What an Idea! Recent Developments & Industry Custom for Idea Submissions

ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

Copyright does not protect ideas, but claims under state law are not uncommon.  Still, there are numerous moving parts in these causes of action and important questions remain.  Does the novelty or concreteness/specificity of the “idea” matter?  Does it affect expectations of payment or “industry custom”?  Should it?  Are there different standards for industry “outsiders” than for material coming from experienced producers or writers?  Are any types of idea claims still subject to anti-SLAAP motions or federal preemption?  How does the nature of the claim impact the level of “similarity” needed to find the use of an “idea” actionable? Are ideas submitted through social media or email “blurted out”?  Join a panel of experts and an experienced production executive as we explore these topics and more—the state of the art in idea protection.

Program will satisfy 1.5 CA CLE credits pending approval by the State Bar of California.

MODERATOR:

Jay Dougherty – Professor of Law and Director, Entertainment & Media Law Institute, Loyola Law School

During law school Jay Dougherty was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, a staff member of the Columbia Law Review and editor of the Columbia Journal of Arts & the Law. His legal career began in the Entertainment Department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York, where his work included representation of Broadway composers and authors. His interest in the motion picture area led to positions at the Motion Picture/Television/Music Departments of Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, the legal departments at United Artists Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and the Business Affairs Department of Morgan Creek Productions. After a corporate takeover of MGM, Dougherty moved to the Legal Department of Twentieth Century Fox, where he became senior vice president of production and worldwide acquisition legal affairs. Before joining the Loyola faculty, Dougherty served as assistant general counsel for Turner Broadcasting System, responsible for Turner Pictures. He also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Law Center for 10 years, and is an Adjunct Professor teaching International Entertainment Law for the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center in Munich. He is also a professional guitarist.

SPEAKERS:

David Aronoff – Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP
A seasoned entertainment and media law attorney, David has almost 30 years of experience handling a variety of complex matters, including breach of contract, copyright, trademark, right of publicity, accounting and defamation claims.
David regularly represents and advises a variety of business entities, including motion picture and television studios, production companies, broadcasters, Internet websites and podcasters, video game companies, music companies and advertising agencies in their business and marketing decisions and disputes involving:
• Copyrights
• Trademarks
• Right of publicity
• Unfair competition
• Trade secrets
• False advertising
• Contracts/accounting/finance
He has handled numerous infringement and idea submission claims concerning popular entertainment works and hit movies such as “The Last Samurai,” “Along Came Polly,” “Reality Bites,” “There’s Something About Mary” and “The Mask of Zorro.” Among his recent cases, David conducted a two-week bench trial concerning the financing and distribution of the videogame “Def Jam Rapstar,” and defended the in-development spy-thriller project “Section 6” against claims that it infringed the copyrights in the character James Bond.

Sherryl Clark -President of Production, The H Collective 
Sherryl oversees all aspects of development and production across The H Collective’s slate. Before joining The H Collective in May 2018, Clark founded Busted Shark Productions where she produced PLUSH with Blumhouse for director Catherine Hardwicke; FATHERS & DAUGHTERS starring Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, and Aaron Paul; VIRAL directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman for Blumhouse Productions and Dimension Films; and WISH UPON starring Joey King & Ryan Phillippe with director John R. Leonetti. Prior to that, Clark was Head of Film at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot where she oversaw all production and development projects. During her time at Bad Robot, Clark was involved in bringing franchise giants STAR TREK and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE to the big screen, produced CLOVERFIELD and MORNING GLORY, and oversaw SUPER 8 directed by Abrams and starring Elle Fanning. Clark has vast experience as both a producer and an executive, having begun her career at The Walt Disney company and subsequently rising through the ranks at Kopelson Entertainment, where she started as Vice President of Creative Affairs and ascended to President of Production.

Robert Rotstein-  Partner, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP

Robert grew up in Culver City, California, then the location of the famed MGM Studios and so the true “Hollywood.” To this day, the city’s motto is “The Heart of Screenland.” Robert’s elementary school was caddy corner to one of the studio’s back lots. At an early age, he became hooked on legal dramas – not only Perry Mason, the archetype of the legal mystery, but also on the politically charged The Defenders and lesser known shows like Judd for the Defense, The Young Lawyers, and The Trials of O’Brien – lawyers doing justice.
Perhaps Robert’s early combination of life in an entertainment-company town and fascination with the lawyer-as-hero made it inevitable that he’d become both an attorney whose practice focuses on the entertainment industry and an author of legal thrillers: during breaks from representing movie studios and well-known writers, directors, and musicians in copyright and IP cases, Robert penned the critically acclaimed novels Corrupt Practices, Reckless Disregard, and The Bomb Maker’s Son.

Litigation with a focus on intellectual property and technology, copyright, and entertainment matters.

Glen Kulik – Founding Partner, Kulik, Gottsman, Siegel & Ware LLP

An experienced and highly decorated attorney, Glen Kulik has developed an impressive record handling complex litigation matters in state and federal courts throughout California. As a founder and managing partner of Kulik Gottesman Siegel & Ware LLP, he has a long history of successfully representing clients big and small, corporate and individual, in a wide variety of legal disputes. He is a recognized expert in the fields of entertainment, intellectual property, real estate, commercial, and employment law, and he is also a specialist in representing residential homeowner associations including gated communities, high rise buildings, and other common interest developments.
His practice encompasses litigation and transactions with particular concentrations in the areas of entertainment, digital media and intellectual property.  Mr. Kulik has represented some of the nation’s leading entertainment industry talent (actors, writers, directors, producers and musicians) in their disputes with major studios, including Universal, Disney, NBC and TNT among others.  He is a recognized expert in the areas of idea theft, right of publicity, net profit, copyright and trademark litigation. Mr. Kulik has extensive jury trial experience in both federal and state courts, arbitrations and all administrative proceedings.  He has successfully tried complex cases in a wide array of disputes from trademark and copyright infringement and also the Digital Millennium Copyright Act resulting in several published opinions from the United States Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Well known for his work in the music industry, Mr. Kulik has represented high profile musicians, including Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Spirit, Play, and The Boomtown Rats in their negotiations and disputes with some of the largest music publishers and record labels in the industry. Mr. Kulik’s entertainment transactional work includes counseling and negotiating contracts and intellectual property acquisitions, licensing and other financial agreements involving film, television, fashion, music and publishing transactions.

COST:

Members: $25
Non-Members: $45
Student Members: $20  |  Must present valid student ID at the door

Please note: Affordable parking is available across the street in the Westfield Mall’s Constellation/Solar parking lot. Fox Rothschild cannot validate parking.