Sony is suing television actor Kevin Butler and his talent agency for violating the Lanham Act for breach of contract. Sony claims that Butler used a character they developed for their commercials for a Bridgestone Tires’ feature. He is playing a Wii acting in style similar to his Sony character. The lawsuit claims Butler misappropriated...Read More
2 Live Crew, under the termination provision, is attempting to take back control of their catalog from Lil Joe Records, which purchased the Crew’s catalog in 1995 from their previous label. Under US copyright law, “creators who assign their copyrights to another party have a one-off opportunity to terminate that assignment and reclaim their rights...Read More
Spike Lee and Nate Parker face a lawsuit over their 2019 film, “American Skin,” by two independent filmmakers, Selton and Langston Shaw. The Shaw brothers claim that the “America Skin” is “uncannily similar” to a screenplay they submitted to the American Black Films Festival One Screenplay competition in 2017, which put their script into the...Read More
Cher and Sonny Bono were married from 1967 – 1975, and upon their divorce, they agreed to split the royalties from their songs 50/50. This agreement included their shared hit songs “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.” But recently, Bono’s widow, Mary, acting through the Bono Collection Trust, “told Cher she would...Read More
The 60,000 members of IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) are on the verge of the first nationwide strike in the 128-year history of the union. 98% of all voting members approved the strike, including all cinematographers, camera operators, set designers, carpenters, hair and makeup artists, animators, and others who say they are “forced...Read More
