Lathrop & Gage Obtains Success on Copyright Claim for Radar Pictures in Ninth Circuit over “The Last Samurai”
In a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit over the film "The Last Samurai," Lathrop & Gage attorney David Aronoff (Intellectual Property - Los Angeles) recently received a favorable ruling on behalf of defendant Radar Pictures in the appellate stage of a battle over alleged copyright infringement under federal law and breach of implied contract under California law. The Ninth Circuit agreed with Mr. Aronoff's argument on the copyright claim, affirming the grant of summary judgment by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The plaintiffs in this dispute are two brothers, Aaron and Matthew Benay, who authored a copyrighted screenplay entitled "The Last Samurai." The Benays contended that the creators of the famous Tom Cruise film of the same title copied their screenplay without permission. They in turn sued Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc., Radar Pictures, Inc., Bedford Falls Productions, Inc., Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, and John Logan, who wrote, produced, marketed, and/or distributed the Film. The lower court granted summary judgment for the defendants, and the authors appealed. The trial court's award of judgment for defendants on the copyright claim has now been upheld by the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Aronoff has over 20 years experience litigating hard-fought business cases, including breach of contract, intellectual property, entertainment, and media matters. He has represented and advised numerous business entities - including motion picture and television studios, production companies, broadcasters, computer game companies, music publishers and advertising agencies - in a wide variety of disputes, many involving copyright, trademark, right of publicity, unfair competition, trade secret, false advertising and related issues. He has handled numerous claims concerning popular entertainment works, such as "Along Came Polly," "There's Something About Mary" and "The Mask of Zorro." In addition, he has represented clients in commercial enterprises ranging from clothing manufacture to the turf grass sod industry.
Mr. Aronoff is presently serving as the Treasurer of the Los Angeles Copyright Society and has been a lecturer, panelist and moderator at numerous MCLE seminars. He was the Chairman of the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section of the L.A. County Bar Association ("IPELS") in 2004-05, and in 2006 served as the Symposium Chairman for the 30th Annual IPELS Symposium "The War of the Deal: Litigation Hollywood Style."
About Lathrop & Gage:
A leading full-service law firm, Lathrop & Gage LLP has nearly 300 attorneys in 11 offices nationwide – from Los Angeles to New York. In 2010, Chambers USA ranked Lathrop & Gage’s corporate, environmental, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, transportation, and labor and employment teams among the best in their regions. For more information, visit www.lathropgage.com.
