Features
1992 Agreement Bars Recapture of Superman Copyrights
In a decision that helps pave the way for Warner Brothers Entertainment and its DC Comics subsidiary to maintain their grip on the Superman franchise, District Judge Otis Wright II of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California rejected a bid by the estate of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster to reclaim partial control over the iconic superhero.
Features
Parameters of Court Jurisdiction In Entertainment Litigations
The question of whether a court has personal jurisdiction over the parties in a particular lawsuit is fundamental and often raised. The national scope of the entertainment industry ' from artist concert touring to the interstate distribution of music, motion picture, TV and other creative content ' certainly makes personal jurisdiction a common issue in entertainment litigations. This article examines several recent court rulings as examples of how judges today are determining whether personal jurisdiction exists in entertainment cases.
News Briefs
All the latest news in the franchising practice area.
Facebook Submits New Settlement Proposal for 'Sponsored Stories' Lawsuit
Lawyers for Facebook Inc. are trying again to settle a suit related to its "Sponsored Stories" advertising feature after a federal judge rejected an earlier proposal.
Implementing U.S. and International Social Networking Regulations
This article summarizes the recent U.S. legislation regarding applicant privacy and the NLRB's social networking and employment policy guidelines. It also analyzes the state of social media and employment law in the EU, particularly France, the United Kingdom and Argentina as examples of law developing outside of the United States. Finally, this article provides recommendations for employers faced with complying with new laws governing the use of social media.
Cybersecurity Law Firms Needed to Combat Terrorism Threat
The next mass terrorism attack may not involve planes, trains or buildings. It very well may involve cyberspace and could be felt by Americans when their lights, computers or smart phones go on the fritz as networks are compromised.
Features
Pinning Your Company's Hopes on Pinterest
Heralded as the next big thing in social media, Pinterest presents new legal risks for companies engaged in social media marketing. By sharing images and encouraging others to re-pin them, Pinterest users may inadvertently engage in copyright or trademark infringement, violate licensing agreements, or run afoul of FTC rules for commercial endorsements.
Policing Trademark Rights and the Problem Posed By Bullying
Finding an effective middle ground between overly enthusiastic and overly lenient enforcement policies is essential to the development of an effective trademark policing strategy.
Benesch Law Migrates from Sharepoint to HighQ Collaborate
We not only needed technology that was completely collaborative, but was also easy to use and maintain for the entire firm. We needed a system that had a great user experience and one that would provide a seamless transition so we could continue catering to our clients' needs.
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- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- 'Customary Operations' or A Vacant Building?Many times, courts are faced with the question of whether a loss location is 'vacant' under a commercial property policy when trying to determine if the building owner or lessee is conducting customary operations. This article explores various decisions across the United States as to what is considered 'customary operations,' thereby rendering the property 'vacant.'Read More ›
- Reining in the Inequitable Conduct DefenseResponding to views from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere about the unintended consequences of the current inequitable conduct doctrine, a divided <i>en banc</i> Federal Circuit decision issued on May 25, 2011 adjusted the standard of the materiality element to make this defense harder to establish.Read More ›
- Mixed Ruling in Jefferson Starship Band Name SuitWhat's in a rock band's name? Plenty, if you are talking about Jefferson Starship, which goes back more than 40 years, has had more than 30 members and was born from the 1960s psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane.Read More ›
- Authorship and Copyright In Hybrid AI-Human Collaborative WorksThe United States Copyright Office recently issued a letter ruling on the copyrightability of Kristina Kashtanova's comic book-like work, Zarya of the Dawn. The Kashtanova ruling indicates that the Copyright Office's determination of copyrightability of works involving use of AI will rely on whether the author is able to control and foresee with some measure of predictability the output of the authorial processRead More ›
- Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTsA federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.Read More ›