Upcoming Events: Coming up first... (scroll down for more) April 9, 2025 at 6:15 pm at Del Frisco's Substantial Similarity Navigating Uncertainty in the Ninth Circuit “You copied my work.” Substantial-similarity copyright claims are a staple of the entertainment industry – even more so today, with so many ways to disseminate content. For decades, district courts across the Ninth Circuit have granted Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss these types of claims about literary works. Judges review the complaint and the works at issue, along with any additional judicially noticeable facts. They then apply the extrinsic test (and their general common sense) to the works by comparing their plots, sequences of events, themes, characters, settings, moods, tones, paces, and dialogue. When the works ultimately aren’t substantially similar, judges dismiss the case without requiring the defendants to face expensive and burdensome discovery. For decades, the Ninth Circuit affirmed these opinions. But now, some of these dismissals have been reversed, and some judges appear more hesitant to grant 12(b)(6) motions—or even summary judgement motions—for lack of substantial similarity. And some of these cases are going further than they have in decades, including all the way through trial, including the recent cases involving M. Night Shyamalan’s series Servant and Disney’s animated feature Moana. Why? What can we learn from that? And what does the future hold?
Next up... April 23, 2025 at 5:00 pm at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz Early Career Attorneys Networking Event The Los Angeles Copyright Society will be holding a special networking event for early-career attorneys (up to 5 years out of law school) with a particular interest in copyright law on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The event will be hosted at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, 2029 Century Park E, Suite 2500N. If you are in the early-career category, read on – or, if not, we hope you’ll pass this invite along to someone who is. This is a unique opportunity for aspiring copyright lawyers to meet and engage with experienced practitioners working in film, music, videogames and other areas, in an informal setting. Whether you’re looking to debate questions of copyright law, explore career paths, or expand your professional network, we welcome you to this event. You do not need to be a member of the LA Copyright Society to attend. Space is limited, so if you’d like to join us, please RSVP soon (and no later than April 11). Beer, wine and light refreshments will be served. There is no charge to attend. Note that you will need to present a photo ID to security (who will have the RSVP list) upon entering the building. If you have any questions about the event, please feel free to reach out to to to Amy Eichelberger, at aeichelberger@fkks.com. | 2024-2025 OFFICERS & TRUSTEES President Dan Nabel President-Elect Ian Slotin Vice President Jacqueline Charlesworth Treasurer Secretary Joshua Geller Mitchell Silberberg & KnuppTrustees Robert S. Gutierrez Barbara Quinn Emily Weiss Samantha Kantor Sony Pictures EntertainmentJef Pearlman Andrew Sullivan Xiyin Tang Joel Weiner
Vivian S. Lee |
Nicolas Jampol is a go-to litigator and counselor for his entertainment and technology clients, who create, use, or distribute all forms of content, from film and television to mobile apps and digital content. Chambers has noted that Nicolas “draws praise for his representation of companies involved in high-stakes copyright and trademark infringement disputes.” He routinely litigates complex copyright, trademark, right of publicity, unfair competition, and breach-of-contract disputes.
Cydney Swofford Freeman counsels and defends traditional, new, and disruptive content creators. She handles both litigation and pre-broadcast counseling for clients ranging from large streaming platforms and studios to individual documentarians, producers, and journalists. She takes cases from complaint through trial, focusing on copyright, trademark, idea-submission, defamation, right-of-publicity, First Amendment, and related matters. In tandem with litigating, she regularly provides pre-broadcast fair use, defamation, privacy, and production counseling for a wide range of documentary, scripted, and unscripted productions.