EASL Spring Meeting 2023

1:00 p.m. – 4:35 p.m. Hybrid CLE Program

4:35 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. In-Person Reception at Dorsey & Whitney LLP

I. Think FAST: Dealmaking for Ad-Supported, Internet-Delivered Television

Just when we were getting comfortable with acronyms like SVOD (think subscription services like Netflix) and AVOD (think ad-supported services like Youtube and Roku), along comes a new acronym, FAST, or Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television, which combines elements of both AVOD and traditional cable television. 

What is FAST? What’s the business model? How does it differ from SVOD, AVOD, TVOD, FVOD, and cable TV? What are the legal considerations in licensing to or for a FAST service? 

The following panelists will help us answer these questions and more:

Howard Homonoff, Senior Advisor, Media & Entertainment Industry, at Grant Thornton, and regular contributor to Forbes.

Elana Sofko, Chief Strategy Officer at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, providing premium video to a wide range of ad-supported media platforms.

David Fannon, President of Screen Media Ventures and Executive Vice President, Distribution at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment

Minh Vo, General Counsel & Executive VP, Business Affairs at FilmRise, a Brooklyn-based film and television studio and operator of the world’s largest independently owned portfolio of ad-supported streaming apps and FAST channels.

II. Voice and Likeness Publicity Rights in AI Generated Content

The rise of AI-generated voice-overs and imagery (including holograms, deepfakes and digital performance simulations) raises both significant enforcement challenges for celebrities’ rights of publicity rooted in their voice and likeness, as well as new lucrative commercial licensing opportunities.  Panelists with deep experience in enforcing, protecting and licensing celebrities’, artists’ and performers’ voices, likenesses and performances in media and entertainment will explore these hot issues in a dynamic and interactive program:

Jeffrey Bennett

General Counsel

SAG-AFTRA

Kenneth L. Doroshow

Chief Legal Officer

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

Oliver Herzfeld

Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Beanstalk

Dorothy M. Weber, Esq.

Partner

Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch, LLP

Moderator:  

Sarah M. Robertson, Esq. 

Partner, New York Trademark Department Head

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

III. “Entertainment Law Year in Review” with 

Stan Soocher, Esq.

Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment Law & Finance