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Monthly Archives: February 2009

SAG Board Rejects AMPTP's final offer

The Entertainment trades are reporting that the SAG Board today voted to reject the “final” offer made by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, setting the stage for more turmoil and the possibility of an Actor's strike.

Stormy seas ahead for everybody who works in and around Hollywood. ?Including Entertainment Lawyers.

Facebook gives in, abandons revised terms of service

In a follow-up to my post about Facebook's over-reaching terms of service, I'm pleased to note that the social-networking site has bowed to pressure from users and unwanted media attention, scrapping the new terms of service only days after they were implemented.

The company is reportedly still working on its terms of service and privacy policies. So, it's back to the drawing board for  Facebook.

Force Majeure: an issue in the SAG/AMPTP negotiations

One of the issues in the impasse between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers  is the Force Majeure Clause.

Backstage magazine has A good piece by Armin Shimerman on Force Majeure.  The article explains the current Force majeure clause, the issue between the parties and the consquences  of its application and enforcement.

Alarming defamation ruling: Truth is NOT always a defense

Entertainment Lawyers and our clients in the film, television, music, publishing, and journalism fields  need to be aware of an alarming ruling that’s just come down in a defamation case. (Defamation is the umbrella term for reputation injury cases such as Libel and Slander). On Friday, February 13, 2009, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals… Continue Reading

Copyright Registration: do it within 3 months of first publication or lose money.

A recent ruling in the Northern District of California serves as an important reminder for creators of copyright-protected works (and their entertainment lawyers) to register the copyrights as soon as possible, and always within 3 months of first publication. In Shade v. Gorman, a videographer sued over defendant filmmaker’s unlicensed use of plaintiff’s footage.  The… Continue Reading

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