SAG AFTRA Strike Ends; AI Roundup of Cases and Proposed Law Making; Podcasting Live from Austin, Texas
Podcast - The Briefing: The AI Copyright Conundrum Continues – An Update
The Briefing: The AI Copyright Conundrum Continues – An Update
BLACK HISTORY MONTH | JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT & TONI MORRISON
Black History Month | Jean-Michel Basquiat and Toni Morrison
Q&A: Daniel Pink (@DanielPink) Describes the Path From Law School to Bestselling Author
What Modern Attorneys Can Learn from Lincoln the Lawyer: Author Guy Fraker
Stealth Lawyer: Tara Conklin, Novelist, 'The House Girl'
Stealth Lawyer: Art Chung, Game Show Writer
In a list of Music Industry Terms Every Artist Should Know, “One Sheet” is defined as a “single-page document that highlights an artist’s new music and summarizes their bio, stats, and achievements. It’s given to media,...more
In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence development, utilizing copyrighted material for training algorithms has not only become the comedy fodder for “Saturday Night Live” cast members, but also a focal...more
A federal court in California recently dismissed some of the claims prominent figures in the entertainment industry have raised against OpenAI, the operator of the artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT. The plaintiffs...more
Please join Manatt Entertainment Partner Sarah E. Moses and esteemed guests Jeffrey Bennett, General Counsel for SAG-AFTRA; Tony Segall, Outside Counsel for the Writers Guild of America West; and Jonathan Handel,...more
The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more
Fiction writing has a curious claim on truth. We learn this at the youngest age, listening to fairy tales when the child in us “intuitively comprehends that, although these stories are unreal, they are not untrue …” ...more
Welcome to the October edition of Akin Intelligence. We continue to see bipartisan and international interest in artificial intelligence (AI) regulation. In the executive branch, agencies are working towards developing...more
On October 4, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a virtual roundtable discussion to understand the impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on creative fields. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan acknowledged that...more
The Hollywood writers' strike ended last Tuesday with an agreement to manage the disruption caused by automation – a framework that likely will be repeated in other workplaces....more
A recent article in The Hollywood Reporter explores TV and movie studios’ potential use of AI for generating scripts. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this and other statements in the article on this episode of The...more
A class action lawsuit was recently filed in San Francisco federal court, alleging that OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool “relied on harvesting mass quantities” of copyright-protected works without permission. The plaintiffs are led...more
This post is the third in a three-part series examining the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Human Resources. In Part I, we explored some of AI’s uses in the workplace and potential legal complications with the...more
As of May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) declared a strike against movie and television studios and streamers represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Writers and their...more
Unless their local jurisdiction says otherwise, a lawyer’s ghostwritten marketing content is likely to pass ethical muster if they are involved in the drafting process....more
“I don’t have to do my own writing? You guys can do that?” I have heard this question from lawyers many times over the last few years, and I understand. Even though I had practiced law, before I started writing for...more
Netflix may be on the outs with the Writers Guild, but has had better luck in its negotiations with SAG-AFTRA. The SAG-AFTRA National Board just approved resoundingly a new contract with the streamer. The contract will now go...more
The Writers Guild has scored a $42 million arbitration award against Netflix for unpaid residuals. The arbitration involved the Sandra Bullock feature Bird Box. The picture was released for a brief theatrical run before...more
Just Because it’s Published Doesn’t Mean it’s in the Public Domain - Some people think that if something is on the Internet, it’s in the public domain and is fair game to be copied. Not true! Giving the public access to an...more
The Animation Guild (TAG) is on a roll. The union very recently announced a settlement with the AMPTP, the studios’ bargaining representative, on a new blanket contract, up for a ratification vote in late June. This closely...more
After coming perilously close to its first strike since 1945, the below-the-line union IATSE ratified an accord with producers in November, 2021. The new Basic and Videotape Agreements covered most, but not all of the locals...more
Assembly Bill 5 regulates economic activity and not speech, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held, affirming dismissal of a suit brought by freelance writers and photographers challenging the...more
In what must be counted as a victory for solidarity among WGA members and the often controversial tactics of its executive director David Goodman, the leading agency WME reached a deal for a franchise agreement with the...more