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Two camps are battling in New Jersey federal court over royalties paid by Universal Pictures for use of the car that became a time machine in the Back to the Future movie trilogy. Sally DeLorean, the widow of auto executive John DeLorean, claims in a lawsuit filed the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey that DeLorean Motor Co. of Humble, TX, misrepresented itself to Universal as owner of the DeLorean name. The complaint alleges that DeLorean Motor, which has said it wants to make new replica versions of the car, collected a “substantial payment” of royalties from Universal that the plaintiff said properly belong to the late automaker’s estate. DeLorean v. DeLorean Motor Co., 2:2018cv08212.
Perfecting Film Financiers’ Liens in Copyrights
By Bruce Goldner
The law on how to perfect a lien in a copyright application is foggy at best. This article sketches out pitfalls of the current process for perfecting a lien on a copyright application, and potential steps that a financier may take to help perfect and protect a film investment.
Decision of Note: 6th Cir. Says No ‘Magic Words’ to ‘Elect’ Copyright Statutory Damages
By Stan Soocher
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided that §504 of the U.S. Copyright Act doesn’t require any “magic words incantation” for a copyright infringement plaintiff to choose a statutory damages award, that “[t]he word ‘elect’ does not by itself require formal procedures.”
No Secondary Liability Seen Yet, By Band’s Reps, for Sexual Assault
By ssalkin
A federal judge in Camden, NJ decided that a Christian rock band’s management, talent agent and lead singer weren’t vicariously liable for the sexual assault of a teenage fan committed by a member of the band.
11th Circuit Says Anti-SLAPP Law Doesn’t Belong in Federal Court
By R. Robin McDonald
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an appeal by CNN to dismiss a libel case over the cable network’s 2015 investigation of infant deaths at a Florida hospital.