Features
NY High Court Sees Right of Publicity Claim in Avatars but Rules Against Celebrity Plaintiffs
<i><b>Legislature Considers Publicity Law Update</b></i><p>Ruling in a matter of first impression, New York's high court dismissed suits filed by Lindsay Lohan and the daughter of ex-mobster Sammy “The Bull” Gravano against the makers of Grand Theft Auto V, by disagreeing with the plaintiff's claims that characters in the game were intended to be their look-alikes.
Features
Indiana Supreme Court to Decide Fantasy Sports Publicity Rights Issue
The Supreme Court of Indiana accepted a certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit involving the interpretation of the state's right-of-publicity statute.
Features
Why Second Circuit Found No Fair Use in 'TVEyes' Case
Only a small fraction of television news broadcasts are made available online. For a party to monitor and view all news coverage of an event, it would essentially have to watch and record all news broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That's exactly what media-monitoring service TVEyes did. Fox News filed suit against TVEyes, claiming copyright infringement of 19 of its hour-long programs and alleging that TVEyes would divert Fox News's viewership and its ability to license its news clips to third parties.
Features
False Claims and Private Equity: The Government's Increasing Focus on Private Equity Firms in False Claims Act Cases
The health care industry continues to hold great potential for private equity (PE) firms, but it also carries with it significant risks and potential exposure to liability. As the pressure to find opportunities has increased, there appears to be a greater appetite for riskier investments including into portfolio companies that experienced or are experiencing compliance challenges.
Features
Preserved Farmland Really Is for Farming
The Appellate Division, Second Department, recently decided <i>Long Island Pine Barrens Society, Inc. v. Suffolk County Legislature,</i> an important case that pitted the interests of farmers and conservationists against a local advocacy group focused on open space and water quality.
Features
De Havilland's Loss in Docudrama Portrayal Suit
The California Court of Appeal created some First Amendment breathing room for the creators of docudramas — at the expense of legendary actress Olivia de Havilland — when the court ordered her suit against FX Networks over its Emmy Award-winning miniseries Feud be stricken under California's anti-SLAPP law, even if it did play a little fast-and-loose with de Havilland's character.
Features
Federal Circuit Reinstates Oracle's Copyright Infringement Claims Against Google, Rejecting Fair Use Defense
On March 27, 2018, in <i>Oracle America, Inc. v. Google LLC</i>, the Federal Circuit overturned a jury verdict in favor of Google from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. In doing so, the court revived Oracle's claim that Google's use of Oracle's open-source Java language code did not constitute “fair use.”
Features
Challenging Disproportionate Forfeitures
<b><i>Part One of a Two-Part Article</b></i><p>In <i>Honeycutt v. United States</i>, the Supreme Court rejected the argument that a federal criminal forfeiture statute permits joint and several liability for criminal asset forfeiture judgments, thereby protecting defendants who were only marginally culpable for a larger offense.
Features
Co-Writer Files Royalties Suit Against Iglesias
The title of Julio Iglesias's hit song “Me Olvide de Vivir” translates to “I Had Forgotten to Live.” But a Miami songwriter's copyright infringement lawsuit suggests the only thing the famed crooner “forgot” was to pay his collaborator.
Columns & Departments
Real Property Law
Broker Agreed to Commission Based on Rent for First Five Years of Lease<br>Statements in Earlier Action Did Not Accelerate Mortgage and Trigger Statute of Limitations<br>Death Does Not Extend Foreclosure Limitations Period<br>Neighbor Granted Statutory Licence to Paint Fence<br>Record Did Not Establish Conveyance of Easement<br>Co-Tenant Entitled to Partition
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