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Entertainment Law & Finance
LJN Web Audio Conference Division
Articles from Related Newsletters
Web Searches As a Litigation Tool
Internet Law & Strategy
In any lawsuit, the collection of information on a party or witness is of paramount importance. What seems to someone like innocuous information — such as photographs of vacations and daily activities and postings to special interest Web sites — can materially affect the outcome of a case.

Circuit Court Says U.S. Tort Claims Must State Damages in ‘Sum Certain’
Medical Malpractice Law & Strategy
In a case that did not involve a medical malpractice allegation but that could affect the prosecution of cases against the United States for botched medical care, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently held that a lawsuit could not go forward until a "sum certain" in damages was alleged.

Sex Versus Society
New York Family Law Monthly
In last month’s newsletter, we began discussion of a decision from New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, in which the court concluded that the concept of constructive abandonment could not be extended to permit divorce due to social, rather than sexual, abandonment. The discussion concludes herein.

Trademark Dilution: When ‘Minimally Similar’ May Be Similar Enough
The Intellectual Property Strategist
In Starbucks Corp. v. Wolfe’s Borough Coffee, Inc., the Second Circuit rejected the district court’s determination that trademark owners must show "substantial similarity" between the trademarks at issue in order to prevail on a dilution by blurring claim under the TDRA. Citing the language of the TDRA, the appellate court found that the new statute required only "similarity," and that even "minimal similarity" could suffice to support a claim.

Top Stories
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Headlines
Expansion of Right of Publicity Continues To Create Tensions with First Amendment
Broadly defined, the right of publicity is a person’s right to control the commercial use of his or her identity. It has been over half a century since the term "right of publicity" was first coined by Judge Jerome Frank in 1953. Since that time, courts have been struggling to define the scope of the right of publicity protection, and to resolve the inherent conflicts between the right of publicity and the freedom of expression embodied in the First Amendment.

Forum Selection Clause Applies To Merged TV Company
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided that a forum selection clause in a television broadcast agreement applied to a company within which the original signatory broadcaster later was merged.

Cameo Clips
MUSIC COPYRIGHTS/INFRINGING ‘WORKS’
TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT/RECORD LABEL NAMES
TV COMPENSATION CLAIMS/FEDERAL PREEMPTION
VIDEOGAME DEVELOPMENT/INJUNCTIVE RELIEF


Ticketmaster Lead Counsel on Live Nation Merger Issues
The proposed merger between Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. won Justice Department approval in January 2010, following a year of negotiations. Steven Sletten of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher counseled Ticketmaster. In an interview, Sletten stated that he prepared his client to face a tough audience, both at the Justice Department and in the court of public opinion.

Expert Witnesses: Exclusion of Expert’s Survey Results
The entertainment industry is awash with the exploitation of merchandise products. Experts use different methodologies to prove or disprove allegations of similarities between goods. In a trademark dispute over merchandise apparel sales, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York excluded a plaintiff’s expert’s report that relied on a "sequential array" survey method to try to show that the defendants’ merchandise created a likelihood of consumer confusion.

Bit Parts
Complaint over Oral Agreement for TV-Network Work Is Dismissed
Rulings on Song License Termination and on Assignment Recordation
Suits Proceed over Use of College Athletes’ Indicia


March 2010 Issue in PDF Format