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Call of Duty’s Lawyers Called to Duty in French Court
According to the BBC, the children of late Angolan rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi, are suing the makers of Call of Duty in France for €1 million in damages for his “rather unfavorable” depiction in the best-selling video game. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, the video game at the heart of the suit, features a […]
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@Chanel v. @ChanelOfficial
According to mtv.com, Chanel, the iconic haute couture fashion house, is currently engaging in a war of rights for the Instagram handle “@Chanel.” The fashion conglomerate has had to resort to using the mouthful “@ChanelOfficial” rather than the much sleeker “@Chanel” handle for its Instagram account because @Chanel is currently being used by a 20 […]
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Criminals on Ice?
By stepping onto the ice at a hockey game, players are not consenting to acts of extreme violence, at least according to Canadian court. A Quebec judge has awarded a plaintiff $8 million in damages after a hit from behind paralyzed the player back in 2010. The judge stated that players are entitled to the […]
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Johnny Football Facing Criminal Charges
The career of Heisman trophy winner and Texas A&M all-star quarterback, Johnny Manziel, continues in a downward spiral since being relegated to the third string for the Cleveland Browns at the end of this last season. Despite his promising talent, his history of alcohol abuse and videos of his raucous partying in Texas on a […]
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“Happy Birthday” Suit Settled for $14 Million
This past Monday, Warner Music agreed to pay $14 million dollars to end its lawsuit involving the rights to the song “Happy Birthday to You.” Back in 2014, a film producer and two New York music producers filed the class action lawsuit after paying exorbitant licensing fees for use of the popular song. One […]
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YouTube Brothers’ Trademark Claims Provoke Angry Reaction
A popular YouTube channel called “The Fine Bros” is under fire this week following an announcement regarding the company’s intellectual property. The channel and its two founding brothers rocketed to fame after creating a series of reaction videos, including “Kids React” and “Elders React.” The Fine Bros have over 13 million subscribers and the channel […]
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RIAA Modernizes: Gold and Platinum Program Now Takes Streaming Into Account
To align its Gold and Platinum Certifications with actual listening trends, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has announced the inclusion of on-demand audio and video streams in its Gold and Platinum Program. It has become impossible to discuss the music industry without discussing streaming – the phenomenon that has revolutionized music consumption and […]
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The Biggest Hurdle at the Rio Olympics: Avoiding the Zika Virus
Less than nine months away from the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared that the Zika virus in Latin American poses a “global public health emergency of international concern.” Spread by bites from the Aedos mosquito and considered as devastating to humans as Ebola, there […]
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Possible Corruption in Tennis
The Australian Open, one of the four big grand slams in tennis, started last week amongst reports and rumors of match-fixing. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the governing body for professional male tennis players, has taken the reports very seriously. ATP Chairman, Chris Kermode, stated earlier this week, ”We need to address the perception, […]
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2016 Oscars Boycott Watch: Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and counting
Last Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the official nominations for the 2016 Oscars. Proponents for greater racial diversity in the film industry are critical of this year’s list, especially of the fact that, for the second year in a row, all the nominees for Best Actor are white. The disappointment […]
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Blade Runner or Blade Gunner
Oscar Pistorious, the South African athlete who made history when he became the first double amputee sprinter to compete in the summer Olympic games in London in 2012, is seeking to appeal his conviction for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines Day in 2013. In a surprise turn of events last month, the “Blade […]