Partner James Sammataro, a co-chair of Pryor Cashman's Media + Entertainment Group, discussed the implications of the decision out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that will allow "Friday the 13th" writer Victor Miller to reclaim his rights. According to Bloomberg Law, the court's decision in this termination rights dispute "may boost awareness of a right many creators don't know exists. The ruling also illustrates that crafting contract language is critical, but sometimes it can be overcome if the contract doesn't apply copyright law correctly."
Bloomberg Law further states:
Attorneys say the ruling may well embolden the plaintiffs, some represented by Miller's attorney, Marc Toberoff, to push forward. But they cautioned that the employment analysis, like other parts of copyright law, consisted of a highly fact-specific multifactor test. Even the law may vary, as work created before 1978 falls under a different standard in the Copyright Act of 1909.
"If I litigate a case, if I had the Second Circuit affirm my viewpoint, and if I think facts in my case are comparable, I don't know how I wouldn't be buoyed," copyright attorney James G. Sammataro of Pryor Cashman LLP said.
But while some may see "a harbinger of bad things for Disney in the Avengers/Marvel case," he said, the analyses will still turn on very different facts, such as Marvel's much different collaborative model.
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