Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Entertainment & Media Litigation

“One of the most potent entertainment litigation shops in the country.” ~Variety

With coast-to-coast resources backing entertainment litigation teams in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, the sheer breadth of Manatt’s full-service capabilities provides you with a level of counsel you can’t find anywhere else. 

We know the industry players, often on a first-name basis, and we complement in-depth knowledge of industry deals and transactions with a proven record in entertainment and media litigation.  Unlike other firms, we don’t focus on one aspect of these industries.  Instead, our strength lies in a multidisciplinary practice that encompasses television, radio, motion pictures, music, digital entertainment, art and advertising.  From high-profile disputes over copyright infringement and breach of contract, to right of publicity matters, trademark claims, false advertising consumer class actions, and Digital Millennium Copyright Act claims, you can be confident of Manatt’s counsel – because chances are, we’ve already handled a case like yours. 

We’re nationally recognized as leaders in the defense of “song theft” or music copyright matters, and our representation of popular talent, including Howard Stern, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Al Franken, and Frosty Stilwell, places us among the most renowned firms in the country for radio- and broadcasting-related disputes.

Industries
Manatt provides a full range of litigation and dispute resolution services within the following core entertainment industries:

Music:  Manatt represents recording artists, record labels, music publishers, songwriters, record producers, distributors, managers, concert promoters and booking agencies in a full range of matters.

Motion Pictures/Television: Manatt represents motion picture studios, television broadcasters, producers, distributors, sales agents, financiers and above-the-line talent in a variety of disputes, including copyright infringement and idea submission claims, disputes among underlying rights claimants, contract disputes arising out of content production, distribution and financing, profit participation and accounting disputes and artist-manager disputes.

Advertising: Manatt represents a wide range of talent, advertising agencies, content providers and licensors, broadcasters, and consumer goods companies in a variety of advertising and branded entertainment-related disputes, including contract, copyright, right of publicity and trademark claims, as well as in the defense of false advertising consumer class actions.

Other clients include Anschutz Entertainment Group, Sony BMG, HBO, CBS Broadcasting, WME Entertainment (the merged entity of William Morris Agency and Endeavor), Twentieth Century Fox Television, Lionsgate Entertainment, Summit Entertainment, Ticketmaster, United Talent Agency, Robin Williams, Neil Young, and Michael Douglas – to name just a few.  When it comes to litigation, we’re often the trailblazers: 

• We have successfully represented IMAX Corporation in net profits disputes, litigation involving 3D cinema patents and surrounding intellectual property, and film clearance disputes.
• We represent IAC in a national class action involving online promotions for its Internet media companies. 
• We are currently representing the estate of Bob Marley against UMG in a case for underpayment of record royalties.
• We represented the rock band KISS in the first-known civil action brought under the federal anti-bootlegging statute in connection with the unauthorized sale of concert DVDs.  We are currently advising legendary KISS and television front man Gene Simmons in a breach of fiduciary duty action.  
• We represent NBC/Universal and Fox (as well as the production companies for American Idol and Deal or No Deal) in the national class action alleging that text message promotional games violate state lottery laws. 
• We obtained dismissal of an action on behalf of CBS Sportsline alleging that online fantasy sports leagues constitute illegal gambling in violation of laws of numerous states.
• We recently represented HBO in a high-profile fraud and breach of contract matter, and obtained full dismissal of the lawsuit on behalf of our client and others. 
• On behalf of Beacon Pictures, we negotiated a favorable settlement with a union trust fund for cents on the dollar.  The fund was seeking millions of dollars in additional pension and health contributions for crew members on an entire library of pictures.  Beacon is responsible for many blockbuster movies including, Air Force One, Bring it On, and The Hurricane. 
• We represented The Michael Jackson Estate and AEG Live, producers of Michael Jackson’s This Is It, the highest-grossing concert documentary of all time, in their guild and union contracts. 
• We are currently defending Arista Records against a breach of contract claim by former members of the 1970s pop music group Bay City Rollers.
• We obtained dismissal of a labor and employment lawsuit on behalf of Nederlander via summary judgment.
• We represent Donald Sterling and the LA Clippers in a lawsuit involving the termination of Elgin Baylor. 
• We recently obtained a preliminary injunction on behalf of Summit Entertainment in connection with claims for copyright infringement and trademark infringement arising out of the Twilight motion pictures.
• We have conducted numerous confidential internal investigations for sports leagues, media companies, and production companies in the context of alleged criminal misconduct.
• We tried the Anthony Pellicano “private eye to the stars” criminal RICO case and are representing the defendants in the Ninth Circuit appeal. 

Diversity at Manatt

Manatt considers diversity to be a fundamental component of our institutional identity. As a law firm, we have a professional responsibility, and as individuals, we have a personal responsibility to our respective communities. Incorporating diversity into our culture allows us to enhance the high-quality, creativity and excellence in legal services that our clients have come to expect.

Manatt has invested a significant amount of human and financial resources in our own diversity program. Our philosophy is simple: include women and minority lawyers at all levels of Firm leadership and promote diversity in the legal profession through our support and active involvement in various minority civic and bar organizations.

The mix of our minority and women attorneys has consistently exceeded the national average among the country's top law firms. Our talented mix includes minority and women lawyers serving as heads of offices, members of the firm's Board of Directors and management team, and chairs of some of the firm's most important practice groups.

Inclusive Culture
Our progressive culture allows us to maintain a growing mix of women and minority lawyers, and the results illustrate this commitment.  The American Lawyer ranked our Firm 29th (in the top 12%) on its Diversity Scorecard for the largest 250 law firms in the country for 2009.  Multi Cultural Law Magazine included our Firm on its 2008 lists of the Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity, Top 25 Law Firms for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Top 25 Law Firms for Openly Gay/Lesbian Americans.

Despite our progress and diversity success, we can do better.  Our challenge extends far beyond exceeding national averages.  Our plan cannot succeed if we focus only on recruiting minority and women attorneys.  The true challenge and measure for achieving success lies in creating and preserving an inclusive environment where our minority and women lawyers will stay, progress, prosper and succeed.  We have implemented a formal diversity program designed to enhance our recruiting and retention of diverse attorneys through an executive mentoring program intended to cultivate personally and professionally meaningful relationships between our diverse lawyers and our partners. 

Our commitment to diversity exists in a living document – a plan – that is concrete, easy to understand and publicly available.  The plan demonstrates to every law school student, lateral associate candidate, lateral partner candidate, recruiter, existing client, and potential client that we are serious about creating a workplace that mirrors the breadth of the communities where we and our clients live and work.

We focus on the following key areas to accomplish our mission.

Targeted Recruitment Effort
At Manatt, recruiting women and minority attorneys does not end on law school campuses. Our recruiting efforts focus on locating talented women and minority lawyers at all levels. At law schools, we seek out and interview students who share our core values in ways shaped and enhanced by their own experience. Manatt's 2005 Summer Program was the most diverse in the Firm's history. Our nine 2005 Summer Associates included two African-American students, three Hispanic students, one Asian-American student and three Caucasian students. Five of these nine students were women.

Mentoring as a Cornerstone
Minority attorneys who join Manatt as new or lateral hires immediately become the focus of a mentoring program. They are paired with senior attorneys who take an active role in encouraging their career development. Mentors actively work with their protégés, helping them form business plans and involving them in firm-wide marketing and development opportunities. Management holds mentors accountable for their roles and their protégés' progress at the Firm, including reviewing their efforts as part of the evaluation and compensation process.

Access to Opportunity
Success is a matter of talent and opportunity. At Manatt, we believe that the key to retaining talented minority attorneys -- and therefore the key to the success of our diversity efforts -- is providing a distinctive experience that offers clear access to professional accomplishment. We provide women and minority attorneys with important responsibilities and leadership opportunities in client development activities, complex litigation, large transactional matters and high-profile community and civic organizations. We also encourage and support minority and women attorneys who take leadership positions within the firm and outside in the community at large.

Long-Term Commitment
We challenge ourselves to make our young lawyers feel valued, involved and invested in the future of the firm. We know that they will eventually occupy the most important financial, management and executive positions at Manatt. Our professionals thrive in an atmosphere that encourages and supports responsibility, ambition, and entrepreneurship. We offer true opportunity equal to individual commitment to success and advancement. That's the history of opportunity at Manatt, where professionals with talent and drive are rewarded with a nurturing, dynamic and energizing climate.

Promoting Diversity
Promoting diversity in the legal profession requires both an investment of money and time. Our women and minority attorneys are prominently involved and hold leadership positions in some of the most important minority civic and bar organizations in the country including:

• Asian Americans of Equality
• Asian Pacific American Legal Center
• Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association
• California Association of Black Lawyers
• California Black Chamber of Commerce
• California Women's Law Center
• Chilean Association of Attorneys
• D.C. Commission on Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs
• Hispanic National Bar Association
• Inner City Law Center
• International Human Rights Committee of the Association of the Bar of City of New York
• Korean American Bar Association
• Korean American Coalition
• L.A. Conservation Corps
• La Raza Galeria Posada
• Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
• Los Angeles Urban League
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund Board
• Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association
• The Association of Women in International Trade
• Women Lawyers Association
• Women's Bar Association of District of Columbia
• Women's Forum of Washington D.C.