Media & Entertainment

  • January 02, 2026

    9th Circ. Affirms Kat Von D's IP Win But Says New Test Needed

    A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed tattoo artist Kat Von D's jury win Friday over a photographer who claimed she infringed his photo of Miles Davis, although two judges said the "intrinsic" test applied by the jury should be discarded in the circuit because it handcuffs courts to verdicts finding no infringement.

  • January 02, 2026

    Ticketmaster Accused Of Monopoly Tactics By Ex-Startup

    Titan of the concert and venue industry Ticketmaster and its owner Live Nation have been slapped with an antitrust lawsuit by a shuttered startup that claims it had to sell itself for parts after the larger companies' anticompetitive practices drove it out of the ticketing business.

  • January 02, 2026

    Megan Thee Stallion Fights To Reinstate Defamation Verdict

    Rapper Megan Thee Stallion urged a Florida federal court to reinstate a defamation verdict against blogger Milagro Cooper after a judge tossed the count, saying the writer admitted to being an entertainer and not a "media defendant" who is entitled to a pre-suit notice. 

  • January 02, 2026

    9th Circ. Affirms Paramount's Win In 'Top Gun' IP Fight

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday affirmed Paramount's win in a copyright lawsuit alleging the studio's 2022 "Top Gun: Maverick" blockbuster film failed to credit a journalist whose article inspired the original 1986 movie, finding that similarities between the sequel and the article are too abstract to be protected.

  • January 02, 2026

    Will Smith Accused Of Sex Harassment On Tour By Violinist

    A violinist has sued Will Smith and his touring company in California state court, alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination stemming from an "intrusion" into his hotel room while on tour with the award-winning actor and musical performer. 

  • January 02, 2026

    Casinos Wrongly Fired Dealer After Heart Attack, EEOC Claims

    Casinos in Maryland, including Caesars Entertainment, violated federal disability bias law in firing a dealer after he had a heart attack at work that required surgery and subsequent workplace accommodations, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has alleged in a complaint in federal court.

  • January 02, 2026

    The Top Sports & Betting Cases To Watch In 2026

    As attorneys prepare for a busy year of sports cases centering on antitrust, labor laws and prediction markets, all eyes are sure to be locked on the U.S. Supreme Court, which will decide the fate of two state laws banning transgender girls and women from competing in female sports.

  • January 02, 2026

    Copyright & Trademark Policy And Trends To Watch In 2026

    Intellectual property attorneys are waiting to see if the U.S. Copyright Office releases an additional report on artificial intelligence and are curious if the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office continues to speed up its handling of trademark applications. Here are Law360's picks for the copyright and trademark policies and trends to watch this year.

  • January 02, 2026

    DC Circ. Cases To Watch In January

    The D.C. Circuit will start the New Year hearing several noteworthy cases, including a challenge to the Trump administration's transgender troop ban and a fight over whether two common "forever" chemicals qualify as hazardous materials under the Superfund law.

  • January 02, 2026

    Patent Litigation Trends To Watch In 2026

    Attorneys are expecting a significant increase in district court litigation after a series of dramatic changes at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have made the Patent Trial and Appeal Board less attractive, which is one of the most significant trends for 2026.

  • January 02, 2026

    Antitrust Cases Ahead: Live Nation, Middleman On Trial

    The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission enter 2026 with decisions to make about how to regroup after coming up short in major cases against Google and Meta Platforms.

  • January 02, 2026

    Trademark Cases To Watch In 2026

    An appeal over the use of foreign words in branding is up for consideration at the U.S. Supreme Court, and a Delaware federal judge is set to deliver his verdict following a bench trial over the "Ugliest House in America." Here are Law360's picks for the trademark cases to watch in 2026.

  • January 02, 2026

    Shareholder Litigation To Watch In 2026

    A Fourth Circuit case that could be important to the future of class action practice, a dispute between Elon Musk and former Twitter shareholders and a high court battle over the Investment Company Act are all on the list of cases that securities practitioners will be following in 2026.

  • January 02, 2026

    Merger Settlements Keep Rolling, With A Hitch

    The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission took a more business friendly approach to merger reviews in 2025 than the previous administration, with a string of settlements allowing deals to move ahead without a challenge.

  • January 02, 2026

    The Top Telecom Developments To Watch In 2026

    As a new Republican administration hits its stride, agencies are looking to pare back regulations, and major tech and telecom mergers could be on the horizon. After a year of change at the Federal Communications Commission, experts are also watching to see how quickly the Commerce Department can roll out changes to a massive broadband program, and legal challenges to federal rules continue to ripple across the telecom sector.

  • January 02, 2026

    Copyright Cases To Watch In 2026

    U.S. federal courts this year will continue to review consequential copyright infringement suits involving artificial intelligence, while appeals court decisions remain pending in a pair of notable fair use cases involving ROSS Intelligence and Microsoft. Here are Law360's picks for copyright cases to watch in 2026.

  • January 02, 2026

    California Cases To Watch In 2026

    Legal experts following California courts in 2026 are tracking high-stakes personal injury, antitrust and copyright battles against giants in the social media, artificial intelligence and entertainment industries, as well as wide-ranging legal disputes arising from Los Angeles wildfires and high-profile appeals pending before the California Supreme Court.

  • January 02, 2026

    4 Colorado Cases To Watch In 2026

    In 2026, Colorado will be center stage for legal fights surrounding the guardrails of generative AI platforms, a second trial will take place to determine if the ethylene oxide output of a medical sterilization company caused some Lakewood residents to develop cancer, and the state will continue its fight to stop the move of Space Command's headquarters. Here, Law360 looks at four cases to watch in the state.

  • January 02, 2026

    North Carolina Cases To Watch In 2026

    In the new year, North Carolina state and federal courts are set to consider the intricacies of class action certification at the behest of thousands of fast-food workers and whether Chinese company TikTok Inc. is deliberately designing the app to addict children.

  • January 02, 2026

    Privacy & Cybersecurity Litigation To Watch In 2026

    Consumers in 2026 will continue to push litigation accusing a wide range of companies of violating decades-old wiretap and video privacy laws through the tracking technologies they use on their websites, although recent rulings may result in significant changes to the valuation of claims and location of these disputes.

  • January 02, 2026

    Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice Cases To Watch In 2026

    Multidistrict litigation against the biggest tech companies over purported social media addiction and a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding state medical malpractice lawsuit requirements are among those that injury and malpractice attorneys will be following closely in 2026.

  • January 02, 2026

    Privacy & Cybersecurity Policy To Watch In 2026

    States are expected to continue their aggressive push to ensure that companies aren't misusing consumers' personal information in 2026, even as they face growing pressure from the federal government to curtail these efforts, particularly when it comes to the regulation of emerging artificial intelligence technologies. 

  • January 02, 2026

    California Legislation And Regulations To Watch In 2026

    Legal experts expect California lawmakers and regulators to continue to grapple with the artificial intelligence boom, various battles with the Trump administration and new climate disclosure requirements in 2026. Here's a short list of the major developments that Golden State attorneys will be watching.

  • January 02, 2026

    Celebrity Rows, D&O Woes Top '26 Specialty Insurance Cases

    From high-profile celebrity coverage battles to high-stakes state supreme court rulings, the new year brings with it the promise of litigation developments that will reshape specialty line insurance policy disputes. Here, Law360 looks at a few of the top specialty line insurance cases to watch in 2026.

  • January 02, 2026

    SnapChat, Pork And Big Prosecutions: Trials To Watch In 2026

    The coming year is set to bring high-profile trials, including in the criminal case against SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein, as well as bellwether trials in multidistrict litigation concerning social media's effects on mental health and allegations of price-fixing in the generic-drug industry.

Expert Analysis

  • Litigation Funding Could Create Ethics Issues For Attorneys

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    A litigation investor’s recent complaint claiming a New York mass torts lawyer effectively ran a Ponzi scheme illustrates how litigation funding arrangements can subject attorneys to legal ethics dilemmas and potential liability, so engagement letters must have very clear terms, says Matthew Feinberg at Goldberg Segalla.

  • UK Tribunal's Clearview Decision Expands GDPR Application

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    The Upper Tribunal’s recent decision in Information Commissioner v. Clearview AI is an important ruling on the extraterritorial reach of the European Union and U.K. General Data Protection Regulations, broadening behavioral monitoring to include not only activity by the company, but also its client, says Edward Machin at Ropes & Gray.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

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    Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Assessing The SEC's Changing Approach To NFT Regulation

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    Early U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actions on nonfungible tokens pushed for broad regulation, but subsequent court decisions — including a recent California federal court ruling in Adonis Real v. Yuga Labs — and SEC commissioners' statements have narrowed the regulatory focus toward a more fact-specific approach, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Where Crypto Mixing Enforcement Is Headed From Here

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    Recent developments involving crypto mixers, particularly the Tornado Cash verdict, demonstrate that the Justice Department's shift away from regulation by prosecution does not mean total immunity, rather reflecting an approach that prioritizes both innovation and accountability, says David Tarras at Tarras Defense.

  • Reel Justice: 'Roofman,' Modus Operandi Evidence And AI

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    The recent film “Roofman,” which dramatizes the real-life string of burglaries committed by Jeffrey Manchester, illuminates the legal standards required to support modus operandi evidence — which may soon become complicated by the use of artificial intelligence in crime series detection, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University School of Law.

  • New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

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    Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

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    The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

  • Viral 'Brewers Karen' Incident Teaches Employers To Act Fast

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    An attorney who was terminated after a viral video showed her threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on an opposing team's fan at a Milwaukee Brewers game underscores why employers must take prompt action when learning of viral incidents involving employees, says Joseph Myers at Mesidor.

  • Weighing Risks Of Ambush Marketing Around Sports Events

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    American brands tempted to insert themselves into conversations around the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games, but without the coveted sponsorship, should consider the legal hazards and minimize the risks by avoiding elements that imply an unauthorized commercial association with FIFA or the International Olympic Committee, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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