Takeaways from Loeb & Loeb’s 2025 IP/Entertainment CLE Conference in New York

Loeb & Loeb convened its milestone 10th annual IP/Entertainment CLE Conference in New York City, curated primarily for in-house legal professionals and industry leaders in the entertainment sector. Over 250 lawyers hailing from various companies within the film, television, theater, music, sports, podcast and media industries gathered on January 23 for a full day of thought-provoking CLE panels. The New York conference complements the firm’s annual conference in Los Angeles, which has been ongoing since 2008. 

The conference unfolded with a morning panel featuring Litigation partner Tal Dickstein; Professor Joe Bennett, a forensic musicologist at Joe Bennett Music Services; Carla Miller, senior vice president and litigation counsel at Universal Music Group; and David Przygoda, vice president of litigation at Sony Music Publishing. The panelists explored music copyright claims in the film and television sectors, looking at notable copyright infringement cases on substantial similarity and providing practical guidance. 

The morning also entailed a session chaired by Advanced Media & Technology partner Nerissa Coyle McGinn and associate Lisa Wiznitzer, outlining how both celebrities and private individuals alike can safeguard their publicity rights in the rapidly evolving landscape of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes. The third panel of the day, with  Anne Kennedy McGuire, chair of Loeb’s Podcast industry practice and deputy chair of the Entertainment department; Litigation partner Lauren Fried; Peter Rienecker, senior vice president of legal at HBO, Max & Magnolia Productions; and Diana Warshow, head of legal in North America at Teads, focused on the intersection of creative expression and legal liability, emphasizing the rising defamation and copyright fair use claims in the film and television industries. The panel concluded by identifying risk management frameworks for producers to minimize litigation risks.

Following the lunch intermission, Loeb Litigation associates Elena De Santis, David Forrest, Chloe Gordils and Alexander Loh examined recent rulings in intellectual property and entertainment law. The panel delved into a wide array of decisions covering copyright renewal and termination,  statute of limitations for copyright infringement actions and copyright fair use, in addition to cases concerning image-generating AI tools and ChatGPT. In a subsequent session, Loeb Employment & Labor partners Sarina Saluja and Mark Goldberg as well as Melissa Erwin, senior counsel of employment law at Paramount, presented insights into employment law matters in the entertainment industry, bringing attention to recent cases adjudicating whether reality show contestants should be considered employees, anticipated changes to regulations governing company loan-outs in California and recent federal and state policy shifts concerning noncompete agreements, as well as issues around confidentiality and nondisparagement.  

The conference wrapped up with an ethics session facilitated by Christian Carbone, co-chair of the Litigation department; Gabrielle Vidal, chair of the firm’s Guardianships practice and co-chair of the Trust & Estate Litigation practice; and Chris Giglio, managing director of issues management and corporate reputation at Rubenstein Communications, exploring key considerations in navigating legal matters of significant public interest. A cocktail reception brought the day to a close.