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Last month, HBO released its new drama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty – based on the book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman. To say that Jerry West, the former head coach and GM of the Los Angeles Lakers dislikes the way he is portrayed in the HBO series Winning Time is an understatement. West calls his portrayal “false and defamatory” and he has publicly called for a retraction and an apology.  In a letter to HBO, West’s lawyer claims that Winning Time falsely and cruelly portrays West as an out-of-control, intoxicated, rage-aholic. West’s lawyer claims that the producers have committed the tort of false light invasion of privacy by creating a false impression about Mr. West that is highly offensive and injurious to his reputation and have also defamed Mr. West by attributing acts of rage to him that he never committed.
Continue Reading Is Jerry West’s Potential Lawsuit Against HBO Over His Portrayal in the Lakers Docudrama “Winning Time” a Jump Ball?

In this episode of The Briefing from the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo say family members behind the fashion powerhouse Gucci may take legal action following the release of the film, House of Gucci.
Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Trouble in House of Gucci – Does the Family Have a Claim Following Release of New Film?

In this episode of The Briefing from the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a legal dispute between Miramax and Quentin Tarantino, over his efforts to sell “Pulp Fiction” themed NFT’s.
Continue Reading The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Say NFT Again – I Dare You: Miramax Sues Quentin Tarantino Over Plans to Sell “Pulp Fiction” NFT

The IP Law Blog has been tracking the progress of the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Taylor Swift by Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, the writers of “Playas Gon’ Play” by the girl group 3LW (released in 2001).  (See “Taylor Swift Keeps Fighting the ‘Players’ and the ‘Haters’” and “Hall v. Swift: Nothing Original About a Player Hater”.) Hall and Butler allege that Swift’s lyrics in “Shake It Off” (“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate”) infringe on their song (“Playa, they gonna play / And haters, they gonna hate”).
Continue Reading Taylor Swift to Face Trial in “Shake it Off” Copyright Infringement Case Filed by Writers of 3LW’s “Playas Gon’ Play”