Family Fails to Reclaim Betty Boop Copyright

By Eriq Gardner
THR, Esq. | Article Link

The family of the man who created Betty Boop has failed in a bid to be declared exclusive copyright and trademark owner over the iconic comic character.

Betty Boop, Circa 1932

Max Fleischer created Boop, the childish yet sophisticated character with big eyes and a button nose, in 1930. A decade later, Fleischer transferred rights to Paramount Pictures. Control over Boop changed hands a few more times in the next 70 years, and it was up to the Fleischer estate to establish a chain of custody that resulted in them reacquiring the character in 1997.

Affirming a district court decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that the Fleischer estate had failed to do so in pressing a lawsuit against several companies that licensed Boop merchandise. In the decision, the appeals court finds that Fleischer failed to satisfy its burden of proof regarding the transfer of rights. Perhaps most important is the trademark issue. "If we ruled that [the defendant's] depictions of Betty Boop infringed Fleischer's trademarks," the judge wrote, "the Betty Boop character would essentially never enter the public domain."

How "CSI:NY" Most Definitely Didn't Steal My Story

By Teddy Wayne
The Awl | Article Link

When food blogger Monica Gaudio complained to editor Judith Griggs of Cooks Source magazine about the theft of her online article about apple pie, she asked for an apology and a small donation to the Columbia School of Journalism in lieu of payment. The incident never would have made national headlines had Griggs not condescendingly countered that Gaudio should pay her for cleaning up her article. "But honestly Monica," she wrote, in what has turned into a widely mocked meme, "the web is considered 'public domain' and you should be happy we didn’t just 'lift' your whole article and put someone else’s name on it!"

Photographer Claims Rihanna Stole Images in Video

By Basil Katz & Bob Tourtellotte

Reuters | Article Link

Pop star Rihanna's lurid and brightly colored music video "S&M" was "directly derived" from pictures taken by prominent U.S. fashion photographer David LaChapelle, he said in a lawsuit made public on Monday.

LaChapelle, who has shot celebrities for magazines such as Rolling Stone, GQ and Vanity Fair, said "the music video is directly derived from and substantially similar to the LaChapelle works."

Rihanna, 22, has sold over 25 million albums worldwide and dominated music charts in the U.S. with singles such as "Umbrella" and "What's my name." The single "S&M", however, has fizzled on the charts, and the video has been banned in some countries for its sexual content.

Jersey Shore Starring Cast Members Encountered a “Situation” with the USPTO

By Amit Parikh
Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal
IPLJ Article Permalink

Jersey Shore cast members attempted to trademark their nicknames with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”).  To their dismay, many Jersey Shore members could not successfully obtain trademarks on their nicknames.  For instance, the USPTO did not grant Mike Sorrentino a trademark for his nickname, “The Situation,” because Julio Aref already owned a trademark for his chain of stores in Memphis, Tennessee called “Situation.” Mr. Aref said he is willing to make a deal with Mr. Sorrentino regarding the trademark because Mr. Sorrentino wishes to sell “The Situation” T-Shirt and underwear lines.  On the bright side, Mr. Sorrentino has so far prevailed against the USPTO for the trademark “Situation Nation.”

Will Google Testify at Senate Antipiracy Hearing?

By Greg Sandoval
Media Maverick | Article Link

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy appears to have chosen a different approach to getting an antipiracy bill through Congress than the one he pursued last fall.

Ahead of a Senate hearing to discuss online piracy scheduled for next Wednesday, Leahy's staff has met in recent days with representatives of Google and other companies about their objections to his antipiracy plans, participants in the talks told CNET yesterday.

Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, saw an antipiracy bill he attempted to rush through the Senate late last year held up just before Congress adjourned. If his Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) had passed, ISPs, large payment processors, and online ad networks would have been required to accept a larger role in antipiracy operations. Leahy is expected to submit a revised version of COICA later this year.

More Good News from the Obama Administration

By Sandra Aistars
Copyright Alliance | Article Link

The Obama Administration yesterday issued an Executive Order establishing two Advisory Committees on Intellectual Property Enforcement.

The new committees will assist the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in implementing the Joint Strategic Plan for Intellectual Property Enforcement, and will ensure that all of the Administration Agencies and Departments affected by intellectual property infringement are represented and involved in addressing these issues. The Committees will include the heads or deputies of the Departments of Justice, State, Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Top 10 Legal Disclaimers in Hollywood History

By Eriq Gardner
THR, Esq. | Article Link

In honor of Friday's post about The King's Speech being threatened over use of the "No Animals Harmed" disclaimer, we thought it'd be interesting to take a look at creative uses of legal warranties & disclaimers in movies. By now, most cinephiles are familiar with the standard "Any resemblance to actual persons —living or dead— is purely coincidental." Turns out that filmmakers have turned cursory legalese into an art form, offering up their own disclaimers. Here's our list of the best:

1. "Any resemblance between Hynkel the dictator and the Jewish barber is purely co-incidental" — The Great Dictator


2. "It is the stated position of the United States Air Force that their safeguards would prevent the occurrence of such events as are depicted in this film" — Dr. Strangelove

More than 100,000 People Have Been Sued for Sharing Movies in Past Year

By Eriq Gardner
THR, Esq. | Article Link

Suing file-sharers has gone viral.

Since we first broke the news about a new Washington D.C. enterprise using an innovative legal tactic to pursue movie torrent downloaders, U.S. courts have seen an explosion of activity on the file-sharing front.

In fact, according to data collected by TorrentFreak, more than 100,000 P2P users have been targeted in lawsuits in the past year alone. What started out as a handful of small film producers suing has grown to include indie studios like Voltage and Nu Image to a wide swath of the adult entertainment industry.