Music copyright cases illustrate the potential for confusion in business trials

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I have high regard for my personal injury and employment trial colleagues.  However, in one respect I believe their jobs are easier than that of the business trial lawyer.  In a case involving injury or, say, employment discrimination, I think the issues and values at stake are clear and within the juries’ general knowledge.  Did the defendant act negligently and thus injure another?  Was the plaintiff fired for reasons legitimate or unlawful discriminatory reasons?  It may be hard for juries to get far off track when these are the questions to decide.

This is not always the case in business trials.  read more

Jury Pools and This Crazy Election

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I try business cases for a living.  A trial is, boiled down to its essence, a chance to tell your client’s story, in a relatively short period of time, to a captive audience that for the most part has no legal training.  The story you tell is usually backed up by a limited number of exhibits and graphics that hopefully underscore your theme.  Except if you get a legal professional or two on the jury, the jury’s entire legal training consists of twenty minutes at the end where the judge reads jury instructions in a boring monotone.  I spent three years in law school and almost thirty years in practice figuring out how to apply facts to legal standards.  read more

Contracts can Limit Ability to Use Otherwise Freely Available Facts or Ideas

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Here in Tinsel Town, I regularly read about lawsuits where the plaintiff claims that his or her screenplay was revealed to someone who turned it into a hit film or show without consent or payment.  Just as regularly, I read that the case ended in judgment for the defense, as the judge granted a motion finding insufficient similarity between the plaintiff’s writing and the film or show.

These rulings are often grounded in a distinction in the law that copyright only protects original expressions but not ideas.  In other words, one cannot copyright the general idea of a mild-mannered person who doubles as a superhero with prodigious powers, but copyright law will protect the writings and images in “Superman” comics and stories.  read more

New Arena for Entertainment Litigators: Elder Competency

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Many attorneys in Los Angeles identify as “entertainment lawyers” or “entertainment litigators.” “Entertainment,” however, is not a body of law unto itself like, say, patents.  Rather, entertainment lawyers market experience with the customs and practice of the industry and the numerous legal issues the industry faces, such as copyright, trademark, contracts and right of publicity.  For those of us who try entertainment cases, being an entertainment litigator means comfort with multiple courthouses, as these issues can arise under federal, state or even bankruptcy law.

I recently had the experience of handling an entertainment case in a specialized world not usually experienced by business litigators, probate.  read more

Cosby Deposition Battle Demonstrates Power of Pretrial Tool

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The California Court of Appeal recently issued an order temporarily staying the pretrial depositions of Bill Cosby and his former attorney, Martin (“Marty”) Singer, in a defamation action filed by former supermodel Janice Dickinson.  The action arises from statements by Singer in which Singer called Dickinson’s account of being raped by Cosby in 1982 a “lie.”  https://deadline.com/2015/11/bill-cosby-marty-singer-depositions-paused-janice-dickinson-1201621842/

Dickinson never pressed charges or sued over the 1982 incident.  Dickinson claims that when she wrote an autobiography, the publisher would not permit her to include the rape story.  Finally, when a number of women went public with their charges against Cosby, Dickinson stated that Cosby drugged and raped her in a November 18, 2014 interview.  read more