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Universal Music Files $75M Lawsuit Against Amazon-Backed AI Firm for Ripping Off Rolling Stones, Beyoncé Lyrics
Major players across Hollywood are taking to the courts to address what they argue is mass copyright infringement in violation of their intellectual property rights.
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Business
A Lawyer for Pras Michel Used AI to Craft Closing Arguments. Now, the Fugees Rapper Wants the Conviction Tossed
The artist argues that he didn't receive a fair trial, in part because his former lawyer used generative artificial intelligence to write his closing remarks.
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Business
Nas’ Company Mass Appeal Hit With Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
Melissa Cooper, a documentary producer who was head of development at the rapper's firm, sued executives for removing her from "several high value projects, creating a hostile work environment, and terminating her employment."
THR, Esq's Latest News
Universal Music Files $75M Lawsuit Against Amazon-Backed AI Firm for Ripping Off Rolling Stones, Beyoncé Lyrics
A trio of major music publishers are stepping into the legal battle against generative artificial intelligence to stop the use of their copyrighted material to train AI systems, this time in a lawsuit against Anthropic. Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group and ABKCO sued the company in Tennessee federal court on Wednesday, accusing it of […]
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A Lawyer for Pras Michel Used AI to Craft Closing Arguments. Now, the Fugees Rapper Wants the Conviction Tossed
On April 20, attorney David Kenner delivered closing statements for Prakazrel “Pras” Michel in a closely watched fraud trial involving allegations that the Fugees founding member directed a sprawling conspiracy in which he funneled money from a Malaysian financier to a network of straw donors to make illegal campaign contributions to Barack Obama in 2012. […]
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Nas’ Company Mass Appeal Hit With Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
Mass Appeal, the multimedia company co-founded by hip-hop icon Nas, was hit on Tuesday with a discrimination lawsuit in which a white executive claims she was the victim of “venomous and racist comments about ‘White folk’ and ‘crackers,’” and was subsequently fired. Filed in a federal court in Manhattan, the lawsuit specifies the races of […]
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Grand Jury to Weigh Recharging Alec Baldwin With Manslaughter
New Mexico prosecutors will convene a grand jury to weigh recharging Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of the cinematographer on the set of Rust, marking the latest turn in a case that has drawn widespread attention for high-profile blunders by the prosecution and igniting discussion of set safety on low-budget […]
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Big Tech’s Favorite Legal Shield Takes a Hit
A Los Angeles judge has declined to dismiss a series of blockbuster lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, Snap and Google arguing their platforms are intentionally designed to addict and fuel mental health disorders in teenagers, increasing the likelihood they will have to potentially face or settle for billions of dollars the product liability claims. In the […]
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Netflix Can’t Escape Defamation Lawsuit Over True Crime Documentary Photo
A federal judge has found that Netflix could have defamed a Kentucky man whose picture was lifted from his social media for use in a documentary that allegedly implied he was involved in a murder. In the 2023 true crime documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, a photo of Taylor Hazlewood is shown, with audio saying […]
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Gerard Butler’s $10M ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ Profits Lawsuit Settles
Gerard Butler has resolved a legal fight over allegations that he’s owed at least $10 million in profits from the 2013 blockbuster Olympus Has Fallen. Defendants Nu Image and Millennium Media notified the court on Tuesday of a settlement, which is conditioned on the completion of certain terms within 45 days. Specifics of the agreement […]
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Indie Movie Producer Wonderfilm Sued by ‘Hard Matter’ Partner For Breach of Contract
Indie production shop The Exchange, also known as BOS Entertainment, is suing Wonderfilm for breach of contract related to their partnership on Harvey Keitel and Tyrese Gibson-starrer Hard Matter, which appears to be stuck in limbo for failure to pay a visual effects vendor. The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in California federal court arrives in […]
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‘60 Minutes’ Producer Sues CBS Claiming Gender Discrimination Over Firing
A producer on CBS’s 60 Minutes is suing the network for firing her after she was accused of harassment while turning a blind eye to “far more egregious misconduct” by male employees. The producer, Alexandra Poolos, says in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed against CBS on Tuesday in New York federal court that the company […]
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‘Rust’ Prosecutors Looking Into Whether Alec Baldwin Undermined Set Safety
The production entity for Rust must turn over records that could indicate whether Alec Baldwin shirked industry-wide norms on set safety to shoot the movie on a shoestring budget, a judge has ruled on Tuesday. In what could be a prelude to the refiling of charges against the movie’s actor and producer, prosecutors are seeking […]
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ABC News Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit From Ex-‘Good Morning America’ Producer
Former Good Morning America producer Kirstyn Crawford has settled a legal battle against ABC News, which she accused of sweeping under the rug multiple sexual harassment allegations against her then-boss and ex-senior news executive Michael Corn. A stipulation was filed on Friday in New York state court moving for dismissal of the case “with prejudice,” […]
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Bryan Fuller Accused of Sexual Harassment on Set of AMC Networks’ ‘Queer for Fear’
Producer and showrunner Bryan Fuller, known for creating Hannibal and American Gods, has been sued for alleged sexual assault and harassment in a lawsuit that accuses AMC Networks, Shudder and Steakhaus Productions of ignoring and facilitating a hostile work environment on the set of Queer for Fear. Series producer Samuel Wineman filed on Wednesday a […]
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SAG-AFTRA Leader: Actors Should Get Same AI Protections As Studios
Consent, credit and compensation. Those were the terms that SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and Writers Guild of America West negotiating committee member John August called for in order for guild members’ work, likenesses and brands to be used to train artificial intelligence systems. At a hearing before the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday, […]
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CAA, Disney Sued For Allegedly Enabling Sex Crimes By Harvey Weinstein
CAA has been named in a lawsuit filed by Julia Ormond against Harvey Weinstein accusing her former agency and the former movie mogul’s employers at Miramax and Disney of turning a blind eye to his history of sexual assault. Ormond, who rose to prominence in the 90s after starring in Legends of the Fall, First […]
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Chris Tucker to Pay $3.6M In Settlement Over Back Taxes Case
Chris Tucker will pay $3.6 million to settle claims he shorted the government on taxes when he was at the peak of his fame. The deal reached on Monday will cover unpaid federal income tax liabilities for 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2010. The government sought roughly $9.68 million. Tucker has been wrapped up in various […]
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Does Disney’s Management of Hulu and ESPN Violate Antitrust Laws? A Judge Weighs In
As a brighter spotlight is being put on Disney’s role as a content supplier and distributor amid labor disputes, a federal judge has ruled that the entertainment monolith must face an antitrust lawsuit accusing it of illegally taking advantage of its dual position in business dealings. The proposed class action took aim at Disney’s ownership […]
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