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Phillip Phillips: Let Me Be “Gone, Gone, Gone” From My American Idol Recording Contract
Imagine you win one of the most successful reality television shows in history, along with the hearts and votes of millions of Americans. Yet, now, you are forced to sign a contract that allows your managers and producers to refuse to disclose to you the name of your upcoming album, obligates you to perform live without compensation, and grants your producers a disproportionately large share of the mechanical royalties from your album sales. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this is the basis for Phillip Phillips’ petition to the California Labor Commission. The American Idol Season 11 winner claims that American Idol […]
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Georgia Supreme Court Hears Braves Stadium Challenge
According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Georgia Supreme Court recently heard oral argument concerning the validity of municipal bonds used to fund the Atlanta Braves’ proposed new stadium, SunTrust Park. The Plaintiffs, representing the Cobb County taxpayers, alleged that Georgia’s Constitution prevents public funding of a private project without a voter referendum. However, the Defendants claim that Braves games in the new stadium, which will cost $672 million of which $397 million is being financed by the municipal bonds, fit within the state’s parks and recreation provision. Further, the Defendants allege that overturning the Cobb County Superior Court’s decision to validate the […]
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Taylor Swift to Trademark Lyrics
“That sick beat,” “Could show you incredible things,” “Nice to meet you. Where you been?” Sound familiar? According to Time, Taylor Swift has applied to trademark these lyrics, among others, from her recent album, 1989. But these sound like ordinary, everyday sayings–can Swift successfully obtain a trademark to these phrases? Yes. While a trademark cannot be an generic word or phrase, (i.e. tissue or salty) standards for trademarks otherwise are fairly low. Generally, the suggested trademark must be an arbitrary word, such that it does not relate to the associated product or service, or a fanciful word or phrase (with no dictionary definition). Therefore, if Swift […]
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MLB Not Granted Interlocutory Appeal in TV Rights Case
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided not to intervene in a pending antitrust lawsuit against MLB, DirecTV, and Comcast brought by fans who felt that they were overcharged for out of market games. The District Court previously denied MLB’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that MLB’s long held antitrust exemption does not apply to television broadcast rights. After asking for and being denied permission to seek an interlocutory appeal, MLB sought a writ of mandamus from the Second Circuit. Despite recent rulings from the Ninth Circuit re-affirming the long held exemption, the Second Circuit found that the MLB had […]
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Celebrity Endorsements Gone Wrong
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lexington Insurance Co. (a unit of AIG) has developed a new type of insurance–one that will protect companies when their celebrity endorser makes headlines (in a negative way). Previously, brands would either cancel their contracts with the celebrity, pull advertisements, or even remove the endorsed product from the market when the star supporting the product received negative press. Yet, there was no way to recoup the funds spent on these advertising campaigns. With this new insurance, companies will receive coverage to recover the costs of removing products from the market (i.e. transport and disposal), as well as costs […]
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Dish Hopper Ruling
According to the LA Times, earlier this month, District Judge Dolly M. Gee, ruled in favor of the Dish Network’s implementation of several program recording tools. In 2012 and 2013, Dish unveiled four different mechanisms for recording shows–Dish Hopper, Prime Time Anytime, AutoHop, and Hopper Transfers. While the case originally named several large networks as plaintiffs, most settled their claims. However, Fox Broadcasting pushed forward. Last week, Judge Gee’s ruling was released. In that ruling, she found that there was a distinction between consumers initiating their own recordings on devices within their homes, and service providers creating recordings off-site. She found Dish’s […]
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Roncin Against Je Suis Charlie Trademark
The now iconic image and phrase “Je Suis Charlie” (French for “I am Charlie”), created by French artist Joachim Roncin, has become the rallying call against the terror attacks at French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, where 12 people were killed by extremists. The simple but powerful graphic went viral within hours after Mr. Roncin created it, as millions throughout the world began tweeting and re-tweeting the image accompanied by #jesuischarlie. According to BBC News, although the graphic was meant to express support for the victims at Charlie Hebdo, less than a week after the attack, 50 people in France alone have applied […]
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Sony Pictures Hack
According to Fox News, there may be a connection between the hack on Sony Pictures’ computer network and North Korea. Apparently, the malware that was placed on the computers was written in Korean; however, some think that this was a purposeful attempt to confuse investigators as to the origin of the attack. Authorities still are uncertain whether the malware was physically imbedded into the network or introduced remotely. Many have been suspicious of the motive behind the attack—that it may have been in response to Sony’s upcoming film, “The Interview,” in which James Franco and Seth Rogen attempt to assassinate Kim […]
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Ray Rice Wins Appeal of Indefinite Suspension
According to ESPN, former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice won his appeal of his indefinite suspension from the NFL on Friday. In her decision, United States District Judge Barbara S. Jones concluded that Rice did not lie or mislead Roger Goodell in Rice’s June interview with the NFL commissioner. Therefore, Jones found that the imposition of the second suspension was an abuse of discretion because it dealt with the same incident. Jones also stated that Goodell—who along with Rice, Rice’s wife Janay, and Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome testified in the hearing—needed to be more fair and consistent in the discipline […]
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More Victims Step Forward in the Bill Cosby Suit
According to CBS News, former model Janice Dickinson is the sixth woman to step forward with allegations of sexual assault against Bill Cosby. The first claim was made in January 2005, by Andrea Constand. The former Temple University basketball team staff member asserted that Cosby drugged and raped her at his home. Yet, due to the lack of evidence, criminal charges were not pressed against Cosby. However, in November 2006, Constand brought a civil suit against Cosby and thirteen women were prepared to serve as Jane Doe witnesses. Yet, the matter settled out of court. Other allegations of assault were made […]
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FIFA Files Criminal Complaint Concerning World Cup Hosting Rights
According to Sports Illustrated, FIFA has submitted a criminal complaint to Switzerland’s attorney general concerning the hosting rights of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The complaint alleges improper transfer of assets through Switzerland and calls for an examination by criminal prosecution authorities. This comes after the FIFA Ethics Committee released a summary report last week, which concluded a two-year investigation into alleged corruption in the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups set to be hosted in Russia and Qatar, respectively. The report cleared Russia and Qatar of all allegations and found the integrity of the bidding […]
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Breakdown Services Lawsuit
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Breakdown Services is seeking a preliminary injunction against three individuals–Frank Moran, Louise Yanofsky and Steven Rubin–who manipulated the system to bypass a credential check. Breakdown Services receives scripts and requests for script reads from casting directors. Then these submissions are sent to licensed talent agents and qualified personal managers who screen the roles before they are passed on to the actors and actresses. The casting directors use the service because they know that their materials will be in the hands of qualified and reputable actors and actresses–this limits the number of unqualified submissions and “leaks” of movie plots on various […]