Insights

By: Danielle Yurkew Record labels are suing brands over music used in social media content, and not just their own posts, but their influencers' posts too. The legal theory is well-established, and the exposure is larger than most marketing teams realize. The Platform's Music License Isn't Your Brand's License If your brand posts videos on TikTok or Instagram, you are probably using music. If you work with influencers, they are using music to promote your brand too. What most

By: Stella Nadkarni Taylor Swift’s legal team is currently defending a trademark infringement lawsuit over “The Life of a Showgirl,” the name of her 2025 album and adjacent merchandise line. The plaintiff, a Las Vegas performer who has operated under the registered mark “Confessions of a Showgirl” for over a decade, accuses Swift of trademark infringement, false designation, and unfair competition. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had flagged a likelihood

By: Mark Oganessian If you have a licensing deal, distribution agreement, production contract, or any other content relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery or one of its subsidiaries, your counterparty is about to change. On February 27, 2026, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a definitive merger agreement under which Paramount will acquire WBD in an all-cash transaction valuing the combined enterprise at $110 billion. WBD shareholders approved the deal on Apri