Media and Entertainment

Overview

Friedman Kaplan extends its wealth of expertise to every facet of the media, Internet, and entertainment industries. As a small, young, and agile firm, we pride ourselves on our creative and forward-looking approach to issues confronting the fast-changing media landscape. From large, traditional publishing institutions to cutting-edge online startups, our attorneys have represented and advised media clients in a vast array of matters. These engagements have ranged from copyright, trademark, and patent disputes, to allegations of defamation, executive employment negotiations, and the formation of new business ventures. These clients look to Friedman Kaplan for the thoughtful, outside-the-box perspective it brings to complex and often novel issues.

As a thirty-year-old firm, many of our attorneys came of professional age in a time of unprecedented innovation and upheaval in the media and entertainment industries. We were there from the beginning. We have represented and advised the nation’s largest online retailer in a variety of contract, trademark, and patent disputes, and in connection with a highly publicized antitrust class action. We have guided one of the earliest Internet news outlets in matters involving defamation and intellectual property, and provided training to its employees on copyright and fair use. Our corporate attorneys helped launch a pioneering women’s cable network, negotiated contracts for its key employees, and advised on its public offering. Our work in "traditional" media has included representation of one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies, an international book publisher, and a national newspaper and television conglomerate.

In short, Friedman Kaplan possesses the experience and expertise to serve every type of media and entertainment company — large, small, old, new, traditional, and groundbreaking.

Selected Experience

• We represented Amazon.com, Inc. in connection with multiple class actions alleging antitrust violations in relation to the pricing of e-books. Although principal counsel for Amazon was a firm in Seattle, Friedman Kaplan’s representation included the initial discussions with the class plaintiffs through preparation of non-party Amazon witnesses at the trial.
• We are representing Viacom Media Networks in connection with seeking third-party discovery under appropriate safeguards to assist Viacom in its defense of antitrust claims brought by Cablevision Systems Corp.
• We represented Viacom International Inc. and MTV Networks in defense of an action alleging breach of a license agreement and fraud relating to trademark registrations in Latin America. We succeeded in procuring a favorable settlement for our client following dismissal with prejudice of the fraud claims.
• We represented a high-profile cable network over the course of many years in connection with a wide variety of corporate and litigation matters, including its formation, employment matters, and its IPO.
• We represented a major online news outlet in connection with training on fair use, copyright, and intellectual property law for its employees. In addition to conducting the training, we also completed a fair use manual addressing how the company’s employees could legally transform existing copyrighted material for use in parodies.
• We represented a French motion picture production and distribution company in the successful defense of copyright infringement claims related to its film "Son of Rambow." We argued that the film was a parody, and were successful in having the complaint dismissed on summary judgment. 
• We represented a Broadway producer in defense of an action brought by an actress alleging breach of contract after she was not cast in the lead role for a national tour production.
• We represented an Internet company in connection with the acquisition of a majority stake in the operator of an online entertainment company.