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Firm News & Insights

Notable Results

The Fenno Law Firm prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss an invasion of privacy case filed on behalf of an alleged murderer who sought to block publication of his mental health records before trial.  The firm assisted Charleston’s Post and Courier newspaper in a lawsuit that alleged harm to the accused murderer’s 6th Amendment right to fair trial and sought an injunction blocking publication and further dissemination of the health records.  South Carolina has a previous Supreme Court decision in which a prior restraint on news media speech was granted in the face of a 6th Amendment claim.                                    ___________

Edward Fenno and other attorneys at Fenno Law helped clients Bravo Media Productions (Bravo TV network) and Haymaker Media (producer of the “Southern Charm” TV show) secure the dismissal of an invasion of privacy and defamation suit filed by former “Southern Charm” cast-member, Thomas Ravenel. The suit sought to block the broadcast of certain topics on the “Southern Charm” show. Fenno Law also secured a payment of attorneys’ fees.                                                                                 ___________

Fenno Law Firm helped secure a dismissal by summary judgment of a defamation lawsuit against its client, Discovery Communications (Discovery Channel). The suit was filed by one of Discovery’s former reality TV stars and concerned statements posted on social media.
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By means of a lawsuit filed in Charleston, South Carolina, the Fenno Law Firm helped country music clients Rhythm Rampage (formerly The Redheads Britta-n-Brooke), extricate themselves from their recording contract without payment to the label or loss of any rights in any songs.
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The Fenno Law Firm helped obtain a permanent injunction and settlement payment on behalf of client, Disney Enterprises, Inc., in a lawsuit that alleged Disney’s copyrights and trademarks in “Hannah Montana” and “Cars” merchandise were infringed.
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PRESENTATIONS

Edward Fenno presented “Newsgathering 101” to a national audience of media lawyers. A copy of his presentation can be  found here.                                                                             ___________

Edward Fenno co-chaired the Pre-Publication/Pre-Broadcast Review section of a recent national media law conference held just outside of Washington, DC. The conference, presented jointly by the Media Law Resource Center, News Media Alliance (formerly the Newspaper Association of America) and National Association of Broadcasters, was attended by more than 300 media lawyers from around the country. Mr. Fenno’s presentation at the conference addressed legal privileges and pitfalls relating to such issues as republishing materials found on social media, photographing people over fences and through windows, making secret recordings, and accessing sealed court records. 

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Attorney Edward Fenno joined several of the South’s top entertainment lawyers and management teams as speakers at the South Carolina Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium, presented by the South Carolina Bar. Mr. Fenno spoke on the topics of copyrights, trademarks and the right of publicity in the entertainment industry in his presentation, “The Unforgiven: Copyrights, Trademarks and Protecting Yourself in the Business.” A copy of the presentation can be downloaded here.  

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Attorney Edward Fenno gave a presentation on “leadership” to the tactical and wireless networks branch of the U.S. Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (“SPAWAR”) in Charleston, South Carolina.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Fenno Law welcomes Rob Darby, a high-states litigator and intellectual property lawyer, as a senior associate. Rob has practiced for more than 10 years and ranked in the top 15% of the class at the University of Virginia School of Law. ____________

Tom Kelley has been named to the 2023 list of Colorado Super Lawyers.                                                                       ___________

Fenno Law welcomes Tom Kelley as Special Counsel. Tom spent more than 40 years defending the rights and privileges of news and media organizations nationwide. A trial lawyer, he has been described by Chambers USA as “a go-to guy in libel defense and media litigation in Colorado and nationally. His ease in the courtroom and excellent judgment [are] singled out by [his] clients.” He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 1991, and was their First Amendment Lawyer of the Year in 2011 and 2015, and First Amendment Litigation Lawyer of the Year in 2012.
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Fenno Law welcomes Eric Robinson as Of Counsel. Eric is an assistant professor who teaches media law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina.  He will continue to teach at USC while advancing Fenno Law’s service to clients in the Columbia, South Carolina area.  Eric currently authors a regular column on legal issues for journalists in the South Carolina Press Association’s newsletter.  He also recently authored a book on libel law,  Reckless Disregard: St. Amant v. Thompson and the Transformation of Libel Law (available on Amazon).  Eric’s experience includes stints as a staff attorney at the Media Law Resource Center and legal fellow at the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press.                                            ___________

Edward Fenno has been named Co-Chairperson of the Newsgathering Law Committee for the Media Law Resource Center — a national non-profit organization that assists the news media with legal issues involving Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech.                                                                   __________

PRESS

Attorney Eric Robinson was interviewed by The Post & Courier regarding the legality of shielding civil court documents in high-profile cases. The article can be found here.
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Attorney Eric Robinson was a guest on Talk Louisiana with Jim Engster on November 11, 2019 speaking about libel in politics and his book, Reckless Disregard: St. Amant v. Thompson and the Transformation of Libel Law. He will also be speaking about these topics at an event, “How Far is Too Far? Libel Law in Political Campaigns,” at Louisiana State University on November 13, 2019. The radio interview is archived here.                                                                                    ___________

Attorney Eric Robinson‘s column on whether anti-trust law can be used to bolster the newspaper industry was published in the October issue of the newspaper industry magazine Editor & Publisher.                                                                              ___________

Attorney Eric Robinson writes a monthly column on media law issues for the South Carolina Press Association. Some of Mr. Robinson’s recent SCPA columns can be read here.            ___________

Attorney Edward Fenno was interviewed by Charleston’s ABC affiliate, WCIV, about the legality of Charleston’s Funeral Protest Ordinance, as it relates to First Amendment rights of free speech. The broadcast can be viewed here.                          ___________

Attorney Edward Fenno was interviewed by Charleston’s ABC affiliate, WCIV, about South Carolina’s new Body Camera Law and the exemption of data recorded by those cameras from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure requirements. The broadcast can be viewed here.                                 __________

Attorney Edward Fenno was interviewed by Charleston’s ABC affiliate, WCIV, about South Carolina’s new Body Camera Law and the exemption of data recorded by those cameras from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure requirements. The broadcast can be viewed here.  ___________                                                                                    

Attorney Edward Fenno was quoted in an article in South Carolina Lawyers Weekly magazine about a proposed federal law that would create a “small claims” panel at the U.S. Copyright Office to hear copyright infringement cases concerning damages of $30,000 or less.                               ___________

Attorney Edward Fenno was interviewed by Charleston’s NBC affiliate, WCBD, about an Internet privacy decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court concerning access to personal emails.                                                                                        ___________

Cover story! The American Bar Association featured an article by attorneys Edward Fenno and Christina Humphries on the cover of its Communications Lawyer magazine. The article, entitled “Protection Under CDA § 230 and Responsibility for ‘Development’ of Third-Party Content,” can be downloaded here. The magazine is a publication of the ABA’s Forum on Communications Law.