Media & Entertainment

  • July 30, 2026

    Disney, Cameron Get 'Avatar' Sequels IP Suit Nixed, For Now

    A California federal judge Thursday tossed an author's suit accusing the Walt Disney Co., film director James Cameron and Cameron's production company of ripping off the author's work to create "Avatar" movie sequels, saying any substantial similarities between the works should be better fleshed out should the writer amend his complaint again.

  • July 30, 2026

    Minn. Social Media Mandate Muzzles Sites, Says Tech Group

    Tech trade group NetChoice is urging a federal court to reject Minnesota's bid to keep alive its new law requiring social media companies to display mental health warning labels at the login page, arguing the statute forces these companies to become "mouthpieces" for the state, violating the First Amendment.

  • July 30, 2026

    Instagram Could Easily Disrupt User Permascrolling, Jury Told

    A Silicon Valley tech guru and theorist testified on Thursday in Tennessee's trial against Meta that, for him, it took "less than 10 lines of code" to create a time delay that broke the grip of a hard-to-resist design feature he released to the world in 2006, infinite scroll.

  • July 30, 2026

    Consider 4.4GHz Band To Expand 5G, 6G, Report Says

    As the federal government eyes a pair of bands for the expansion of 5G and 6G, a spectrum researcher has released a report saying that the 4.4 gigahertz band is the best option.

  • July 30, 2026

    AT&T's Copper Network Retirement Needs Review, FCC Told

    The Communications Workers of America, rural counties in California and a consumer advocacy group for affordable utilities urged the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its automatic approval of AT&T's request to retire copper-line networks in California, saying that significant public interest concerns have to be addressed first.

  • July 30, 2026

    T-Mobile Says WCO Spectrum Can't Fix Antitrust Claims

    T-Mobile has told a California federal court that WCO Spectrum has admitted it does not have what it needs to state a viable antitrust counterclaim in the mobile carrier's case accusing the spectrum-buying company of racketeering.

  • July 30, 2026

    Ease Broadband Buildout To Fuel AI Boom, Lawmakers Urged

    Lawmakers must put an end to delays in broadband deployment and renew a federal cybersecurity statute if they hope to feed the artificial intelligence boom while curtailing safety concerns, U.S. senators heard Thursday.

  • July 30, 2026

    DOJ Wants Rethink On Apple's Peek Into Feds' Phone-Buying

    The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a special master to rethink his New Jersey federal court mandate giving Apple a look into how the Pentagon, CIA, State Department and other federal agencies purchase smartphones, arguing that the retired federal judge applied the wrong legal standard in the antitrust case.

  • July 30, 2026

    XAI Can't Unmask Jane Does In Deepfake Suit, Judge Says

    A California federal judge on Thursday declined to order a group of women suing xAI Corp. over Grok-generated deepfakes of them in sexual situations to reveal their identities and allowed them to proceed pseudonymously, finding their fears of threatened harm and retaliation from having to disclose their real names were reasonable.

  • July 30, 2026

    FCC Official Calls E-Rate Review 'Long Overdue'

    A top official at the Federal Communications Commission said the agency's review of the E-Rate fund for schools and libraries will be a much-needed reexamination of a 30-year-old telecom program.

  • July 30, 2026

    Europe Soccer Group To Boycott FIFA Over Investor Sale Plan

    The soccer federation representing 55 European countries announced Thursday that it will boycott World Cup competition in protest of FIFA's plan to sell billions of dollars in shares of the sport's premier international tournament to private investors.

  • July 30, 2026

    DA Says Trump's NY Hush Money Conviction Must Stand

    New York prosecutors told a state appellate court that President Donald Trump's 34-count felony conviction for falsifying business records is "unaffected" by the U.S. Supreme Court's watershed presidential immunity decision and should be upheld.

  • July 29, 2026

    X, Ad Group End Fight Over Alleged Ad Boycott Scheme

    Elon Musk's X will no longer pursue its claims that the World Federation of Advertisers schemed to have advertisers boycott the social media company by cutting back on or stopping ad purchases, the company and advertising trade group announced Wednesday.

  • July 29, 2026

    Meta's View Of 'Problematic Use' Has Holes, Ex-Exec Testifies

    A former Facebook safety executive testified Wednesday in Tennessee's trial against Meta over youth mental health that Meta's definition of "problematic use" of apps is deficient and suffers from a lack of data.

  • July 29, 2026

    Nexstar Says Tegna Board Members Don't Violate Injunction

    Nexstar Media Group told a California federal court that Tegna remains independent, despite concerns from DirecTV and a coalition of states that the companies violated an injunction preventing them from merging fully when Nexstar took over Tegna's board.

  • July 29, 2026

    Calif. Dems Pressure FCC To Drop ABC Station Probe

    More than two dozen California House Democrats have come together to tell the Federal Communications Commission to abandon its review of the license of an ABC station in the Golden State, saying there's no chance the agency launched the probe in good faith.

  • July 29, 2026

    Forum Clause Dooms ITC Trade Secret Case Against BMW

    A U.S. International Trade Commission judge has made an initial finding to close a trade secret investigation into BMW's imports of infotainment screens targeted by a California technology company, citing an agreement between the parties saying their disputes had to be hashed out in Germany.

  • July 29, 2026

    Crack Down On States Neglecting Pole Regs, FCC Told

    States have to actually make pole attachment rules if they want to take control of such regulations themselves, a telecom trade group told the FCC, which is currently mulling putting new rules in place for states that want to claw back control through so-called reverse preemption.

  • July 29, 2026

    '96 Telecom Act Needs Overhaul To Cut Regs, Think Tank Says

    A free-market-oriented think tank called Wednesday for a legislative redo of the 1996 Telecommunications Act in order to slash regulations tied to outdated technologies and adjust the industry's regulatory regime to new market conditions.

  • July 29, 2026

    Meta Set For 2027 Trial In Mass. Social Media Addiction Case

    A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday agreed to schedule a jury-waived trial for next May in the state's social media addiction lawsuit against Instagram and its owner, Meta Platforms.

  • July 29, 2026

    Disney Says 'Avatar' Likeness Suit Came 16 Years Late

    Director James Cameron and Disney have asked a California federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by actor Q'orianka Kilcher alleging her face was used to craft the face of a main character in the 2009 film "Avatar," saying Kilcher had waited an unreasonable 16 years to make her claim.

  • July 29, 2026

    PBS Station Sues Data Co. Over 70 Years Of Archived Footage

    A St. Louis public television station has sued a data storage company in Colorado state court to recover 50 terabytes of irreplaceable archival footage and programming spanning seven decades, alleging the company has wrongfully refused to return the data after the station's cloud storage provider ceased operations.

  • July 29, 2026

    Film Producer Charged In $100M Alleged Ponzi Scheme

    A film producer has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud in Illinois federal court, with prosecutors claiming in an indictment unsealed Tuesday that he bilked more than $100 million from investors in a Ponzi scheme.

  • July 29, 2026

    Enforcers Defend Google Search Win, Seek Payment Ban

    The U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers urged the D.C. Circuit not to disturb a trial court's ruling that found Google illegally maintained its search monopoly, while also asking the appeals court to consider banning Google from paying to be the default search engine.

  • July 29, 2026

    Lawyer Sues Pro Se Litigant Over 'Defamatory' Court Remarks

    A well-known entertainment lawyer who represented a defendant in a small claims lawsuit in Boston last year is now suing the pro se plaintiff in that case over her comments to a clerk magistrate calling him a “bully” and accusing him of being bigoted against women.

Expert Analysis

  • Courts Are Reanchoring Antitrust Enforcement In Evidence

    Author Photo

    Recent U.S. antitrust disputes, including with Meta and HPE-Juniper, illustrate how judicial scrutiny combined with internal institutional checks is pushing enforcement toward an evidence-based footing and refinements, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

    Author Photo

    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Closure Highlights Labor Law Stakes

    Author Photo

    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's recently announced closure, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied relief from an injunction mandating that the newspaper restore terms from its previous collective bargaining agreement, illustrates that prematurely declaring an impasse and implementing unilateral changes carries risk, says Sunshine Fellows at Freeman Mathis.

  • Reviewing The Legal Landscape Of Social Media For Minors

    Author Photo

    States have initiated a wave of legislation regulating minors' access to and use of social media platforms, so it will be critical for social media companies to closely track the patchwork of state laws and pending legal challenges so they are prepared to pivot if necessary, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Texas AG Wields Consumer Protection Law Against Tech Cos.

    Author Photo

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted technology companies using the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a broadly worded statute that gives the attorney general wide latitude to pursue claims beyond traditional consumer protection, creating unique litigation risks, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • How To Trademark A Guy In 8 Ways: An IP Strategy Against AI

    Author Photo

    Attempting a novel method of protection against artificial intelligence misuse of his voice and likeness, Matthew McConaughey's recent efforts to register eight trademarks for a series of audio and video clips of himself underscore the importance of extending existing legal frameworks beyond traditional applications, says Summer Todd at Patterson Intellectual Property.

  • Bipartisan Enforcement Is Rising In Consumer Finance

    Author Photo

    Activity over the past year suggests a bipartisan state enforcement wave is rippling across the consumer finance industry, which follows a blueprint set out by former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra, who notably now leads a Democratic Attorneys General Association working group, say attorneys at Hudson Cook.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

    Author Photo

    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • How 2 Tech Statutes Are Being Applied To Agentic AI

    Author Photo

    The application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act to agentic artificial intelligence is still developing, but recent case law, like Amazon's lawsuit against Perplexity in California federal court, provides some initial guidance for companies developing or deploying these technologies, say attorneys at Weil.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

    Author Photo

    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

    Author Photo

    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

    Author Photo

    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • Privacy Ruling Shows How CIPA Conflicts With Modern Tech

    Author Photo

    A California federal court's recent holding in Doe v. Eating Recovery Center that Meta is not liable for reading, or attempting to read, the pixel-related transmission while in transit reflects a mismatch between the California Invasion of Privacy Act's 1967 origins and modern encrypted, browser‑driven communications, says David Wheeler at Neal Gerber.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Media & Entertainment archive.