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Cameo Clips

Stan Soocher

COPYRIGHT DAMAGES/STATUTORY 'WORK'<br>COPYRIGHT JURISDICTION/RELATED CONTRACT CLAIMS

Features

Mysterious Lawyer Is at Center of Suit Against Counsel To 'Superman' Heirs Image

Mysterious Lawyer Is at Center of Suit Against Counsel To 'Superman' Heirs

Drew Combs

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.

Features

Copyright Ruling on Photo Registrations Image

Copyright Ruling on Photo Registrations

Andrew Longstreth

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.

Features

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IP News

Jeffrey S. Ginsberg & Matthew Berkowitz

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 Image

Suit By Author Michael Connelly Is Good Reason to Take Close Look at Film Turnaround Provisions

Michael I. Rudell & Neil J. Rosini

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

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Court Watch

Cynthia M. Klaus & Meredith A. Bauer

Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.

Features

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In the Courts

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

An in-depth look at a recent ruling.

Features

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Cooperatives & Condominiums

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

An in-depth look at recent rulings.

Features

Easements and the 'Stranger to the Deed' Rule Image

Easements and the 'Stranger to the Deed' Rule

Stewart E. Sterk

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

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Equal Distribution

Elliott Scheinberg

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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