Toronto 2012: The Film Collaborative Launches Legal Services Initiative...

Law firm of Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson is spearheading the program, availing itself for a flat fee rather than billing by the hour.'

Toronto 2012: 108 Media Picks Up International Rights to 'RastaFEARian,' Starring Christian Slater
Dubbed TFC Legal, the initiative will offer business affairs and legal contract expertise to filmmakers looking to hammer out distribution deals.

The Los Angeles- and New York-based law firm of Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson is spearheading the program for TFC Legal, which will offer legal services for a flat fee rather than billing by the hour.

"The key to this initiative is that it is only focused on distribution agreements, our specialty and the focus of our mission," said Orly Ravid, founder and co-executive director of the nonprofit. "This new service pairs our expertise in distribution, particularly digital distribution, with AGMB's extensive experience in entertainment law, in order to achieve the best results for TFC clients."
Ravid stressed that because digital distribution has become the new paradigm, filmmakers need to be aware of all their rights as well as new licensing issues.

"Rather than filmmakers signing distribution agreements where the terms are not clearly defined, which can be the case with digital rights in particular, TFC Legal will advise on exactly which rights are being granted to the distributor and for which platforms, without taking control of the filmmaker/content creator's rights, as traditional sales agencies do," said Sheri Candler, director of digital marketing strategy. "This allows us to put the filmmaker's interests first and allows them to work with us instead of being locked into a sales agency agreement."

Since TFC's inception in 2010, it has offered resources and services to independent filmmakers, including film festival distribution, marketing and publicity strategy and implementation, theatrical releasing, digital distribution aggregation and foreign sales negotiation. The nonprofit has provided its services for more than 150 independent films, including Kirby Dick's The Invisible War, Andrew Haigh's Weekend and Musa Sayeed's Valley of Saints.

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Hong Kong Film Piracy on YouTube Amounts to $308 Million Loss...

Copyright-infringing videos of over 200 films found on world's largest video-sharing website

HONG KONG – Severe copyright infringement of Hong Kong films is rife on YouTube, with pirated footage of over 200 Hong Kong films found on the world's largest video-sharing website, amounting to an estimated loss of over HK$2.4 billion ($308 million) to the local film industry, according to the Hong Kong Motion Pictures Industry Association (MPIA). MPIA members urged YouTube and other video-sharing websites to enforce the German court ruling last Friday (April 20) to implement measures to restrict content that infringe copyright.

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The recent local box office hit Love in the Buff was found to be uploaded in its entirety, directly affecting the theatrical gross of the film, a situation that the association called "extremely severe" in a statement.
The videos were taken down after a formal complaint made to YouTube by Media Asia, the copyright holder of Love in the Buff.
But YouTube did not act promptly when contacted by Media Asia to remove the illegally obtained uploaded Buff film, taking days for the removal. John Chong, producer of the film, commented in the statement that YouTube showed "an extreme lack of efficiency in the removal of the pirated videos, but was not responsible for any loss incurred due to the delay in the removal." Previously, the website operator had immediately taken down pirated film material when contacted by the copyright holder.
"YouTube repeatedly requested the copyright holder to prove that they are the holder in order to remove the pirated videos of Love in the Buff, while they allow anyone to claim to be the copyright holder when uploading the videos. It's very unreasonable," MPIA CEO Brian Chung told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. "The pirated videos on YouTube greatly hurt the theatrical performance of the film."
Chong believed the German court ruling on Friday for YouTube to restrict videos that might violate copyright should be enforced for YouTube and other video-sharing websites at the earliest possibility.
In view of the pirated video of Buff on YouTube, MPIA members, which are made up of representatives from most of Hong Kong's film studios, have searched and found in three days over 200 films illegally uploaded on to YouTube, including past and recent Hong Kong Film Awards winners: A Simple Life, The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, Echoes of the Rainbow, and Shaolin Soccer. Blockbuster Ip Man and its sequel were split into 107 videos, while the pirated YouTube videos of clubbing drama Lan Kwai Fong and Jet Li's Fearless received 1.8 million and 1.4 million hits, respectively. A fight scene from Bruce Lee's Way of the Dragon was viewed 4.8 million times.
With accumulated views of over 40 million, MPIA estimated a loss of over HK$2.4 billion to the Hong Kong film industry, based on an average cinema ticket price of HK$60.
"For a video-sharing website of this size and scope, YouTube must have censorship mechanisms to prohibit the uploading of illegal material, such as child pornography or content of extreme violence," Chung added. "It makes no sense for the copyright owner of a current film release to upload the entire film on to YouTube, so how can YouTube allow just anyone to claim to be the copyright owner and show the whole film on their website?"
Chung said the association is not trying to single out YouTube, but the company's international visibility and accessibility has made the severity of the situation impossible for Hong Kong filmmakers to ignore. "YouTube, or any other video-sharing websites, should have a set of ethics in dealing with copyrighted material. It's unfair to the copyright owner," Chung said. "The U.S. has always set great store by the protection of intellectual property. As a company headquartered in the U.S., owned by Google, the world's largest internet search company, it turns out that it allows pirated content on its website. How would the U.S. view this situation?"
YouTube and its parent company Google have not yet replied to The Hollywood Reporter's request for comment.
MPIA members are now in discussion to determine a strategy to combat piracy online, but meanwhile, "due to the urgency and severity of the situation, we'd hope to raise awareness on it as soon as possible," Chung said.
While online piracy is an extension of the larger film piracy issue present since the 1990s, remarked Ip Man director Wilson Yip in the statement, he hoped for effective law enforcement to combat the issue. Free viewing of pirated films would pose an even more serious problem for the film industry, noted Lan Kwai Fong executive producer Patrick Tong, as it is nearly impossible to find the culprit responsible. "It's a harsh blow to the producers and investors, giving rise to a vicious circle of fewer and fewer investors, and a further weakening of the Hong Kong film industry."

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Senate hearing on digital platforms hears calls for new laws...

If new digital platforms are to survive and thrive, laws and regulations governing the media and telecommunications industries need to be overhauled, executives from Microsoft, Amazon and IAC told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

"Incumbents have the means and incentive to engage in economic and/or technical discrimination against online video distributors," IAC Chairman Barry Diller testified Tuesday morning at the hearing looking at the potential of online video. IAC is a digital content company.

Diller, a former television executive who became head of Paramount Pictures and was an architect of the Fox network, said during questioning that the Communications Act of 1996 should be revisited.

"The rules need to reflect that there is a potential positive competitor to what has become a very closed system ... dominated by relatively few companies," Diller said.

There was some agreement from the committee. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said, "Our video laws simply no longer reflect the current realities of the marketplace." Those laws, "should not promote or protect one technology over another or one competitor over another."

Much of the hearing focused on whether online video will emerge as a serious competitor to cable and satellite television. Besides Diller, others testifying were Blair Westlake, corporate vice president of Microsoft Corp.'s media and entertainment group; Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president for global public policy, and Susan Whiting, vice chairman of Nielsen Co.

"The TV landscape will likely experience more change in the next 18 months than in past five years," Westlake predicted.

At the same time though, there was a general consensus that online video is not in a position to overtake current multichannel video program delivery systems. Diller said online video will be a supplement but not a replacement for pay television.

Diller and others expressed concern that traditional media companies that control content and distribution will have little incentive to see online video emerge as a serious competitor. Asked about net neutrality -- a principle that requires a broadband distributor to treat all Web traffic equally -- Diller said that without it, "You will see the absolute crushing of any competitive force."

Amazon's Misener added that his company had seen indications that traditional media companies "may wish to restrict the availability of competing content," and said the situation needs to be "monitored vigorously" by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission.

As is often the case in a hearing about content distribution, the subject of how channels are packaged and sold by cable companies was also a topic. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.), who chairs the committee, complained about having to pay for 500 channels when he only watches 10. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) asked why ESPN doesn't just sell itself directly to consumers, seemingly suggesting that this is something that programmers want but that distributors are against.

Diller made it clear that ESPN and other programmers have little interest in changing the current system.

"It would be insane for ESPN to sell itself directly to consumers," Diller said, noting that he doesn't watch ESPN yet is paying for it. "Selling it individually is something they would avoid."

There was an interesting dust-up at the start of the hearing between Diller and DeMint. Diller is a backer in Aereo, a company that sells tiny antennas to consumers and thus allows them to access broadcast TV signals over the Internet. The company launched in New York this year and broadcasters are suing to shut the service down, claiming Aereo does not have the permission or the legal right to retransmit their content via the Internet and is in violation of copyright laws.

DeMint asked Diller what his reaction to Aereo would be if he still had his broadcasting hat on. Diller acknowledged he'd be protecting his turf.

But Diller also said that Aereo, which charges consumers $12 a month, is not reselling broadcast content but is rather a technological platform.

"We charge a consumer for an infrastructure we put together," Diller said. "We don't charge for programming that is broadcast on this free direct-to-consumer system."

DeMint indicated that is a distinction without a difference, and when he was done questioning Diller turned to Amazon's Misener and sarcastically asked, "Do you plan to intercept broadcast signals and sell them over your network?"

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Supreme Court upholds copyright law...

Supreme Court upholds copyright law
Affirms return of copyright to foreign works once in public domain
By TED JOHNSON

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Congress' ability to extent copyright protection to works by foreign artists and authors that were previously in the public domain.
The high court ruled 6 to 2, with Justice Elena Kagan recusing herself.

"Nothing in the historical record, congressional practice or our own jurisprudence warrants exceptional First Amendment solicitude for copyrighted works that were once in the public domain," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in the majority opinion.

Orchestra conductors, educators and homevid distributors challenged the constitutionality of a 1994 act of Congress that restored the copyrights, bringing it in line with earlier trade agreements. Perhaps millions of works were covered, and they had argued that the "entry of a work into the public domain must mark the end of protection, not an intermission."

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, after the law was passed, notices were filed to restore copyrights on almost 50,000 works, including such Alfred Hitchcock titles as "The 39 Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes," Carol Reed classic "The Third Man" and a host of musical works and Mexican and Latin American films.

The content industry generally favored the restoration of copyrights. The MPAA filed an amicus brief in which it said that U.S. copyright holders could face "retaliatory measures" if the law was overturned, and the U.S. therefore did not honor the 1994 treaty and the Berne Convention, the international agreement in which countries recognize the copyright of works from other signatory countries.

"In aligning the United States with other nations bound by the Berne Convention, and thereby according equitable treatment to once disfavored foreign authors, Congress can hardly be charged with a design to move stealthily toward a regime of perpetual copyrights," Ginsburg wrote.

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Supreme Court Strikes Down California Law Banning Violent Video Games To Minors.

In a long-awaited decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court sent a clear message to state governments looking to regulate the sale of violent video games to minors: Treat video games like movies, books, music, and any other artistic medium.

The Supreme Court struck down California's law banning the rental or sale of violent video games to children under the age of 18 by a decisive 7-2 margin.

In doing so, the court's justices emphasized in its decision the primacy of the First Amendment and that "basic principals of free speech" shouldn't be restricted without a "compelling government interest."

In defending the law, the government tried to point to psychological studies purporting to show a connection between exposure to violent video games and the harmful effects on children, but the Supreme Court found the evidence to be inconclusive, and that any demonstrated effects were "small and indistinguishable from effects produced by other media."

As a result, the Supreme Court ruled that standards applied to other media should also be applicable in this situation:
"Like the protected books, plays, and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas-and even social messages-through many familiar literary devices (such as characters, dialogue, plot, and music) and through features distinctive to the medium (such as the player's interaction with the virtual world). That suffices to confer First Amendment protection. Under our Constitution, "esthetic and moral judgments about art and literature . . . are for the individual to make, not for the Government to decree, even with the mandate or approval of a majority."

The decision is a victory for the video game industry in its many years of efforts to be treated equally to other entertainment businesses.

"We are gratified that our position that the law violates the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression has been vindicated and there now can be no argument whether video games are entitled to the same protection as books, movies, music, and other expressive entertainment," said Bo Andersen, President & CEO, Entertainment Merchants Association
The Supreme Court decision is also a triumph for entertainers at large.

In the decision, the Supreme Court notes that California attempted to craft an entirely new category of unprotected speech -- content aimed at children. The justices reject this idea and say that lawmakers must only regulate speech using the same kinds of content-neutral regulation standards used in the past.

"The motion picture industry is no stranger to governments' incursion on freedom of expression," said Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America. "From the very inception of the movie industry, attempts to restrict speech have threatened the creativity of American movie-makers. We applaud the Supreme Court for recognizing the far-reaching First-Amendment implications posed by the California law."

The decision wasn't unanimous. Justices Thomas and Breyer dissented. In their view, "the practices and beliefs of the founding generation establish that 'the freedom of speech,' as originally understood, does not include a right to speak to minors (or a right of minors to access speech) without going through the minors' parents or guardians."

Some groups which have supported laws like California's statute pledged to continue working on the issue despite the Supreme Court ruling to ensure minors are adequately protected.
"Today's decision is a disappointing one for parents, educators, and all who care about kids," says Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer. "But the fight is far from over. Advocates for kids and families can work within the scope of this ruling to protect the best interests of kids...We respectfully disagree with the Court when it comes to their analysis of the First Amendment rights of children and families -- this is a sanity issue, not a censorship issue. If parents decide a violent game is okay for their kid, that's one thing, but millions of kids are not able to judge the impact of ultra-violence on their own"

Other groups said the decision would have a negative impact.
"This ruling replaces the authority of parents with the economic interests of the video game industry," said Parents Television Council president Tim Winter. "With no fear of any consequence for violating the video game industry's own age restriction guidelines, retailers can now openly, brazenly sell games with unspeakable violence and adult content even to the youngest of children."

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Senate Committee Votes to Make Illegal Streaming of Movies, TV a Felony...

The Commercial Felony Streaming Act is supported by AFTRA, the DGA and other Hollywood unions.
Moving to close a possible loophole in the laws against the pirating of movies, TV shows and other intellectual property, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved making illegal streaming of video over the internet a felony in most cases. The proposed law will now go to the full Senate for consideration.

The Commercial Felony Streaming Act (S. 978), introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX), reconciles a disparity between the current law and streaming of content and peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading.

This legislation is supported by the Obama administration and a broad entertainment industry coalition, including the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), AFTRA, Directors Guild of America, IATSE and SAG. Others who have pushed for passage include the MPAA, the Independent Film & Television Alliance and the National Association of Theatre Owners.
"We commend the Committee for moving this important piece of legislation for consideration by the Senate. It will close a gaping hole in the law and go far in protecting the livelihoods of theater employees from the threat posed by illegal streaming," says NATO President John Fithian. "To the technicians, designers, construction workers, and artists who support their families through their work in entertainment, there's no difference between illegal downloading and illegal streaming – it's all theft that hurts their work, their wages and their benefits.
"This bill will help ensure that the punishment for these site operators fits the crime," says Michael O'Leary, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs for the MPAA.

"The illegal streaming of motion pictures and television programming is as financially devastating for our industry as is illegal downloading," says IFTA President Jean Prewitt. "Stealing is stealing, regardless of the means in which the product is being received.

The bill makes it illegal to stream video for commercial purposes. The penalty is increased to up to five years in prison when it involves 10 or more instances of streaming over a 180-day period. The retail value of the streamed video must exceed $2,500, or the licenses to the material must be worth more than $5,000.

The bill follows the suggestion made two months ago by the White House Office of U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement which urged Congress to make illegal streaming a felony.

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Prosecutors Say Telemarketers Duped Old Folks Into Investing $2

Federal prosecutors have indicted 18 individuals accused of conducting a boiler-room telemarketing operation that allegedly took $25 million from the elderly.

The indie film realm has been subject to allegations of duping investors in the past, but perhaps never like this. According to Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Cazares, the alleged fraud took place in southern California and Florida.

Between 100 and 200 telephone operators cold-called old folks and induced them to put up money for films. The investors were promised returns "up to 1000 percent," as well as film credits. They were allegedly shown "shiny, glossy marketing materials" touting revenue already earned from product placement deals.

Some of the money went to Cinamour Entertainment, which created several films, including From Mexico With Love and Red Water: 2012. Investments were also solicited for Q Media Assets for a pair of films, Way of the Dolphin and Eye of the Dolphin.

However, it is charged that telemarketers falsely promised that 93% of the money raised would go into production and promotion, but that more than a third of the money ended up in the pockets of the telemarketers. Cazares says the "heart of the case was the failure to disclose commissions or the true use of the money."

Law enforcement have already arrested 11 individuals from the operation, including Daniel Toll, the president of Cinamour.

Prosecutors also say they have obtained a guilty plea from a former CIA agent who headed Q Media over charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and tax charges.

Some of the individuals who have been charged with crimes are accused of encouraging investors to liquidate individual retirement accounts. These defendants are now facing trials for conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

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Poland Brings Media Law Up to EU Standards...

Amendment to law will allow Oscars, Grammys and major sporting events to be re-broadcast on country's non-cable networks.

The Polish Government passed an amendment to Poland's media law, which brings it up to European Union standards, Film New Europe reported.

The amendment, passed on March 4, de-monopolizes brief coverage of "socially significant" events. This will allow the Oscars, Grammys and major international sporting events to be re-broadcast on networks other than cable channels in Poland. A broadcaster holding the rights to an event is obligated to allow other broadcasters to cover the event in a segment of more than 90 seconds.

The amendment preserves the recent ban on product placement, with exceptions for films and some TV programming. Productions containing product placement must be identified as such. Products are allowed to be used as awards or props free of charge.

The amendment also addresses advertising frequency. Feature films on TV can be interrupted with an commercial break every 45 minutes. Other programs can have commercials every 20 minutes on TV and every 10 minutes on the radio. News, religious, documentary and children's programs under a half-hour long cannot be interrupted with advertising. The ban on commercials on public television and radio is maintained.

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Industry News: Regulators Eye New Apple Subscription Service...

They are looking at whether the tech giant may be running afoul of antitrust laws by steering consumers to its digital subscription billing system.

NEW YORK - U.S. regulators are looking at the terms that Apple unveiled earlier this week for a new digital subscription system for content companies to gauge possible antitrust concerns, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The tech giant had said it will take a 30 percent commission for subscriptions garnered by the new system in its App Store - which doesn't apply if a content partner itself brings in the subscriber - and said content companies must offer equal or better digital subscription terms to Apple customers than they do elsewhere. Apple is also prohibiting media companies' apps from linking to stores outside of its own app store.

The new subscription system was first introduced for News Corp.'s The Daily, but is now being rolled out to other magazine, video, music and other content offers.

The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have shown a preliminary interest in the subscription service, which may or may not develop into a formal probe or action against the company, the Journal said. Their interest is focused on whether Apple may be running afoul of antitrust laws by steering consumers to its payment system.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission told the Journal that the EU arm was also aware of the new subscription service and was "carefully monitoring the situation."

Online music firms said Apple's 30 percent cut for processing subscriptions would hurt them. Jon Irwin, president of Rhapsody International, which sells online music subscriptions through apps from Apple and others, said his company is already paying high royalties to music labels, with Apple's commission further squeezing margins. "The costs don't leave any room for a sensible business model," he said.

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Job: Entertainment Law/ Legal Administrative Ass/Floater..

Century City Entertainment Law Firm Has An Immediate Opening For A
Legal Administrative Assistant/Floater. MUST Have A Minimum Of 2 Years
Prior Experience Working As A Legal Administrative Assistant in the
Entertainment Industry.

This is a FANTASTIC opportunity for the right person! Must be
outgoing, friendly yet have a professional personality. You also need
to be a team player willing to go the EXTRA MILE! Computer proficient,
including MS Word and Outlook. Industry and knowledge of agencies a
plus! Impeccable spelling, grammar skills and excellent telephone
manners. Must have excellent references, able to work unsupervised,
discreet, smart, honest, resourceful, self starter, well educated and
polite.

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Industry News: More than 100,000 People Have Been Sued for Sharing Movies in Past Year...

February 2, 2011

Suing file-sharers has gone viral.

Since we first broke the news about a new Washington D.C. enterprise using an innovative legal tactic to pursue movie torrent downloaders, U.S. courts have seen an explosion of activity on the file-sharing front.

In fact, according to data collected by TorrentFreak, more than 100,000 P2P users have been targeted in lawsuits in the past year alone. What started out as a handful of small film producers suing has grown to include indie studios like Voltage and Nu Image to a wide swath of the adult entertainment industry.

The number of file-sharers sued in the past year for copyright infringement is stunning. By comparison, between 2003 and 2008, during the RIAA's attempts to sue individual file-sharers, only about 30,000 people were sued.

Since lawsuits were filed against these 100,000 individuals fairly recently, it makes sense that most of the cases are still active. Amid word in some circles that the lawsuits have been dismissed by judges or withdrawn by plaintiffs, the data shows that roughly 71% of individuals being sued haven't gotten off the hook yet. And among those that have, some lawsuits are in the process of being re-filed. Over the last few weeks, a couple dozen new cases have been filed against individuals who refused to bow to settlement pressures.

The amount of litigation is sure to give judges fits. Three jurisdictions -- California, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia -- have each been home to lawsuits targeting a total of 20,000+ file-sharers. The judge in West Virginia couldn't take it and dismissed most of them. Many of the lawsuits originally filed in West Virginia have recently been re-filed in D.C., which has become the biggest center for mass-litigation against file-sharers. Texas and Illinois have also been hospitable to these new suits:

So far, the place of filing seems to be dictated by the firm bringing the action. For example, the Adult Copyright Company (Kenneth J. Ford in West Virginia) leads the way with lawsuits targeting 36,709 file-sharers. (Although the number comprises targets in both West Virginia and D.C.) The Copyright Enforcement Group (Ira Siegel in California) is the next most active with lawsuits against 21,593 file-sharers. The US Copyright Group (Thomas Dunlap in DC) is third at 20,281, although the firm has recently teamed up with ACC on some of its litigation. Here's a look at the 10 firms that have thus far made a name with mass-suing tactics against file-sharers:

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Industry News: Hollywood Docket: How Many Video Game Lawyers Are There in the U.S.?

January 18, 2011

The courts might be closed for the MLK holiday but there's plenty of law buzz this morning:

•The FCC is planning to consider retransmission fees, a subject that has led to several blackouts in recent years amid negotiation impasses between broadcasters and cable and satellite companies. Regulatory review comes just as Time Warner settles with Sinclair Broadcasting over the latest dispute. [NYT]
•Universal and Sony Music plan to release songs on the day they hit radio airwaves in an effort to combat piracy. Songs used to be released to radio up to six weeks before release to build buzz. [Guardian]
•More claims have been dropped from Nicollette Sheridan's lawsuit against Marc Cherry and Touchstone Television Productions. She's dismissed her discrimination claims, but is still pressing on that she was wrongfully terminated. [TMZ]
•A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a lawsuit against Nielsen Co. for allegedly abusing its monopoly power over television ratings when it installed its new local people meter audience measurement system. [B&C]
•Can a phone camera turn you into a pirate? [NYT]
•There are exactly 530 lawyers who specialize in video game law, according to a study by Interactive Age. The publication ranks the top 30 firms, led by Perkins Coie. [Game Politics]

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