Lee S. Brenner

Brenner’s work in media and entertainment law has included high-stakes cases involving copyright, idea submission, defamation and First Amendment matters for clients such as CBS Broadcasting Inc., Showtime Networks, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and others.

In September, he persuaded a federal judge to dismiss a $10 million copyright infringement suit by a pair of Illinois writers who claimed the writers and producers of the television series, “The Guest Book,” conspired to steal their copyrighted property about the owner of a rental residence and her guests.

“The plaintiffs had written ... YouTube works they said the makers of ‘Guest Book’ must have gotten and seen,” Brenner said. “That’s an interesting idea, but it doesn’t really work under the law. Just because something is on YouTube doesn’t mean that defendants have access to it. In this case, we won on every argument we raised.”

U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber of Chicago agreed with Brenner that, among other things, a reasonable juror would not find the works substantially similar. Meynart-Hanzel v. Turner Broadcasting System Inc., 17-CV06308 (N.D. Ill., filed Aug. 31, 2017).

“The fact is that the law does not protect all similarities,” Brenner said. “I put before the court all sorts of other shows about people attending a vacation property, from ‘Fantasy Island’ and ‘Newhart’ to ‘Fawlty Towers.’ I requested judicial notice that the idea was the same.”

Brenner added, “People believe in their bones that a story is their brainchild, but I’m finding more and more that when you take a step back there are innumerable shows that have all done the same storyline. Under the Copyright Act, we’re supposed to inspire each other. Ideas are free for the taking. There is a tension between protection for an author’s expression and no protection for ideas in general.”

In March, Brenner was among a group of attorneys that moved to Venable LLP from Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

He added that he loves his work. “My folks back in Wisconsin told me that no one would ever pay me to watch TV and movies,” he laughed. “It has been fun to prove them wrong, over and over again.”

— John Roemer