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Winston Cho

Winston Cho is The Hollywood Reporter's Business and Legal Writer, covering physical production, government oversight, antitrust and business disputes shaping Hollywood. Before joining THR in 2022, he worked at the legal trade publication The Daily Journal and the alt-weekly East Bay Express. His work has been recognized by the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism awards, and he graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in public health and journalism.

Elon Musk’s Twitter Rebrand to X Corp. Draws Trademark Lawsuit From Social Media Ad Agency

X Corp. has been sued for copyright infringement, wrongful termination and employment discrimination since Elon Musk acquired the company known as Twitter less than a year ago. Trademark infringement can now be added to its list of legal troubles, with the filing of a lawsuit from an advertising agency. That ad agency, X Social Media, […]

‘Blind Side’ Subject’s Conservatorship Terminated Amid Legal Fight Over Movie Profits

A Tennessee judge has terminated the conservatorship of Michael Oher, a retired NFL player whose life story was chronicled in The Blind Side, under the Memphis couple at the center of the movie who allegedly took financial advantage of him. Shelby County Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes on Friday ended the agreement reached in 2004 […]

Supreme Court to Clarify Copyright Infringement Limits in Case Against Warner Music

The Supreme Court will clear up how far back copyright holders can recover damages for infringement in a case involving a Florida producer who sued Warner Chappell Music after Flo Rida sampled a song he owns. The justices agreed on Friday to review an appeal from Warner Music and Artist Publishing Group of a lower […]

Netflix Sued Over ‘Rebel Moon’ by Game Maker That Claims Its World-Building Was Used in Movie

A game maker is suing Netflix for allegedly claiming a confidentiality breach in a contract to develop a game based on Zack Snyder’s upcoming Rebel Moon as a pretext to steal ideas and concepts created for the game and incorporate them into the space opera franchise. In a lawsuit filed in California federal court on […]

AI Tech Is Now Mainstream. What Could Go Wrong?

Charlie Puth had a problem: He’d written a lyric, “a little ditty,” but didn’t know what to do with those lines. The “Left and Right” singer-songwriter had joined a Google AI incubator program, so he fed the new lyrics into the artificial intelligence-assisted tool “like I would do if I were collaborating with anybody else,” […]

Hollywood’s AI Compromise: Writers Get Protection, Studios Aim for Copyright

A clearer picture of how studios intend to incorporate artificial intelligence into the screenplay production apparatus is coming into view. More than 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America were given the greenlight on Wednesday to return to work after a vote to accept a tentative deal from the Alliance of Motion Picture and […]

NBCUniversal Settles ‘Columbo’ Profits Fight

NBCUniversal has reached a deal to resolve a long-running case over back profits it allegedly owes to the creators of Columbo. The heirs of William Link and Richard Levinson have settled their lawsuit against the studio, according to a court notice filed Monday, averting a trial that was scheduled to start next month. Terms of […]

DC Studios to Get New Production Batcave as Warner Bros. Plans Soundstage Expansion in Leavesden

Warner Bros. Discovery is doubling down on one of its key production hubs, which will serve as the primary home for DC Studios projects once the expansion is completed on the lot just outside of central London in Leavesden. Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden unveiled plans on Thursday to add 10 new soundstages and incorporate 400,000 […]

Lizzo Sued by Tour Stylist Over Hostile Work Environment Claim

Lizzo has been sued again for overseeing a hostile work environment, this time by a stylist who says she was subjected to a “culture of racism and bullying” while on tour with the artist. The lawsuit, which the firm representing plaintiffs said was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses Lizzo and supervisors of […]

Indie Movie Producer Wonderfilm Sued Over Fraud Claim

Indie production shop Wonderfilm has been sued for fraud and breach of contract in a lawsuit accusing the company and its directors of swindling an investor — which was allegedly led to believe it was financing a Mel Gibson-led film only for the project to never get finished due to a lack of funds — […]

Top Authors Join Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over “Mass-Scale Copyright Infringement” of Novels

The leading trade group for authors has entered a legal battle against OpenAI over its human-mimicking chatbot in a case that could decide the legality of using copyrighted works to train AI systems. The Authors Guild — led by prominent fiction authors including George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Franzen and John Grisham — on Tuesday sued […]

Danny Masterson’s Wife, Bijou Phillips, Files for Divorce After 30-Year Rape Sentencing

Bijou Phillips has filed for divorce from Danny Masterson less than two weeks after the actor was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the rapes of two women in 2003. The filing, submitted Monday in Santa Barbara, caught many off guard since there was a stream of headlines following Masterson’s sentencing that […]