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Hulu Wins Privacy Class Action
According to the Hollywood Reporter, on Tuesday Hulu was victorious in its four year class action lawsuit. The litigation centered on the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988, which prohibits the disclosure of an individual’s purchases or uses of audio visual materials. According to the plaintiffs, Hulu violated the Act by allowing Hulu users to click a Facebook “like” button while watching programming on Hulu’s site, which triggered the transmission of a Facebook ID cookie and the current web page address to Facebook. Earlier in the suit, it appeared the judge might side with the plaintiffs as Hulu’s arguments, which asserted that […]
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Robin Williams’ Publicity Rights
As Williams’ family continues to mourn his passing, an interesting twist in the division of Williams’ property arose on Monday according to the Hollywood Reporter. In addition to providing for the distribution of his personal property, Robin Williams also establishes how his image may be used after his death. More specifically, the Robin Williams Trust gave the rights to his likeness, name, signature, and photographs to the Windfall Foundation, a charitable organization Williams created. The Trust also states that his right of publicity will be protected for 25 years after his passing–which prevents the use of his image in advertisements or holograms for films and […]
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Fox’s Empire Trademark Suit
According the to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking a declaratory judgment that will support its continued use of the title “Empire” for its television series of the same name. This trademark suit comes after the Network received demands from Empire Distribution (a company that represents musical artists such as Sean Paul and Kendrick Lamar) to cease use of the title or pay for its use. On March 6, Empire Distribution sent a letter to Fox demanding that Fox either pay $5 million and make some of Empire’s clients guest starts on the show, pay Empire $8 million, or […]
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“Winter is Coming” but Piracy is Evaded
According to Polygon.com, the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Peabody winning television series Game of Thrones is making history again. Starting with the premiere on Sunday, April 12th, the entire 10-episode fifth season will simultaneously be broadcasted in 170 countries each week. The rationale: avoid the rampant piracy that has been tied to Game of Thrones since its television debut. Although in the past HBO executives considered it a “compliment” that Game of Thrones was the most pirated television show, it seems they have have had a change of heart. The move by HBO to simulcast the entire season eliminates the option of […]
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A Blurred Line No Longer
According to Law360 and the Hollywood Reporter, on Tuesday, a jury found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams violated Marvin Gaye’s copyright it “Got to Give It Up” in their creation of the hit song, “Blurred Lines.” After more than a year of litigation, and two and a half days of jury deliberation, Thicke and Williams have been ordered to pay Gaye’s children $7.36 million. The jury decided to award $4 million to represent the amount that likely would have been paid for a valid license to “Got to Give It Up,” as well as a percentage of Thicke’s and William’s profits from “Blurred Lines” ($1.76 […]
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Crowdfunding Site Encourages Athletes to Stay in School
According to ESPN, a new crowdfunding site called FanAngel will allow fans to donate money to be held for a student-athlete if he chooses to stay in school and forego the opportunity to turn professional. When an athlete chooses to stay in school, 80% of the donations will be held for the athlete in escrow, 10% will be paid to the athlete’s teammates, and the remaining 10% will be earmarked for charities and scholarships. If the athlete chooses to leave school, the money will be refunded to the donors. The site, founded by Shawn Fotjik, attempts to steer clear of NCAA eligibility […]
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Oprah “Owns Her Power”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Oprah Winfrey was victorious in a recent trademark suit regarding the use of the phrase “Own Your Power.” The phrase, which appears on the cover of her magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, and other various Oprah products, was allegedly a registered trademark of Simone Kelly-Brown, a motivational services entrepreneur. Kelly-Brown filed the suit in 2011 and initially lost, with the court finding Oprah’s utilization of the phrase, a fair use–a description of the magazine. However, on appeal, the 2nd Circuit was less certain that “Own Your Power,” was an accurate description of the publication. Therefore, the case was sent […]
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Super Bowl Seating Case Set to go to Trial
On February 6, 2011, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium. According to the Dallas Morning News, a lawsuit was filed shortly after the game because 1,200 of the 15,000 temporary seats in the stadium were not completed in time for kickoff. Some ticketholders were forced to stand for the entire game. Others were moved to different seats or seats with obstructed views. Eight of those ticketholders, who paid thousands of dollars for their tickets, are suing the NFL in federal court. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Cowboys were dismissed from the […]
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TiVo: The New Aereo?
According to the Hollywood Reporter, after declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Aereo auctioned off its assets last week, in an effort to recover funds to repay $4.2 million of various liabilities. Interestingly, no one bought the infamous antennas that were the heart of Aereo’s business model. Rather RPX Corporation bought the company’s patents for $225,000; Alliance Technology Solutions purchased some equipment for $320,000; and most notably TiVo spent $1 million on Aereo’s trademarks, customer lists, and domain names. Apparently, TiVo has been working on a system very similar to Aereo’s. According to Forbes, the product, called TiVo Stream, will allow TiVo customers to […]
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Former LSU DC Sues Over Buyout Dispute
According to ESPN, former LSU Defensive Coordinator and current Texas A&M Defensive Coordinator John Chavis has filed suit against LSU, claiming that he does not owe his former employer a $400,000 buyout. Chavis claims that LSU sent him a letter demanding that he pay the $400,000 buyout on Jaunary 2nd, but that he did not give notice to terminate the contract until January 5th. The terms of his contract decreased the buyout to zero if the contract was terminated in the final 11 months. Because the notice of termination was not effective until 30 days after it was received, the contract ended on […]
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Blurred Lines Update
And the fight continues…. According to Law360, the lawsuit began in August 2013 when the now defendants (Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and rapper T.I.) asked the court for a declaratory judgment to prove their, song “Blurred Lines,” did not infringe Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” This strategic move backfired, as they now find themselves defending the song upon a countersuit by Gaye’s children. In addition, to asserting the defendants infringed “Got to Give It Up,” Gaye’s heirs also claim that Thicke’s “Love After War” infringes Gaye’s “After the Dance.” However, the case became more complicated once Thicke admitted that he did […]
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Federal Court Rules Against NFL in Peterson Case
According to ESPN, U.S. District Judge David Doty has ruled that the NFL’s arbitrator “failed to meet his duty” when deciding to uphold Adrian Peterson’s suspension stemming from his child abuse case. This clears the way for Peterson to be immediately reinstated to the NFL. Judge Doty found that Harold Henderson, the NFL’s arbitrator, “simply disregarded the law of the shop,” when applying the NFL’s new domestic violence policy to Peterson’s case. Because Peterson’s conduct occurred before the implementation of the new policy, which carries a six-game suspension for a first offense, the NFLPA and Peterson argued that the old personal […]