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Cameo Clips
COPYRIGHT DAMAGES/STATUTORY 'WORK'<br>COPYRIGHT JURISDICTION/RELATED CONTRACT CLAIMS
Features
Mysterious Lawyer Is at Center of Suit Against Counsel To 'Superman' Heirs
Given that the story lines played out in Superman comic books are full of shadowy figures with dark motivations, it seems fitting that the real world legal fight over who owns the rights to the Man of Steel would feature such a character in a pivotal role. On May 14, Warner Bros. sued Marc Toberoff, the lawyer for the comic icon's co-creators' families, in federal court in Los Angeles, accusing him of engaging in a "scheme" to "enrich himself" by trying to wrongfully seize control of a substantial chunk of the Superman property.
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Copyright Ruling on Photo Registrations
Talk about winning on a technicality. In a copyright infringement case brought by photographers who sued Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. over the allegedly unapproved use of their photos, Chief Judge Loretta Preska of Manhattan federal district court ruled in May that the works at issue had not been properly registered. Judge Preska threw out most of the photographers' claims in her 24-page ruling.
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IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property cases from around the country.
Features
Suit By Author Michael Connelly Is Good Reason to Take Close Look at Film Turnaround Provisions
It takes a good while for a producer to develop a motion picture based on a book. A screenwriter must be engaged, decisions must be made about how to adapt the book into a film, the screenplay must be written and revised, and then an entire creative team must be assembled. For this reason, the producer attempts to structure the acquisition agreement with the book author in the form of an option coupled with a self-executing purchase agreement. The option period gives the producer time to complete development activities, and if the option is exercised, the purchase agreement transfers audiovisual rights without further discussion.
Features
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
Features
Cooperatives & Condominiums
An in-depth look at recent rulings.
Features
Easements and the 'Stranger to the Deed' Rule
In <i>Cerniglia v. Church of the Holy Name of Mary</i>, decided on April 20, the Second Department confronted an argument about the scope of New York's "stranger to the deed" rule.
Features
Equal Distribution
In last month's issue, we discussed a decision in in which a Supreme Court judge in Manhattan dismissed a divorced man's suit to recover from his ex-wife half of what he lost by taking investments in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme in their divorce settlement. The discussion concludes herein.
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