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Unusual Challenges to Content in Film, TV Productions
Two recent court rulings ' one involving the movie The Hangover: Part II and the other the TV series South Park ' considered unusual issues in challenged uses of content in entertainment productions. In Louis Vuitton Mallatier S.A. v. Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc., 11 Civ. 9436, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided that Warner Brothers' inclusion of a knock-off copy of a Louis Vuitton bag in a scene in The Hangover: Part II didn't create a false designation of origin that would violate '43(a) of the federal Lanham Act. In a brief scene in the movie, Alan, one of the characters, refers to the knockoff by Diophy by saying, “Careful that is ' that is a Lewis Vuitton.”
Noting the film character's comment met the “low threshold” for an artistic relevance defense, District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. ruled that the remark “comes across as funny because [Alan] mispronounces the French 'Louis' like the English Lewis,' and ironic because he cannot correctly pronounce the brand name of one of his expensive possessions, adding to the image of Alan as a socially inept and comically misinformed character.”
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.