Entertainment Law, Media Law and Telecoms Law

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Entertainment law, media law and telecoms law thought leadership, articles, podcasts, videos and webinars from expert sources across the legal world. Explore insights covering topics such as advertising, marketing and branding, broadcasting, gaming, hotels and hospitality, publishing, and mobile and cable communications.
Article
ICC Releases Updated Edition Of Alcohol Advertising Guidance
The International Chamber of Commerce has released an updated Framework for Responsible Alcohol Marketing Communications, providing enhanced guidance on marketing to minors, influencer responsibilities, and alcohol-free brand extensions. This 2026 edition addresses critical issues in modern alcohol advertising, including transparency requirements and the special obligations marketers have when engaging influencers and endorsers.
United States Media & IT
GA
Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA)
Article
Text-Message Marketing In Texas, One Year After SB 140
Texas Senate Bill 140 (SB 140) took effect 1 September 2025, and applies to conduct occurring on or after that date. The bill amended Section 302 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code to extend registration and disclosure requirements to text messages by expanding the definition of “Telephone solicitation,” which previously applied only to a “telephone call,” to include certain transmissions of text or graphic messages and images. In addition, SB 140 added a definition of “Telephone call” that incorporates the definition found in Section 304, which includes certain text or graphic messages and images, but excludes certain agreed-to transmissions.
United States Media & IT
KG
K&L Gates LLP
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Webinars

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Gaming

Article
Prediction Markets, Sports Contracts, And The Growing Federal-State Divide
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).
United States International
MV
Moore & Van Allen
Article
Sports Bets Or Swaps? Ninth Circuit’s Controversial Kalshi Ruling Deepens The Divide
The Ninth Circuit ruled that Kalshi's sports event contracts likely do not qualify as swaps under federal derivatives law, allowing Nevada to enforce its gaming regulations against the prediction market platform. This decision creates a direct circuit split with the Third Circuit's contrary ruling, setting the stage for a potential Supreme Court showdown...
United States Finance
KM
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Article
Ninth Circuit Upholds State And Tribal Authority Over Sports-Related Event Contracts
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit delivered a landmark ruling on Kalshi's challenge to Nevada gaming regulations, addressing whether federal commodity exchange law preempts state authority over sports-related prediction markets. The decision carries significant implications for Tribal gaming sovereignty and the traditional regulatory framework governing sports wagering across state and Tribal jurisdictions. As prediction market platforms continue to test legal boundaries, this case establishes
United States Government
HK
Holland & Knight
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Media & Entertainment Law

Article
UMG v. DistroKid: When AI Becomes A Consumer Protection Issue
Universal Music Group's lawsuit against DistroKid raises a critical question about AI disclosure in consumer markets: when does the use of artificial intelligence become material information that must be disclosed to consumers? The case centers on allegations that DistroKid distributed mass-generated AI music while creating the impression it was created by legitimate human artists, potentially violating existing consumer protection laws even without specific AI disclosure requirements.
United States IP
FK
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
Article
Functionality Can Bar Registration Of A Single-Color Trademark
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently affirmed that a specific shade of bright green (Pantone 2297C) cannot be registered as a trademark for construction tripod legs due to functionality concerns. The decision highlights the complex interplay between color marks, safety features, and competitive disadvantage in trademark law, examining how high-visibility colors serve essential purposes beyond source identification.
United States IP
CL
Cowan Liebowitz & Latman PC
Article
FCC Seeks Comment On Application For Review Of Lowest Unit Charge Public Notice
The FCC's Media Bureau has opened a public comment period on a challenge to its guidance regarding lowest unit charge requirements for political advertising, reigniting a contentious debate that has already seen intervention from both the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Democratic congressional candidates are contesting the Bureau's interpretation of LUC rules for joint fundraising committees and coordinated advertisements, with comments due by late September 2026.
United States Media & IT
WR
Wiley Rein
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Social Media

Article
ICC Releases Updated Edition Of Alcohol Advertising Guidance
The International Chamber of Commerce has released an updated Framework for Responsible Alcohol Marketing Communications, providing enhanced guidance on marketing to minors, influencer responsibilities, and alcohol-free brand extensions. This 2026 edition addresses critical issues in modern alcohol advertising, including transparency requirements and the special obligations marketers have when engaging influencers and endorsers.
United States Media & IT
GA
Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA)
Article
S.D.N.Y. Upholds New York’s Social Media Content Moderation Disclosure Law
A federal court in New York upheld a state law requiring social media platforms to disclose their content moderation policies, applying a deferential First Amendment standard. This decision directly conflicts with a Ninth Circuit ruling on California's similar statute, potentially setting the stage for Supreme Court review on whether such disclosure requirements constitute protected commercial speech or impermissible compelled expression.
United States Media & IT
AP
Arnold & Porter
Article
California Passes Suite Of Bills Advancing Child Online-safety Push
California has enacted a comprehensive package of four bills that fundamentally reshape online safety protections for minors, targeting addictive design features, data privacy practices, age verification systems, and platform liability. These new laws establish strict requirements for social media companies, including mandatory stripped-down interfaces for users under 16, enhanced privacy defaults, and potential damages up to $1 million for negligent harm to children. The legislation represents one of the m
United States Media & IT
AO
A&O Shearman
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Publishing

Article
USPS Highway Contract Route Carrier Legal Issues For Closing Out 2026
Highway Contract Route carriers and brokers operating in the USPS surface transportation network face critical legal developments in 2026, including the Supreme Court's Montgomery v. Caribe decision eliminating federal preemption for negligent-selection claims and the ongoing nuclear verdict crisis with jury awards exceeding $10 million. These developments demand heightened attention to compliance, documentation, and risk management strategies to protect against significant liability exposure in today's tru
United States Media & IT
B
Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Article
Where Fraud Priorities Overlap: What NFED Means For Corporate Compliance Programs
The Department of Justice’s new National Fraud Enforcement Division (“NFED”) has told the market exactly where it intends to focus: (1) public trust and financial integrity, (2) health care, (3) internal revenue, (4) global trade and commerce, and (5) corporate misconduct. NFED plans to target these five priorities in parallel under one roof with a shared data infrastructure, compounding the risk to companies that operate at the intersection of multiple priorities and raising the stakes for any company considering a voluntary self-disclosure of potential misconduct.
United States Media & IT
SM
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Article
Intelligence Piracy: The Expert Who Was Never Hired
When a legal research startup trained its AI on lawyer memos derived from Westlaw's editorial summaries, it sparked a landmark copyright case that exposes how artificial intelligence extracts not just content, but the accumulated judgment and authority publishers spent decades building. As Google referral traffic plummets and AI-generated content farms proliferate, the question shifts from "was a copy made?" to "was the expert ever hired?"
United States IP
R
Rouse
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Latest Videos

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