Hollywood Docket: The lawyers behind Bloomberg's BusinessWeek purchase

By Eriq Gardner

Bloomberg has reached an agreement to purchase BusinessWeek magazine from McGraw-Hill Companies for an undisclosed sum. Christa D'Alimonte led a team from Shearman & Sterling advising McGraw-Hill on the transaction.

Maurice Lefkort and David Levine were the attorneys from Wilikie Farr & Gallagher advising Bloomberg.

Other entertainment law news this morning:

• EMI has settled its copyright infringement lawsuit against Grooveshark, a web-based music application that allows users to make and embed a streamed playlist of songs from a 7-million track catalogue. After months of negotiation, the two companies have signed a licensing agreement, and Grooveshark says it intends to strike deals with other rights-holders.
• TMZ has published Worldwide Pants' sexual harassment policy. Pretty standard stuff. David Letterman shouldn't need to sweat this one much.
• The BBC has shelled out almost 1 million pounds in legal fees and libel damages since the beginning of last year including spending nearly $200,000 hiring lawyers to defend 71 libel complaints. BBC lawyers have sent letters to national newspapers warning them to be careful about reporting about the pay and activities of business executives. Speaking of libel, the Online News Association is surveying digital journalists to gauge the need for Media Liability Insurance coverage.
• Bob Yari gets some bad news in the most recent "Crash" litigation, but we'll really pay attention if the judge in the case adopts the mediator's recommendation that Yari cooked the books on the best picture winner.
• There could be litigation over the amount of royalties paid by broadcasters to performance rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI, according to the Broadcast Law Blog. The current deal that governs royalties expires at the end of the year and broadcasters are pushing to pay less in its next agreement.
• We previously wrote about a case, Noonan v. Staples, that pundits proclaimed had the ability to forever change media law. We were somewhat skeptical that a case involving a manager who mass e-mailed the company with an announcement of a firing would actually be that important, but 51 news organizations filed amicus briefs in the case. At issue was whether a true statement could still be libelous if sent with "actual malice." The case was remanded to a jury, which found no malice on the part of the e-mailer.
• Martin Luther King's children have settled the dispute over the civil rights leader's million dollar estate. The settlement includes broadcast rights to King's "I Have a Dream" speech, which generates significant revenue, and may help clear the way for a new biopic to be made on King's life.
• Earlier today, we asked why law firms suddenly have an interest into getting into Hollywood. Maybe instead, they should look into adult entertainment law, which, according to criminal defense lawyer Jon Katz can be a rewarding way to defend the First Amendment. Plus, lawyers in the field get to knock gloves with Bill O'Reilly.