Entertainment Law, Media Law and Telecoms Law

California has enacted the nation's most comprehensive online child safety legislation, banning addictive social media features for minors under 16, establishing strict companion chatbot regulations, and imposing enhanced civil penalties for platforms that harm children. Companies operating social media platforms or chatbots accessible to California children must now assess their products, audit features, and prepare compliance programs ahead of the laws' effective dates.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed sweeping legislation restricting addictive social media features for minors and establishing safety requirements for AI companion chatbots. The laws target design features that keep users scrolling rather than just content moderation, marking a significant shift in online child-safety regulation.

The Fifth Circuit has rejected the Ninth Circuit's "server test" for copyright infringement in embedded content cases, establishing a new "transmit requirement" standard that examines where content originates and whether transmission was authorized. While reaching similar practical outcomes, this transmission-focused approach creates new considerations for publishers and aggregators regarding technical controls, server configurations, and content sourcing practices.

From digital sampling battles to AI-generated music, copyright law has consistently arrived late to technological disruption in the music industry. This examination traces landmark litigation across sampling, streaming, and artificial intelligence, revealing how rights holders have repeatedly shaped legal frameworks through strategic action rather than waiting for legislative solutions.

Taylor Swift faces a trademark dispute over her album title "The Life of a Showgirl" with performer Maren Flagg, who holds a 12-year registration for "Confessions of a Showgirl." The case centers on reverse confusion claims and whether Swift's global fame could overwhelm Flagg's earlier trademark rights, raising questions about brand dilution and the commercial impact of similar marks in the entertainment industry.

When Taylor Swift released her album 'The Life of a Showgirl,' she faced a trademark infringement lawsuit from Maren Flagg, who claimed the title violated her registered trademark CONFESSIONS OF A SHOWGIRL. The case explores the critical boundary between artistic expression and commercial trademark use, particularly when musical artists transform album releases into merchandise-driven business ventures.

The Federal Communications Commission has eliminated the National Television Audience Reach Cap, which previously prevented entities from owning broadcast TV stations reaching more than 39% of U.S. households. The agency will now conduct case-by-case public interest reviews of transactions that would have exceeded this threshold, fundamentally changing how broadcast television consolidation is evaluated.

FEMA and the FCC will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System on November 17, 2026, requiring participation from all radio and television stations, cable systems, and satellite services. EAS Participants must file three separate forms through the EAS Test Reporting System, with specific deadlines ranging from October 30, 2026, through January 2027. Certain translator and repeater stations are exempt from the registration and filing requirements.

As entertainment lawyers, we are often asked a deceptively simple question by creatives, producers, and studios: “Can we use this trademark in our project?”

Gaming companies face mounting legal challenges as plaintiffs argue that loot box systems constitute illegal gambling under state law. The dispute centers on whether randomized in-game rewards with real economic value cross the line from traditional mystery products into regulated gambling territory, with courts now weighing arguments that could reshape the industry's most controversial monetization practice.

A federal district court has dismissed a six-year legal challenge to Oklahoma's 2020 tribal gaming compacts, ruling that the plaintiff tribes lacked standing to contest agreements between the state and the Comanche Nation and Otoe-Missouria Tribe. The decision provides greater operational certainty for tribal gaming enterprises while leaving unresolved broader questions about compact validity under federal law.

The legal fight over sports-related prediction-market contracts has moved quickly from regulatory novelty to a full-blown federal-state jurisdictional dispute. On August 28, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad that Nevada may continue enforcing its gaming laws against Kalshi’s sports-related event contracts because those contracts likely fall outside the category of swaps subject to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) exclusive jurisdiction under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).