Bit Parts

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, decided that the release of a film on DVD amounted to republication, rather than continuous publication, of the work for purposes of restarting the statute of limitations for defamation. Nichols v. Moore, 03-74313. The suit was filed against director Michael Moore over comments related to the plaintiff in the film “Bowling for Columbine.” The district court noted that many of the special features on the DVD were produced after the film's theatrical release and that the DVD was intended to reach a new audience. In another defamation case, a Manhattan federal district court ruled that the rebroadcast of a TV show on The Learning Channel constituted a republication for statute of limitations purposes. Lehman v. Discovery Communications Inc., 01 CV 4211. The court noted that “a rebroadcast of a television show is intended to reach a new audience and is therefore an additional communication. A rebroadcast has renewed impact with each viewing and creates a new opportunity for injury, thereby justifying a new cause of action.”

Implied Contract/Preemption