Eriq Gardner
@eriqgardner.bsky.social
Founding Partner and National Correspondent, Puck. I mostly write and speak about legal affairs. Northwestern U grad. L.A. Rams fan. Music obsessive. Signal: EriqG.99
Here’s why the culture wars at yesterday’s Netflix-WBD Senate hearing really matter…
February 4, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Here’s why the culture wars at yesterday’s Netflix-WBD Senate hearing really matter…
The case that could destroy Bad Bunny and influence A.I. puck.news/the-bad-bunn...
The Bad Bunny Lawsuit That Could Destroy Reggaeton
As Bad Bunny prepares for the Super Bowl, a copyright suit including Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, and Pitbull claims that the entire Latin urban music phenomenon was built on top of stolen beats. A rulin...
puck.news
February 4, 2026 at 11:50 AM
The case that could destroy Bad Bunny and influence A.I. puck.news/the-bad-bunn...
I’m sure I’m not alone wondering this.
January 28, 2026 at 12:15 AM
I’m sure I’m not alone wondering this.
I think this guy (no relation) is suing because he signed up for nudity and, gosh darn-it, he didn't get it. Pretty crazy class action. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
January 27, 2026 at 2:41 PM
I think this guy (no relation) is suing because he signed up for nudity and, gosh darn-it, he didn't get it. Pretty crazy class action. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
I discussed the FBI’s recent raid and seizure in the home of a Washington Post reporter… podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Why Trump’s Feds Came for Bezos’s Newsroom
Podcast Episode · The Powers That Be: Daily · 01/15/2026 · 19m
podcasts.apple.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I discussed the FBI’s recent raid and seizure in the home of a Washington Post reporter… podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Sometime in the next few weeks, Kevin Spacey likely will take the stand in Los Angeles Superior Court and tell jurors that he would have killed himself if he’d had to return for the sixth and final season of House of Cards. puck.news/kevin-spacey...
Kevin Spacey’s $80M Legal House of Cards
The disgraced actor is soon expected to sit for a brutal cross-examination in the rare Hollywood insurance dispute that has actually made it to trial. A potentially huge payout hinges on whoever’s ver...
puck.news
January 14, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Sometime in the next few weeks, Kevin Spacey likely will take the stand in Los Angeles Superior Court and tell jurors that he would have killed himself if he’d had to return for the sixth and final season of House of Cards. puck.news/kevin-spacey...
A few minutes ago, Elon Musk's X filed a big antitrust case against music publishers over licensing demands www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
x v music publishers
www.documentcloud.org
January 9, 2026 at 3:56 PM
A few minutes ago, Elon Musk's X filed a big antitrust case against music publishers over licensing demands www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Some Hollywood news I broke in last night’s WIH newsletter. CAA has lost a big secret arbitration over agents that helped launch Range Media. Read details: puck.news/newsletter_c...
January 9, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Some Hollywood news I broke in last night’s WIH newsletter. CAA has lost a big secret arbitration over agents that helped launch Range Media. Read details: puck.news/newsletter_c...
An early contender for silliest lawsuit of the year.
January 7, 2026 at 5:53 PM
An early contender for silliest lawsuit of the year.
New from me: What if the Trump Administration goes REALLY big against Netflix? An unlikely-but-still-conceivable scenario that would redefine how the entire industry operates. puck.news/netflixs-gam...
Netflix’s Game of Antitrust Chicken
If the streaming giant wins Warner Bros., the feds will almost certainly present its next hurdle. And the Trump Justice Department might ask some questions that Netflix would like to avoid.
puck.news
January 7, 2026 at 12:57 AM
New from me: What if the Trump Administration goes REALLY big against Netflix? An unlikely-but-still-conceivable scenario that would redefine how the entire industry operates. puck.news/netflixs-gam...
A look ahead at what I’ll be covering in 2026. puck.news/predicting-t...
The CAA-Range Finale, Zaz’s $500M Beef & Trump’s Media Damages Calculator
The CAA-Range finale, Zaz’s $500 million beef, and Trump’s media damages calculator: a look ahead at the most consequential media lawsuits and legal crises that will come to their conclusion in the ne...
puck.news
December 30, 2025 at 10:55 PM
A look ahead at what I’ll be covering in 2026. puck.news/predicting-t...
🚨 The Nevada Supreme Court has decided that the Rupert Murdoch trust battle was wrongfully closed and kept under seal. A media group has won a petition and now a judge will have to go through hearing transcripts and court docs to determine what really warrants further sealing.
December 23, 2025 at 9:38 PM
🚨 The Nevada Supreme Court has decided that the Rupert Murdoch trust battle was wrongfully closed and kept under seal. A media group has won a petition and now a judge will have to go through hearing transcripts and court docs to determine what really warrants further sealing.
What if a Sora user creates a fantastic Disney character mashup? Can it be licensed to Netflix? Or put on YouTube to train Google’s A.I.? puck.news/disneys-sora...
Disney’s Sora Wager & Hollywood’s Next A.I. Legal Battles
A field guide to the A.I. cases and deals that will shape 2026, including Disney’s recent peace treaty with OpenAI, the Elon Musk–Sam Altman feud, the next round of labor negotiations, the whole ScarJ...
puck.news
December 17, 2025 at 12:42 AM
What if a Sora user creates a fantastic Disney character mashup? Can it be licensed to Netflix? Or put on YouTube to train Google’s A.I.? puck.news/disneys-sora...
Speaking of A.I., I can't watch a criminal-themed TV show these days without thinking, "Will that stand up in court if the defendant claims it was deepfaked?" Latest is Netflix' "Beast in Me," turning on a secretly recorded conversation.
December 11, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Speaking of A.I., I can't watch a criminal-themed TV show these days without thinking, "Will that stand up in court if the defendant claims it was deepfaked?" Latest is Netflix' "Beast in Me," turning on a secretly recorded conversation.
This seems very optimistic.
December 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
This seems very optimistic.
Why Netflix-WBD may have Hollywood talent lawyering up sooner rather than later. See full newsletter here: puck.news/newsletter_c...
December 11, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Why Netflix-WBD may have Hollywood talent lawyering up sooner rather than later. See full newsletter here: puck.news/newsletter_c...
Inside one of the strangest white collar trials to hit Hollywood in some time puck.news/did-carl-rin...
Judgment Day for Netflix’s Profligate Son
The incredible saga of Carl Rinsch, who bilked Netflix for millions that he spent on Dogecoin, cars, and a half-million-dollar mattress, has come to trial. Is Rinsch a “creative genius” who merely fai...
puck.news
December 11, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Inside one of the strangest white collar trials to hit Hollywood in some time puck.news/did-carl-rin...
Only in 2025 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
December 10, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Only in 2025 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
A lot written about Netflix-WBD and hard to come up with an original take. But think I got something in tonight’s newsletter. puck.news/author/eriq-...
Eriq Gardner
Eriq Gardne is an industry-leading entertainment law expert reporting on the intersection of Hollywood, Washington, Wall Street, and media. Eriq was previously legal editor-at-large at The Hollywood R...
puck.news
December 9, 2025 at 8:35 PM
A lot written about Netflix-WBD and hard to come up with an original take. But think I got something in tonight’s newsletter. puck.news/author/eriq-...
Just in… the first antitrust lawsuit over the proposed Netflix-WBD merger. Injunction sought against Netflix.
December 9, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Just in… the first antitrust lawsuit over the proposed Netflix-WBD merger. Injunction sought against Netflix.
🚨Paramount Skydance in letter to David Zaslav: “It has become increasingly clear, through media reporting and otherwise, that WBD appears to have abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process.”
December 4, 2025 at 2:19 PM
🚨Paramount Skydance in letter to David Zaslav: “It has become increasingly clear, through media reporting and otherwise, that WBD appears to have abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process.”
For all the chatter about D.C., there’s a more combustible front in the bidding for Warner Bros Discovery that deserves attention puck.news/the-zaslav-r...
The Zaslav “Revlon Mode” Conundrum
Echoes of the Diller–Redstone Paramount brawl and potential Delaware court battles are beginning to haunt the long road to resolution for David Zaslav’s sale of Warner Bros. Discovery.
puck.news
November 26, 2025 at 2:03 AM
For all the chatter about D.C., there’s a more combustible front in the bidding for Warner Bros Discovery that deserves attention puck.news/the-zaslav-r...
The streaming industry is facing a multibillion dollar problem. It’s spurring a a wave of litigation from Brazil to Germany. And yet, there’s hardly any discussion about it. My latest… puck.news/the-patent-t...
WBD’s World War P
The streaming boom has been partly enabled by an underappreciated—and potentially incredibly valuable—suite of software, which suddenly has license holders and distributors racing to courthouses acros...
puck.news
November 19, 2025 at 1:27 AM
The streaming industry is facing a multibillion dollar problem. It’s spurring a a wave of litigation from Brazil to Germany. And yet, there’s hardly any discussion about it. My latest… puck.news/the-patent-t...
On the A.I. copyright front, news publishers have just beaten back a motion to dismiss. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Order on Motion to Dismiss – #59 in Advance Local Media LLC v. Cohere Inc. (S.D.N.Y., 1:25-cv-01305) – CourtListener.com
Order on Motion to Dismiss
storage.courtlistener.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:31 PM
On the A.I. copyright front, news publishers have just beaten back a motion to dismiss. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...