Entertainment and Media Law

This course explores the intersection of media and the law, focusing on the impact that the law has upon the media as it gathers information and publishes the news. Students will become familiar with U.S. cases addressing the issues of libel, appropriation, public information, reporter's privilege, and access to criminal proceedings.

The Lawyering Practicum is designed to simulate a student's first year in legal practice at criminal defense, civil litigation, or entertainment firms. Students are divided into three sections, working directly with experienced partners in small groups to develop essential skills needed for effective legal practice. As part of the course, students complete assignments typically encountered in their first year as associates, including conducting legal research, drafting memoranda, and drafting persuasive briefs.

This course will blend lectures with simulation assignments and class discussions. This course will explore the emerging field of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and its impact on legal practice and selected areas of substantive law. The course will first introduce students to the fundamental technology, commonly used large language models, and related GenAI tools available to lawyers. The course will then survey a broad array of legal practice, substantive law, and policy topics to illustrate the risks and benefits of GenAI.

This course will provide a survey-level look at the legal and ethical issues arising from the use of artificial intelligence-based tools in the entertainment industry. The course will be taught by a practicing attorney who has expertise in the space and an understanding of current relevant legal issues relating to artificial intelligence as it is developing in the entertainment industry. The course will provide a basic introduction to the underlying technology and its development and use in the entertainment industry.

Influencer Law immerses students in the ever-changing, and still somewhat amorphous, world of the influencer marketing industry, providing them with the skills necessary to apply Intellectual Property and Entertainment law related concepts specifically to the representation of influencers. The Course includes topics/lessons related to the influencer marketing landscape generally, the specific legal issues and unique contract terms at play in influencer marketing agreements, and the negotiating strategies, representation concerns, and ethical issues relevant to representing influencers.

This course is an overview of the present fundamentals of NFT and the Metaverse (Web 3.0) related entertainment transactions and litigation. The course is taught by currently practicing attorneys handling NFT and Metaverse related transactions and with a deep understanding of current relevant litigation claims. Students will obtain an understanding of current entertainment industry deals and contracts regarding NFTs and the Metaverse and various litigation claims involving NFTs. During the course, students will be introduced to the relevant intersection of copyright, trademark, tort (e.g.

Full-length features and episodic productions are generally based on some form of literary or other work. Such underlying works include novels, comic books, video games, short stories, and news articles or other publications.

The use of musical compositions and sound recordings in films and television programs provides a significant source of revenue for music publishers and record companies. Although the use of music is ubiquitous in these platforms, the agreements that permit such use involve specialized negotiation and knowledge of numerous factors that dictate the scope and cost of the use.

This course focuses on several major issues that arise in European entertainment law practice and how those issues affect the practice of entertainment law in the United States.

The primary issues covered in this one credit course include the right to privacy in the European Union, including the transfer of data to the United States; the protection of a person's name and likeness in Europe and how that protection affects the content of entertainment products and services that are distributed in Europe; and the protection of trademarks, as well as domain names, in Europe.

Unscripted Television Production Law Unscripted television, known colloquially as reality television, has nearly twice as many productions as traditional scripted television series. The production process for unscripted television involves issues not present in the production of scripted programs that ordinarily deal with professional actors performing on sound stages.