion, Netflix submitted – and the Court accepted – copies of the allegedly infringed screenplays and the allegedly infringing three seasons of “Stranger Things.” Netflix provided a detailed analysis…