Features
TV Reality Show Arbitration Clause Binds Non-Signing Participant
A teen beauty who slapped The Walt Disney Co. with a $100 million suit claiming she had been depicted as a bratty child on the reality TV show <i>Wife Swap</i> will not have her day in court. Alicia Guastaferro was 15 when her mother signed a release and waiver for her TV appearance, during which the daughter made the comment that she felt "sorry for people who aren't as gorgeous as me." Even though Guastaferro did not execute the release, Acting New York County Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla nonetheless held that she was bound by its arbitration clause.
Features
<b>Decision of Note</b> Film Owner Can't Claim Copyright Protection for Actor's Multiple Roles
To determine whether a defendant's work is substantially similar to a plaintiff's work in a copyright infringement case, courts generally first discard any unprotectable elements from the plaintiff's work. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently ruled that the use of one actor to play multiple roles in the plaintiff's 1949 comedy film <i>Kind Hearts and Coronets</i> wasn't a protectable element for proving infringement by the authors of a stage musical adapted from the film.
Features
Strategies for Using the IFTA Arbitration Process
More film productions have become international affairs, with shooting in faraway exotic locations, post-production in still other foreign countries, production funding from international sources, and sales in both foreign and domestic markets. The question then is how best to resolve disputes arising among the vast cast of characters in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Features
Time-Barred Copyright Ownership Claim Prevents Infringement Claim
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that a time-bar for copyright ownership under the statute of limitations also bars a related copyright infringement claim.
Features
Online Behavioral Advertising
The first quarter of this year has been marked by a rise of awareness and legal activity surrounding the question of behavioral, or targeted, advertising ' a significant area of operation and interest for e-commerce firms.
Features
In the Courts
Analysis of a recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit.
Features
Development
In-depth analysis of recent important rulings.
Features
Using ' 552(a) to Invalidate a Lender's Security Interest in Proceeds of an FCC License
Recently, a Colorado bankruptcy court considered the effects of Bankruptcy Code ' 552(a) on a lender's security interest in the proceeds of an FCC broadcast license.
Features
Of Hogs, Electricity and Gas
A split among bankruptcy courts has called into question whether supply contracts for commodities such as hogs, electricity and gas will receive the same protection that has been extended to swaps and other financial contracts under ' 546 of the Bankruptcy Code.
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