On February 13, 2013, U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III held that Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. had not infringed the copyrights of Everette Hallford with its show “Touch.”  Kiefer Sutherland and the show’s writer Richard Kring were also named as defendants in the suit. Everette Hallford claimed that “Touch” bore a remarkable resemblance to [...]

As of January 17, 2013, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that lawsuits in the NFL’s concussion litigation now include over 4,000 former players and their families, who allege that the league concealed information about the dangers of repeated head injuries, effectively neurologically crippling decades of former players.  In the Complaint, the plaintiffs are seeking a [...]

Television networks including Fox, ABC, NBC, and CBS have sued DVR services for providing a method to skip commercials such as Dish Network’s AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime. Last week, Fox Broadcasting appealed California federal judge Dolly Gee’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction of such services. Judge Gee also recently denied Dish’s motion to dismiss [...]

Paul Delvecchio Jr., better known as “DJ Pauly D” from the MTV reality show “Jersey Shore” settled a trademark infringement suit with a Connecticut DJ who claims he has been referring to himself as “DJ Paulie” since 1973. Paul Lis accused MTV, Delvecchio and other entities of illegally using his name. He further claims he [...]

In the debate over the future of pay TV, Bernstein Research analysts Todd Jeunger and Craig Moffet have opposing outlooks on the solvency of cable and satellite in their current forms, leaving a great deal of room for speculation over whether consumers will continue to subscribe despite rising costs or simply cut the cord.

A federal court recently denied a preliminary injunction request by television broadcasters to prevent a company from broadcasting television over the Internet.  Aereo, a company founded last year, provides access to TV broadcasts to its customers via smartphones, tablets, and Internet-enabled TV’s, as well as the ability to record such programming.  The broadcasters argue that [...]

The New York Times reports that tensions with North Korea are especially high after a recent state-run television broadcast featured performers dressed as Disney characters prancing in front of Kim Jong-un. The performance, which was not authorized by Disney, provoked a reminder from Washington to Pyongyang to respect intellectual property rights. (You’ll note that North Korea is not represented [...]

New York Superior Court Judge Lucy Billings recently dismissed claims brought by MTV reality star John Devenanzio against Time Warner and its subsidiary company HBO. John Devenanzio, or, as he is more popularly known in the entertainment industry, “Johnny Bananas,” sued HBO last year, alleging infringement, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress by improperly using [...]

The critical debate over film versus television rages on. It’s a fight ’til the death. Who will be the winner? Stay tuned…

Leading up to the Super Bowl, many viewers have already proclaimed that they will not be watching Madonna’s halftime performance.  A small sample set can be found here, here and here.  One website proceeded to list 46 better ideas than Madonna for the halftime show.  However, one person that will definitely be watching the performance [...]