http://easl.info/ EASL News en-us http://easl.info/images/logo.gif http://easl.info/ legal@cyberlaw.info http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=44 2009-2010 EASL Chair Nina-Dawne Williams asked EASL members to create a Legislation Committee in order to educate and promote support of The Florida Entertainment Industry Economic Development Bills HB 697 and SB 1430. The EASL Legislation Committee is comprised of EASL members Nina-Dawne Williams, Stephen Carlisle, Emily Graham (Committee Chair), Charlotte Towne, Nick Nanton, Tom Player, and Chrissie Scelci. Passage of HB 697 and SB 1430 will level the playing field for Florida to compete again in film and digital media production and will ultimately bring more jobs to the Florida entertainment industry. The Florida Film Production Coalition (FFPC) has generously allowed us to post a powerpoint presentation they created for their last meeting on February 22, 2010 that contains more information about the legislation. Click here to view. EASL Legislation Committee Chair, Emily Graham, has also created a report on comparison of the Florida bills to other highly competive states in the film production arena. Click here to view. EASL Members: If you have not already contacted your State Representative and Senator and asked them to support HB 697 and SB 1430 (Entertainment Industry Economic Development Bill), now is the time to do so! Go to www.myfloridahouse.gov to find your Representative. Go to www.flsenate.gov to find your Senator. Make sure to let your Represenative and Senator know how the legislation will have an impact on you personally, your business and community! http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=43 Michael Jackson’s death marks an exclamation point in a generational enjoyment of an extraordinary talent, which extended from the Jackson Five to the King of Pop. His legacy is the memories that each of us hold of the joy he gave to us in his performances and his musical recordings. The Entertainment And Sports Law Section of the Florida Bar extends its sympathy to the family of Michael Jackson and his close associates. Sincerely, Nina-Dawne Williams Attorney at Law EASL Chair (2009-2010) http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=42 Click here to view Max Siegel's lecture notes on Representation of Multinational Entertainment Entities for the recent EASL CLE at Amelia Island, FL, May 24, 2009. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=41 Payola: Should Internet Radio Stations Be Able to Accept Pay for Play While Over-the-Air Stations are Statutorily Precluded? by Jennifer I. Swirsky, Candidate for JD, Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center, swirskyj@nsu.law.nova.edu The Legal History of Payola The first introduction of legal retribution for accepting payola was in the sixties when a man was indicted for accepting money to play an artist’s music.[1] Subsequent to his indictment, a statute was passed making it a misdemeanor to engage in the activity of accepting payola, punishable “by up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison.”[2] http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=40 Click here to view the EASL Immediate Past Chairnan's Report. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=39 By Brooke A. Wiener, J.D. West Palm Beach, FL The Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has affirmed, in an antitrust case, that the exclusive licensing of all professional football teams marks to one vendor is not a violation of the Sherman Act. NFL Properties is an unincorporated organization of 32 separately owned teams. Each team owns its own trademarks - team names, logos, slogans, etc. In 1963, the NFL created NFL Properties, Inc., a corporate entity to (1) develop, license, and market intellectual property that the teams owned, such as their logos and trademarks; and (2) "conduct and engage in advertising campaigns and ventures on behalf of the NFL and [its] member teams." http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=38 Law students who have interests in entertainment, arts and/or sports law and who are members of the EASL Section are invited to submit articles for publication. This initiative is unique, as it grants students the opportunity to be published and gain exposure in these highly competitive areas of practice. The EASL website has wide national distribution. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=36 Film Florida is actively engaged in helping craft 2009 legislation that will impact our state's film incentives. We encourage you to visit Film Florida's website at www.FilminFlorida.com. We encourage you to visit Film Florida's website often for the latest news on the incentive process, and its upcoming Rally in Tally March 18-20. Please keep communicating with your legislators! Latest updates: Governor Charlie Crist unveiled his 2009-2010 budget on February 20, 2009. Among the Governor's listed priorties in the highlights of his budget is the Florida Film Industry, utilizing figures derived from the Haas Study of the Florida Film and Entertainment Industry. The Governor's budget proposes an appropriation of $10 Million. This does not indicate an unwillingness of the Governor to support a tax credit. Film Florida is fully in support of HB47/SB350, calling for a tax credit based film and entertainment incentive. Film Florida will continue to work with leadership to make this position clear. To review the highlights from the Governor's budget, click here. The State of California on Thursday, February 19, facing a $42 Billion state budget shortfall, passed a five year $500 Million Film Incentive as part of an economic stimulus package. Dubbed the "Ugly Betty" incentive, it is designed to convince film and television productions outside of California to return to the state. With Michigan, another state facing great economic upheaval, looking to maintain or enhance their already aggressive incentive, this once again shows how vital and necessary our industry is to Florida's economy and how we simply must keep pressing our legislators to act boldly and quickly. To read more about this development, click here. Please review the Executive Summary for the Haas Study of the Florida Film and Entertainment Industry. It was to be released in conjunction with last week's cancelled roundtable with the Governor. Film Florida will be distributing it more widely and "officially" over the next week. The fiscal impact numbers look very good and should help provide a more complete picture that can augment the recent impact conference scoring of HB43/SB312 and HB47/SB350. Dr. Rick Harper, the lead researcher, has agreed to provide additional clarification or testimony as needed. Click here to view the full study at Film Florida's website. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=35 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Briefs: EMI, Slip-N-Slide, MIMS February 20, 2009 - RB Hip-Hop | Digital and Mobile By Gail Mitchell, L.A. Slip-N-Slide Records founder/CEO Ted Lucas will receive the Tom Dowd Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Bar Association on March 13. The luncheon/award ceremony will be held at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida. Lucas joins such previous Dowd honorees as former BMI president Frances Preston, singer Barry Gibb and film director Arthur Hiller. Click here to view the entire article at Billboard. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=34 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2009 • Daily Business Review. EASL Midyear held January 18, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Miami. Photography by Richard M. Brooks. Click here to view. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=32 Screenwriter sought to do a screenplay for life story on a sports related figure relating to career, involvement with the Harlem Globetrotters, professional football league and college. Brief Treatment available for prospective screenwriter to review identifying highlights of proposed work. Collaborative effort with screenwriter receiving percentage of interest on collaborative effort. Please provide responsive interest and resume of credentials for consideration at kevin@kfjlaw.com Kevin F. Jursinski, Esquire http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=31 Authors Pen Inside Hollywood: The Reel Path to Success in the Motion Picture Industry Authors Richard Warren Rappaport, Esq., Dr. Kenneth J. Atchity and Emily Patricia Graham, Esq. have written a fascinating and insightful look into the world of professional screenwriting, and the path to success in the motion picture industry in Hollywood. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=29 By David R. Ellis, Attorney at Law Largo, Florida In a recent article, I wrote about trademarks and trademark infringement under the U.S. Trademark (Lanham Act), 15 U.S.C. §§1051 et seq., and Florida’s new Trademark Act, Chapter 495, Florida Statutes. Trademark infringement occurs when a person or firm adopts and uses a trademark which is the same or similar to the trademark of a prior user on competing or closely related goods or services so that consumers are likely to be confused, misled, or deceived as to the source of the respective parties’ goods or services. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=28 By David R. Ellis, Attorney at Law Largo, Florida Why do lawyers need to know about trademark law? If you or your clients have ever opened a business or adopted a distinctive name, logo, or slogan to identify the firm’s goods and services, you need a basic understanding of trademark law. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=27 By David R. Ellis, Attorney at Law Largo, Florida Why do lawyers need to know about copyright law? If you or your clients have ever created, adapted or used others’ expressive materials, including writings, photographs, graphics, computer programs, compilations, or other material, you need a basic understanding of copyright law. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=26 By Rebecca Riddick Article posted with permission of the Daily Business Review Photo "Yoji Harada works on Jason Hernandez" courtesy A.M. HoltIn his corporate suit, West Palm Beach attorney Steven S. Newburgh doesn’t look like the type who hangs out with heavily tattooed artists. But he loves serving as attorney for the cast of the popular reality TV show “Miami Ink,” which is set at a Miami Beach tattoo parlor. Newburgh, an entertainment lawyer and partner at Fowler White Burnett, represents six cast members of the show, which appears on the cable TV network TLC. He acts as a combination lawyer and manager, negotiating merchandising deals and working with the network and production companies on their behalf. He also handles requests for their personal appearances. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=25 FLORIDA “APPRENTICE” TRUMPS INTERNET CYBERSQUATTER IN DOMAIN NAME DISPUTE By David Roy Ellis Attorney at Law, Largo Who steals my purse steals trash, But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed. --Shakespeare’s Othello. Act III, Scene 3. For those of you who watch “The Apprentice,” Donald Trump’s television reality show, you may remember that Kendra Todd was the winning candidate in the show’s third season, the first successful woman contestant, and the first from Florida. As an instant television celebrity, Kendra’s name immediately became a valuable commodity, and sure enough, someone came along trying to make a few bucks at her expense. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=24 WHAT’S IN A NAME? FLORIDA ENACTS A TRADEMARK ACT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY BY DAVID R. ELLIS, ATTORNEY AT LAW, LARGO, FLORIDA This past year, the Florida legislature enacted a new trademark statute to modernize the law of trademarks in the state and harmonize it with the Federal trademark statute and most other state trademark laws. The statute, approved by the governor in June 2006, revises Chapter 495 of the Florida Statutes in a number of substantive ways. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=23 The second novel by EASL member Jon Agee has been published. "The Doorstep of Depravity --- a tale of lawyers, heirs, greed, deceit, lust and death" is a legal-medical thriller written under the pseudonym Noah Bond. It's your basic solo attorney who finds out too late that her client is a psychpath. Available from Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble. Read the review and find out more at noahbond.com. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=22 We just wrapped up a hugely motivating and successful group of meetings in Miami last week. The first was for Film Florida, the non-profit group made up of professionals from every aspect of our industry (which you can be a member of -- their website is filmflorida.org.) These were followed by our Advisory Council, which is made up of members appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate President. We addressed a number of critical issues facing our industry. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=21 $20,000,000 Available to filmmakers for fiscal year 2006/07! The new applications and ‘Policies and Procedures’ for Florida’s $20,000,000 financial incentive program that begins July 1, 2006 will go online at www.filminflorida.com on Monday morning, 9:00 AM on June 19th, and will start being accepted by the Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment the same day. http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=20 The position will administer the Film and Entertainment Industry Financial Incentive program, as well as the Film and Entertainment Industry Sales Tax Exemption program. This position will accept, analyze and evaluate all applications for both incentive programs, track the status of all applications in both programs, and oversee, analyze and evaluate all submissions seeking reimbursement from the Entertainment Industry Financial Incentive program. (Go to our website, www.filminflorida.com, for more information on the incentive programs.) http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=19 Click here to view 2005-2006 EASL Chair Richard Rappaport's Annual Report (DOC Format). Click here to view 2005-2006 EASL Chair Richard Rappaport's Report on Diversity Initiatives (DOC Format). http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=18 SEEING RED: NATIVE AMERICANS WIN AN APPEAL IN ONGOING EFFORT TO CANCEL WASHINGTON REDSKINS’ TRADEMARK REGISTRATIONS BY DAVID R. ELLIS, ATTORNEY AT LAW, LARGO, FLORIDA Both before and during the current football season, we have seen increasing controversy over the propriety of professional and college sports teams using Native American names and symbols for their team nicknames and mascots. Recently, in one of the ongoing disputes that has reached the legal arena, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. ruled against the Washington Redskins in a case seeking to cancel the team’s federal trademark registrations as disparaging to Native Americans. Pro-Football, Inc. v. Harjo, No. 03-7162 (D.C. Cir. July 15, 2005). http://easl.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17 THE FILE-SHARING WARS: NATIONAL NINE NIX NIFTY NON-NAPSTER NETWORKS By David R. Ellis, Attorney at Law Largo, Florida In the latest in the online file-swapping wars, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in favor of major movie studios and record companies in their suit against two file-sharing services, Grokster and StreamCast Networks, thus overturning a decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. MGM Studios v. Grokster, Ltd., No. 04-480, June 27, 2005, reversing 380 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2004), http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-480.ZS.html.