Podcast - The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: A Spooky Copyright Decision for Producers of Friday the 13th Franchise
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: A Spooky Copyright Decision for Producers of Friday the 13th Franchise
Recently, a large retailer (plaintiff) and a bank (defendant) agreed to settle a credit contract dispute. In April 2023, the retailer filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York against...more
Ideally, every retail lease strikes a reasonable balance between the interests of the landlord and the tenant and lays the groundwork for a mutually beneficial relationship. However, things do not always go according to plan....more
Addressing a novel issue, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that a statute of limitations can time-bar a defense in narrow circumstances where a defendant uses it to seek affirmative relief. Garza v. Everly,...more
The decision to terminate an agreement cannot be taken lightly. In exercising the option, understanding the key terms of the agreement and necessary steps to effectuate the termination are critical. As we have previously...more
In Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC v. Mallinckrodt PLC,1 the United States District Court for the District of Delaware ruled that a debtor that purchased intellectual property under a prepetition asset purchase agreement could...more
Unlike the vast majority of states, New York hasn’t adopted the Revised Uniform Partnership Act (1997) (“RUPA”). A recent appellate decision by a court in a neighboring RUPA state — New Jersey — highlights the very different...more
Elon Musk has lobbed in two additional termination letters since his original July 8 letter seeking to terminate his agreement to acquire Twitter for $44 billion. Each termination letter cites alleged false representations...more
Terminating a contract is a serious and sometimes risky decision. Whenever a client seeks advice regarding termination, a lawyer should stress the importance of strict compliance with the contractually specified termination...more
Landlords in Miami-Dade County must now provide certain residential tenants with at least 60 days’ written notice before terminating a tenancy or imposing a rent increase of 5 percent or more....more
On March 1, 2022, Vice Chancellor Slights of the Delaware Chancery Court ordered CorePower Yoga (“CorePower”) to close the acquisition of 34 yoga studios from its largest franchisee, Level 4 Yoga (“Level 4”). The parties...more
Should a buyer be allowed to walk away from an acquisition if an extraordinary event occurs between signing and closing that forces the target company to take emergency remedial measures outside its ordinary course, even if...more
During the last year, we have seen a significant shift to “as a service” models and cloud solutions, as well as heightened attention on outsourcing as a strategic business tool to enable scalability, improved service, and...more
This week on the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a claim for copyright reversion made by the screenwriter of Friday the 13th, seeking the reversion to the rights in the screenplay to the popular horror...more
Admittedly, the second word in that title is a mouthful—but Paraskavedekatriaphobia is a real word, with an etymology and definition. It even has a synonym, friggatriskaidekaphobia. Each means “fear of Friday the...more
We often cover preliminary injunctions on the pages of this blog because they are a powerful tool in the business divorce litigator’s toolbox: they force court action early in the case, they can protect rights that are...more
Second Circuit Holds that Movie Screenplay Author was Entitled to Termination Rights - The Second Circuit held recently that the screenwriter of the pop culture classic “Friday the 13th” did not write the Screenplay as a...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a summary judgment grant, ruling that an author was an independent contractor when writing the screenplay for a horror film and entitled to authorship rights, and...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held that the creator of The Friday the 13th screenplay could terminate his copyright grant to Horror Inc. (the producer of the movie franchise) and reclaim it. ...more
Recent Delaware cases appear to make two things clear. First, it remains extremely unlikely that a court will find an event or occurrence to fall within the general provisions of a Material Adverse Effect condition and as a...more
The Supreme Court of Iowa recently reversed the judgment of a district court and remanded the matter with instructions to enter summary judgment in favor of Hamilton County Public Hospital, operating as Van Diest Medical...more
In the latest High Court decision relating to Company Voluntary Arrangements in the UK, the judge held that the Regis hairdressing group CVA should be revoked on the basis that it favoured shareholders at the expense of...more
It has been months since you have been paid and the general contractor or the owner continues to demand that you perform extra work, perform in changed conditions or work on a compressed timeline with no promise of payment in...more
Yesterday we discussed aspects of PPC Acquisition Co., LLC, et al. v. Delaware Basin Res., LLC, et al. Today we consider whether the retained-acreage clauses created a special limitation or a covenant and the relationship...more
On March 11, 2021, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted to take additional steps toward returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic procedures for collecting amounts due for public utility service in Pennsylvania. ...more