Julia Haye

Contact Julia

February 13, 2009. Like any other day in the office, I was sitting at my desk managing the crisis of the moment when in comes one of the most beautiful flower arrangements I have ever seen. Dozens of deep red roses surrounded by seasonal flowers meticulously placed in a gorgeous ornate chest. For a quick moment my heart was aflutter, thinking that my husband had sent me a romantic Valentine’s Day delivery. But then something unusual caught my eye… Smack in the middle of the roses was a giant bloody machete.

Hmm.

I read the card: “Happy Friday the 13th. Love, Jason.”

Continue reading the full story . . . »

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Ken Basin

Contact Ken

Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled against Chippendales in its efforts to trademark its well-known “cuffs-and-collars” male stripper garb, spawning headlines like “Chippendales rebuffed in trademark bid” (Los Angeles Times) and “Chippendales fails to trademark outfit” (DigitalSpy.com). The truth is something far more nuanced and technical than that: in fact, Chippendales has long had trademark protection for its “cuffs-and-collars” outfits, and the Federal Circuit’s decision affects only the extent of that protection, turning on a distinction between “acquired distinctiveness” and “inherent distinctiveness” that we really tried to make sound interesting, but it just isn’t.

So instead, let’s just use it as an excuse to re-watch this totally awesome Chris Farley sketch from Saturday Night Live:

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Aaron Gafni

Contact Aaron

College football fans know that when you turn on a Texas Tech game, you can expect to see some fireworks. Under former head coach Mike Leach, the Red Raiders became an offensive juggernaut — nobody would bat an eye at a 60-point outburst or 400-plus passing yards in any given week (nor at the Red Raiders allowing 63 points and 600 yards of total offense). As it turns out, Saturdays under Coach Leach may have been a bit more fun for Tech players than midweek practice. Leach was fired last December amid allegations that he forced a player who was recovering from a concussion stand for hours in a dark, locked closet.

So now you are probably thinking to yourself, is locking a player in a dark closet really that bad? Maybe that’s how you discipline your 9-year-old. Maybe that’s how a law firm partner punishes an unruly associate. Former Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight would have probably locked the kid in his trunk and driven him home (taking the scenic route). Coach Leach apparently felt the same way, as he filed a lawsuit against Tech soon after he was fired. Continue reading the full story . . . »

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Jesse Saivar

Contact Jesse

Q: I’m making a series of humorous short films about the dot com bubble days. One of the characters is named Gill Bates in a not-so-subtle dig at you know who. We’re pretty hard on him in a humorous way. Do I need to worry about defamation or name and likeness issues with this or any other “based on real life” characters we may use?

A: I like where you went with this. It’s pretty impressive that you took one of America’s most beloved nerds and, through a simple switcheroo of letters, made him sound even nerdier with a name like “Gill.” Then you creeped it up with a last name like “Bates.” Which is perfect because I’m pretty sure Bill Gates sits up in his room wearing his mother’s wig arguing with himself about whether he should be allowed to invite Steve Jobs in for supper.

Did you see what I did right there? I not only made a half-hearted attempt at a movie-themed joke, I also demonstrated my lack of fear about telling the world that a public figure dresses up like his mother and converses with himself, knowing it’s probably not true. Is the source of this fearlessness my unbridled confidence that my good looks can get me out of any bind? Most likely. (I’m still very excited about our new profile pictures.) However, I also derive comfort from South Park’s favorite constitutional protection: the First Amendment. Continue reading the full story . . . »

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Rachel Valadez

Contact Rachel

Your average litigator has a standard checklist of issues to ponder before filing a lawsuit. Considerations such as whether the defendant has had enough minimum contacts within the judicial forum, whether one has alleged sufficient facts to state a claim on which relief can be granted, and what to get for lunch at the courthouse coffee shop when dropping off the complaint usually predominate the lawyer’s thought process. But because being a good entertainment lawyer sometimes means being a public relations guru, any litigator who is preparing to file a lawsuit touching on the entertainment industry — or on any topic likely to capture the public’s attention, and thus media interest — must take into account an entirely separate list of considerations if the lawyer is going to do his or her job properly. Continue reading the full story . . . »

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Steve Smith

Contact Steve

I often receive calls from potential clients that start something like this: “I wrote a script about Story X. I read yesterday in The Hollywood Reporter that Studio Y announced that it is coming out with a movie that is based on Story X. Should I sue them for infringement?” Even if the stories really are very similar, I often answer “no.” The potential clients are incredulous. “What do you mean? It is the exact same story!” That is when I explain the difference between inspiration and infringement. Continue reading the full story . . . »

Be Sociable, Share!

•