2023 Entertainment and Media Law Conference — March 23, 2023

Panel Topics

1. Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith and the Future of Fair Use

   Supreme Court watchers are anticipating a blockbuster decision this term in Warhol on the scope of the fair use doctrine in copyright cases. We’ll discuss what the decision could mean for content creators, including its implications beyond the realm of photography, its effect on emerging technology, and more.

   Moderator:

   • Jeff Hermes, Deputy Director, Media Law Resource Center

   Speakers:

   • Dale Cohen, Director of the Documentary Film Legal Clinic at UCLA School of Law/Special Counsel to FRONTLINE
   • Andrew Gass, Latham & Watkins LLP, counsel for The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
   • Eleanor Lackman, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, amicus counsel for Authors Guild and News Media Alliance in Warhol
   • Aaron Moss, Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP, and Founder & Editor, Copyright Lately

    

2. Protecting Creativity with a Bottle of Jack on the Floribama Shore

   Join us for the hottest takes on the Supreme Court’s Jack Daniel’s case following the oral argument on March 22. How far should the First Amendment protect the use of another’s names and trademarks? Do trademark/right of publicity fair use doctrines adequately allow for such use in titles, promotions, and merchandise? With Jack Daniel’s, the Eleventh Circuit’s decision on MTV’s Floribama Shore, and other recent cases as a backdrop, we’ll explore whether the law has kept pace with the creative output of entertainment companies.

   Moderator:

   • Kevin Vick, Jassy Vick Carolan LLP

   Speakers:

   • Evynne Grover, Vice President, Media Liability Claims Practice Leader, QBE North America
   • Lynn Jordan, Kelly IP, amicus counsel for the Motion Picture Association in MFGB Properties v. Viacom
   • Susan Kohlmann, Jenner & Block, counsel for Viacom/MTV in MFGB Properties v. Viacom
   • Rebecca Tushnet, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

   • Giulio Yaquinto, Pirkey Barber PLLC, amicus counsel for the American Intellectual Property Law Association in Jack Daniel’s

    

3. Danger and Intimacy on Set: Safeguards and Lawsuits

   Ensuring physical and psychological safety in the high-pressure environment of a film or television production can be a daunting task. This session will discuss measures that productions can take to mitigate risk as well as recent lawsuits where things went awry, with a particular focus on changing norms around COVID-19, on-set intimacy and sexual harassment, and the role of in-house counsel in dealing with worst-case scenarios.

   Moderator:

   • Orly Ravid, Associate Dean, Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute

   Speakers:

   • Rebecka Biejo, Chief Legal Officer, Pilgrim Media Group
   • Rachel Fiset, Zweiback, Fiset & Zalduendo LLP
   • Danielle Van Lier, Senior Assistant General Counsel, Contracts and Compliance at SAG-AFTRA

   • Claire Warden, Director of Advanced Training, Intimacy Directors & Coordinators

    

4. Documentarian Roundtable

   This session will bring together documentary filmmakers to discuss challenges they have faced in bringing important stories to light. Our panel will discuss the risks of filmmaking in dangerous and sensitive situations, the perils of negotiating access to key sources in a highly competitive market, dealing with threatened lawsuits, and more.

   Moderator:

   • Diana Palacios, Davis Wright Tremaine

   Speakers:

   • Julian Rubinstein, award-winning filmmaker (The Holly) and journalist
   • Victoria Baranetsky, General Counsel at Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting (Victim/Suspect)
   • Ted Braun, award-winning filmmaker (Darfur Now, ¡Viva Maestro!) and screenwriter
   • Dean Schramm, The Schramm Group (Producer (p.g.a.), ¡Viva Maestro!, and Executive Producer, Darfur Now).

   • Adam Scorgie, President and Founder, Score G Productions

    

1. Planning Committee

    

   The Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) is a non-profit membership association for content providers in all media and for their defense lawyers, providing a wide range of resources on media and content law and policy issues. These include news and analysis of legal, legislative, and regulatory developments; litigation resources and practice guides; and national and international media law conferences and meetings. MLRC also works with its membership to respond to legislative and policy proposals and speaks to the press and public on media law and First Amendment issues. MLRC was founded in 1980 by leading American publishers and broadcasters to assist in defending and protecting free press rights under the First Amendment. Today MLRC is supported by over one hundred and forty members, including leading publishers, broadcasters, cable programmers, internet operations, media and professional trade associations, and media insurance professionals in America and around the world. The MLRC’s Defense Counsel Section includes more than 215 law firms worldwide that specialize in media defense representation.

    

   

   Through the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment & Media Law Institute (BEMLI), Southwestern Law School offers the most comprehensive entertainment and media law curriculum in the United States.  Ranked 6th on Hollywood Reporter’s “America’s Top Ten Entertainment Law Schools,” Southwestern’s extensive course offerings, international programs, externships, practicums, and other co-curricular activities prepare graduates for the practice of entertainment law across both traditional and digital media, such as film, television, music, theater, advertising, sports, and journalism. Southwestern has an outstanding entertainment and media law faculty, and its graduates occupy important positions across a broad range of entertainment and media industry organizations.

   Planning Committee

   • David Aronoff, Fox Rothschild
   • Kathleen Cullinan, Apple
   • George Freeman, MLRC
   • Robert Gutierrez, Ballard Spahr
   • Jeff Hermes, MLRC
   • Lisa Kohn, Davis Wright Tremaine
   • Tamara Moore, Southwestern Law School
   • Orly Ravid, Southwestern Law School
   • Kevin Vick, Jassy Vick Carolan
   • Joel Weiner, Katten Muchin Rosenman