Entertainment

Thinking - Blog

Netflix files lawsuit over 'Unofficial Bridgerton Musical'

Published on 24 August 2022. By Ela Broderick-Basar, Associate

On 29 July, Netflix filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. against two TikTok stars, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, alleging that their Grammy-winning “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” project infringed the hit show's intellectual property rights.

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Thinking - Blog

Stream on! CMA halts plans to investigate music streaming market

02 August 2022

The UK's Competition & Markets Authority recently published its interim report on the music streaming market, prompting mixed responses from the music industry. Record labels, publishers and streaming providers appear generally pleased with the findings, but various artists, musicians, songwriters and managers say they believe it has underdelivered.

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Thinking - Blog

Parliamentary Group urges UK government to help musicians and crew tour Europe more easily

21 July 2022

The All-Parliamentary Group on Music (a cross-party group of more than 100 MPS and Peers) together with representatives from the music industry set out the urgent steps the Government needs to take to help UK musicians following Brexit.

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Thinking - Blog

CMA ends its investigation into online console gaming subscription practices

Published on 14 June 2022. By Jonathan Greenway, Senior Associate and Joshua Charalambous, Partner

The UK Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has now closed its investigation into subscription practices in the online console gaming sector after key players Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft committed to making improvements to their contract terms with a view to better protecting customers.

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Thinking - Blog

A "golden age" of television? - Government announces overhaul of broadcasting legislation

Published on 29 April 2022. By Nadia Tymkiw, Senior Associate

On 28 April the government published a white paper setting out its vision for the broadcasting sector. Plans include regulation for streaming services, changes to the public service broadcasting regime, and reform to broadcasting rights for major sporting events.

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Thinking - Blog

Eurovision contestant and Rudimental come out on pop in copyright dispute

Published on 19 August 2021. By Jessica Pease, Associate

Coming out on pop: Rudimental's single Waiting All Night, composed by Eurovision 2021 contestant James Newman, was not the product of copying a song written in 2001 by a contestant on the Voice UK.

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Thinking - Blog

(Sex) Pistols at dawn over Danny Boyle's new biopic series

Published on 19 July 2021. By Sophie Parkinson, Associate

Sex Pistols band members accuse frontman John Lydon of being No Fun and creating Anarchy for refusing to authorise licences for the use of the band's music in Danny Boyle's forthcoming TV series, Pistol.

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Thinking - Blog

Who gets to deliver my news? - Ofcom starts its consultation on changes to media ownership restrictions

Published on 30 June 2021. By Kiran Dhoot, Associate

Ofcom is looking to update old rules governing media ownership in the UK to reflect consumers increased access to news online and the fragmented use of traditional media, and the implications of reform could be far reaching.

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Thinking - Blog

Streaming platforms to consolidate? "The stuff that dreams are made of"

Published on 10 June 2021. By Sophie Parkinson, Associate

Discovery and AT&T's WarnerMedia are merging to create a streaming behemoth named Warner Bros. Discovery, and Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). Will this mark a trend in the consolidation of streaming platforms, and what are the implications?

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Thinking - Blog

Court of Appeal upholds copyright infringement decision against digital radio aggregator

Published on 12 April 2021. By David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

The Court of Appeal has refused TuneIn's appeal of a 2019 judgment finding that it had infringed the copyright of Warner and Sony by linking to online radio stations.

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Thinking - Blog

UK Courts find hidden voice in film authorship dispute

12 February 2021

The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) has found that there was there was an additional joint author of the Florence Foster Jenkins screenplay – in a decision of significant relevance to the film industry.

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Thinking - Blog

Reproduction of infringing content online: who's liable?

Published on 21 July 2020. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Louise Morgan, Senior Associate

Keyword advertising, search engine optimisation and liability for infringement via online marketplaces: In recent years, there has been a plethora of cases concerning the various ways that trade marks may be infringed, through use on the internet.

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Thinking - Blog

All change! No extension means major changes for IP rights holders from 1 January 2021

Published on 02 July 2020. By Ben Mark, Partner and Sarah Mountain, Partner

Under Article 132 of the Withdrawal Agreement, 30 June 2020 was the last day that the UK could have requested an extension to the Brexit transition period. The COVID-19 outbreak prompted many to speculate that a request would be made but the deadline passed, without event.

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