Floyd Mandell, national co-chair of Katten’s Intellectual Property practice, and Jeffrey Wakolbinger, an associate in the firm’s Intellectual Property group in Chicago, represented HBO Films Inc. in its settlement of an Illinois federal copyright infringement suit. Syl Johnson, the singer of the song “Different Strokes,” alleged that the defendants, including Usher and many record labels, sampled the song without approval. Johnson and record label Twilight Records Inc. have agreed in principle to settle all claims against the defendants. (“Usher, HBO, Labels Settle ‘Different Strokes’ IP Claims,” December 24, 2014)