Litigation

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Production of Agreements/Motion Picture and Screenplay Rights<br>Recording Agreements/Non-Exclusivity

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Recent rulings of interest.

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The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California decided that the brief inclusion ' in a segment of the animated TV-series 'Family Guy' ' of a 'Charwoman'-like character from and a theme similar to the 'Carol Burnett Show' constituted a copyright fair use. <i>Burnett v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.</i>, CV 07-01723 DDP.

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It's possible to win the war but lose the final battle. Although former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tyler Green prevailed in his lawsuit against a man who used his name for a sports-handicapping Web site, he has now lost his appeal demanding that the man be ordered to reimburse Green's legal fees. And for Green's lawyer, John P. Elliott, the decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit came with a one-two punch. Not only was Elliott denied a fee award, but he also got a stern finger-wagging from an appellate judge who complained that a letter he wrote to the defendant was 'particularly combative' and employed a 'most unwise tactic.' <i>Green v. Fornario</i>, 06-2649.

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When a supervisor is identified in a lawsuit as the alleged harasser, the employer may still avoid liability, under certain circumstances, as long as the harassment did not result in a 'tangible employment action.' To this end, most, if not all, employers are intimately familiar with the U.S. Supreme Court's <i>Faragher</i> and <i>Ellerth</i> decisions issued in 1998. Yet during the past eight years since the decisions, employers have faced the brunt of scrutiny from courts evaluating the application of this affirmative defense.

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On May 29, the Supreme Court made it significantly easier for employers to defend against Title VII workplace discrimination claims that are based on long-ago decisions about salary and raises. By a 5-4 vote, the Court said that employees claiming they received disparate treatment based on gender or race must do so within 180 days of the original discriminatory action ' not within 180 days of their last paycheck. Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co., No. 05-1074.

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Like most government agencies, however, the EEOC faces significant obstacles. Its budget is rigorously scrutinized each year. Staffing is down and the backlog of individual discrimination charges is up. Concerned members of Congress have petitioned key House appropriators for funding increases to boost the organization's frontline staffing. In light of all of this, newly appointed EEOC chair Naomi Earp has her work cut out for her. As Earp succinctly stated, '[o]ur challenge in 2007 is to make the most effective and efficient use of agency resources.' In other words, the EEOC must get more bang for its buck to remain effective. Enter the agency's new Systemic Discrimination Initiative. This two-part article discusses how EEOC plans to implement the Initiative.

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Each year, the federal government spends several hundred billion dollars to obtain goods and services from corporations and other nongovernmental entities. Under the critical eye of the nation's taxpayers, the federal government has amplified its own scrutiny of the ethics and integrity of its procurement officers and those companies with which it contracts. Via new national legislation and investigative initiatives, the attention of Capitol Hill and federal law enforcement offices across the nation is keenly focused on the prevention, detection and punishment of procurement fraud. It is a brand new day ' and a potentially dark one for the unwary governmental contractor.