In this episode, we are joined by Haynes Boone Counsel Darwin Bruce, who will walk us through a checklist of key items for parties to consider when structuring transactions involving the entertainment industry. Darwin joined us earlier on the podcast to talk about the growth in streaming media. His practice focuses on media and entertainment transactions, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions transactions, finance, and real estate transactions.

In this episode, we are joined by Haynes Boone Partner Laura Prather, who is the head of the Media Law Practice Group. Laura has been active in the legislative process in Texas for many years, advocating for landmark laws that strengthened First Amendment Rights in the state. She has spent a significant amount of time this year at the Texas capitol and will talk to us about some of the laws passed that impact First Amendment rights.

Today, we are going to talk about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent foray into copyright law, in the closely followed Google v. Oracle case from its prior term, and we will preview a case on the Court’s 2021-2022 docket that will again delve into copyright law.We have two guides today: Partner Jason Bloom, a returning guest to the podcast, and Chair of the firm’s Copyright Practice Group. Jason has litigated a wide variety of copyright disputes throughout the country. He is joined by Abbey Gaug...

Today, we are covering an important topic: the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on governmental transparency, including open-records requests and public access to governmental meetings. As we’ll discuss, the pandemic has been sort of a mixed bag, posing roadblocks to open government but also opening pathways to access public records, meetings and judicial proceedings. Joining us today is Partner Tom Williams, who has decades of experience handling cases and counseling clients on First Ame...

Today, we are going to talk about some recent significant Texas Supreme Court rulings of particular interest to media companies. The rulings will have an impact on defamation cases and the Texas Citizens Participation Act, the state’s anti-SLAPP law that establishes First Amendment protections for citizens to speak freely without fear of retaliatory suits. We’re joined by Haynes and Boone Partner Ben Mesches, who is Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group and is a leading appel...

Today, we are going to talk about cybersquatting, which is the unauthorized registration of an Internet domain name, usually involving a well-known company or brand, with the bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill established by the actual trademark owners. Various legal tools have been created to help brand owners fight back against cybersquatting, but the practice nonetheless continues and has likely only increased. We will also explore the legal options available to brand owners to d...

Today’s topic: talent releases and how to avoid liability for using a person’s image in a creative work. Among other issues, we’ll talk about the particular circumstances that require talent releases and the sorts of claims you can face if you are accused of the unauthorized use of a person’s image.We are joined by Chrissy Long, an associate in Haynes and Boone’s Fort Worth Office and a member of the firm’s Media and Entertainment Litigation Practice Group. Chrissy has experience in a wide va...

Today, we are going to explore copyright law and specifically the Fair Use doctrine. It’s a legal principle designed to promote freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Someone invoking the Fair Use defense has the burden of proving why it applies, and it can be hard to predict whether a court would conclude that a particular use of copyrighted material qualifies as Fair Use. We will also talk about two recent federal circui...

Today, we are going to explore the topic of data privacy, a vital issue that is in the news in some form or fashion every single day. We will cover a lot of fertile ground, including the General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR), the strict European legal regime protecting European Citizens’ personal data. We will also discuss the impact the GDPR has had on data privacy regulations in the U.S. and how European and U.S. data privacy rules impact media companies. Haynes and Boone ...

Today, we are going to explore legal issues surrounding a growing phenomenon in our society: offensive social media posts. We’re going to discuss the issue in a particular context – the government workplace – and discuss when do public employees enjoy Free Speech rights to make comments that many would find offensive? Even if an employee’s speech is protected by the First Amendment, can the employee still be fired or disciplined? There’s a robust, evolving body of law that balances Free Speec...