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2022 Entertainment and Media Law Conference: Online Sessions

This conference offers up to 4.25 hours of California CLE credit for individuals who have paid to access these videos. California MCLE credit is available for this activity until April 22, 2024; you must submit your record of attendance no later than that date. Please note that if you have already received MCLE credit for attending this conference in person, duplicative MCLE credit is not available for viewing these videos.

If you did not attend the in-person conference and wish to obtain California MCLE credit, please do the following:

  1. View each session below.
  2. Take note of the three (3) three-digit codes that will appear on screen during each video. You will need the three codes from each video to verify that you viewed each session. The codes are different for each video.
  3. Complete and submit the online record of attendance as well as this evaluation form.

After we receive your record of attendance, we will email you your certificate of attendance at the email address you provide on the form. Please allow 1-2 weeks for processing.

Written materials for the conference are available here; speaker biographies are available here.

If you have any questions or technical difficulties, please contact medialaw@medialaw.org.

SESSIONS:

True Crime and the Law (85 minutes)

The True Crime genre has experienced a renaissance across a wide variety of media, from print to podcasts, but such productions have presented new twists on traditional newsgathering questions and challenges unique to the genre. The panel discusses issues including how to navigate relationships with subjects and the police, how to set boundaries when working with law enforcement, what happens when you gather material that is later relevant to a criminal prosecution, and more. 

Speakers: Andrew Jarecki, Filmmaker and Director of The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst; Victor Kovner, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; Dan Laidman, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; Brandie Lustbader, VP, Content & Production Counsel, A+E Networks; Richard Winton, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times; Moderator: George Freeman, Executive Director, Media Law Resource Center 

“No Identification with Actual Persons (Living or Deceased) Should be Inferred”: Libel in Fiction (62 minutes)

This session explores the complex liability issues that can face the producers of docudramas and “inspired by” content when they incorporate aspects of real life into works with a fictional component. Using recent cases as a springboard, this session explores the risks of using composite characters, challenges in obtaining releases from everyone involved in real-life events, dealing with unexpected plaintiffs, and other questions. 

Speakers: Jean-Paul Jassy, Partner, Jassy Vick Carolan LLP; Elizabeth Bardsley, Owner, Elizabeth Bardsley & Associates, Inc.; Kathleen Cullinan, Head Counsel, Content Legal Review, Legal & Studios Affairs, Apple; Rory Eastburg, Vice President, Legal Affairs, at NBCUniversal; Robert Gutierrez, Of Counsel, Ballard Spahr LLP; Moderator: Lisa Kohn, Attorney, Davis Wright Tremaine

Hot Topics & Hidden Traps in Clearances (58 minutes)

What do you need to know to clear the use of third-party intellectual property in light of current legal developments? Is there a difference between what the cases say and what you tell your clients to do? How do the considerations change when dealing with scripted versus unscripted versus video games? In this session, our expert panel discusses the latest twists in clearing content and help you avoid the pitfalls. 

Speakers: Lauren Chamblee, Senior Corporate Counsel – Open Innovation, Microsoft; Dale Cohen, Director of Documentary Film Legal Clinic, UCLA School of Law, and Special Counsel, “Frontline”; Dale Nelson, Partner, Donaldson Callif Perez, LLP; Moderator:Robyn Aronson, Founder, Robyn Aronson Law

Non-Fungible Tokens: The Most Hollywood Idea of All? (55 minutes)

Major studios and A-list talent have jumped on the NFT bandwagon as part of their merchandising and marketing campaigns, and we are already seeing the legal fallout as digital dreams get caught up in a thicket of IP rights, licenses and online terms of service. We’ll get you up to speed on what NFTs are and the traps your clients can encounter as they enter this space. 

Speakers: Kevin J. Greene, John J. Schumacher Chair / Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School; Lance Koonce, Partner, Klaris Law PLLC; Heidy Vaquerano, Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP; Moderator: David Aronoff, Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP 

Speaker Bios

Planning Committee

  • Joel Weiner, Katten Muchin Rosenman
  • Aaron Wais, Lathrop GPM
  • Kevin Vick, Jassy Vick Carolan
  • Lisa Schwartz, A+E Networks
  • Tamara Moore, Southwestern Law School
  • Lisa Kohn, Davis Wright Tremaine
  • David Aronoff, Fox Rothschild
  • Jeff Hermes, MLRC
  • George Freeman, MLRC

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