At the Getting Real '18 conference last September, RPJ Partner Nicole Page moderated a panel entitled "After #MeToo," which was then profiled in Suz Curtis's article, "Slouching Towards Parity: Panelists Discuss Filmmaking in the #MeToo Era." Given recent changes to New York laws and the creation of The Gender-Based Anti-Harassment Unit...
The recent filing of a federal copyright infringement lawsuit by Alfonso Ribeiro—“Carlton” on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and YouTube celebrity, famous for "the Carlton,” his arm-swinging movements to the Tom Jones diddy "It’s Not Unusual"—raises the question of whether and to what extent choreographed dance moves can by copyrighted...
In a rare, but limited, win for employees on the issue of arbitration of employment disputes, a unanimous Supreme Court today ruled in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira that trucking company New Prime Inc. cannot compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in a class action alleging failure to...
As of December 31, 2018, the minimum wage has increased for employers throughout New York State as follows: Employer Type Minimum Wage New York City Employers (11 or more employees) $15.00 Fast Food Establishments* Located in New York City $15.00 New York City Employers (10 or less employees) $13.50 Fast...
As I reported previously, following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that the Lanham Act’s statutory bar to registration of “disparaging” trademarks ran afoul of the First Amendment, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit struck down a companion portion of the federal trademark law that precluded registration...
As an update of my report from last month on the circuit split on the issue of the recovery of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s attorneys’ fees in connection with district court review of denials of trademark and patent applications, the PTO Director filed a petition for certiorari...
Ringing in the New Year, both New York and Connecticut have important new employment laws that took effect as of January 1, 2019. In Connecticut, under Connecticut's Pay Equity Law, as of January 1, 2019 employers (and third parties acting on behalf of employers) may not ask an employee or job...
[spb_image image="6479" image_size="medium" frame="noframe" caption_pos="hover" remove_rounded="yes" fullwidth="no" overflow_mode="none" link_target="_self" lightbox="no" intro_animation="none" animation_delay="200" width="1/3" el_position="first"][/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation="none" animation_delay="0" simplified_controls="yes" custom_css_percentage="no" padding_vertical="0" padding_horizontal="0" margin_vertical="0" custom_css="margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;" border_size="0" border_styling_global="default" width="2/3" el_position="last"] As 2018 recedes into history, we reflect on a new era of sweeping change in how we perceive, discuss, address, and hopefully prevent claims...
As summarized below, in December 2018 the New York Federal courts handed down three significant opinions relevant to entertainment and media professionals. Court Finds Hearst Engaged in Copyright Infringement by Reposting a Photograph Taken from Instagram The District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Hearst Communications...
Following a period of public comment that recently ended, New York State has published helpful guidance and models to assist employers in New York State to comply with the new legal requirements in the state concerning sexual harassment prevention policies and trainings. Employers in New York State must provide annual...