Copyright

Lawsuit of the Day: Aisha v. Madonna

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Madonna at Supreme Court SCOTUS Aisha Goodison Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgIn addition to handing down some big opinions, yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a number of cases. As noted by SCOTUSblog’s Lyle Denniston, the Court denied certiorari in a significant antitrust case, as well as a pair of test cases raising constitutional issues in the immigration context.
But the most important cert denial was surely Aisha v. Madonna, No. 06-1389. A blurb about this battle of the mono-monikered musicians, from a reader:

Why nothing about this crazy diva? Her case is discussed by Marty Lederman over at SCOTUSblog.

Aisha Goodison seems right up your alley. She’s more than a little nutty, “strong,” fearless, and with a bad attitude. (Gotta love the pictures of Madonna and Gwen Stefani on her website).

I glanced over her cert petition and she’s pro se. Does that mean she wrote her own complaint? If not, who is helping her out? Just how crazy is she?

Plenty crazy. More discussion, after the jump.

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Morning Docket: 06.07.07

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* Banned children’s book about Cuba, “Vamos a Cuba,” now in court. [Miami Herald]
* “Hit Movie ‘Knocked Up’ With a Lawsuit.” [WSJ Law Blog]
* Should Libby be pardoned? [LA Times via BLT]
* More pardoning analysis from NYT. [New York ]

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Non-Sequiturs: 04.20.07

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Kate Moss Katherine Moss model supermodel Above the Law blog.jpg* Like you, this attorney and concerned citizen opted for law school because science just wasn’t her thing. [J-Walk Blog]
* Kettles Retailers are being told they’re black warned not to infringe upon Kate Moss’s much-hyped and copyrighted “Pot”-shop Topshop collection. [Fashionista; Retail Week]
(An explanatory note for those of you who couldn’t care less: Topshop is an H&M-esque retailer that rips off designs from everybody so that broke girls and boys can swath themselves in sweatshop-produced crap and still have money left over for cigarettes.)
* Power may be the great aphrodisiac, but in my experience, sexual harassers in the professional workplace are just pervs or losers who couldn’t find a date in high school. Sometimes it’s that simple. [Feminist Law Professors]
* In these violent times, “Red Asphalt” just doesn’t do the trick in scaring the bejesus out of high school drivers. [Central Ohio]
* School lunches + biometrics = ACLU. Of course. [Turn to 10]

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Morning Docket: 04.06.07

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John Paul Stevens Justice John Paul Stevens Above the Law blog.jpg[Ed. note: ATL will be on a pretty laid-back publication schedule today. It's Good Friday, the markets are closed, and many folks are probably traveling for the holiday weekend. We will be posting, but not at our regular pace.]
* Stevens’s key role. [USA Today via How Appealing]
* Surveillance laws outdated? He’s probably referring to all of those pesky constitutional protections. [Jurist]
* Dude. You gotta make sure you’re getting the right one when you’re messing with the huevos. That’s just not cool. Not cool at all. That guy deserves a bazillion dollars. [CNN]
* Lawyers and golf. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Fartman loses on appeal. [Andrews Publications via FindLaw]
* Belated birthday greetings to Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., who turned 57 earlier this week. [How Appealing]

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Non-Sequiturs: 04.02.07

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* If you’re not spreading your music like herpes, then you’re just paying an extra 30 cents for the same product you’ve always been buying; as a side note, doesn’t Damon Alburn look dreamy these days? [New York Times]
* The SEC wants to be more like a friend than a parent, but watch out if you try to sneak out of the house after curfew on a school night. [FT.com via MSN]
* She may fight it until she regains her dignity writes another best seller, but chances are that I’ll get my groove back before she does. [New York Magazine’s Daily Intelligencer]
* Remember how Andrea from Beverly Hills, 90210 used her grandma’s address, and Vivian Abromowitz lived in the Slums of Beverly Hills to attend the prestigious public high school? Well, this is different. [Los Angeles Times]

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Non-Sequiturs: 03.30.07

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* Screenwriter mistaken for a terrorist saves his ass by pretending to have written an episode of Scrubs. I totally saw that on 24. [LA Weekly]
* [Heart] anything without legal consequence. [WRAL]
* I declare a moratorium on the word “songstress.” [New York Post]
* If you’re a fan of the “long-lost classic” Killer of Sheep, or if, indeed, you have ever heard of such a film, you are in luck. [Info/Law]

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Looks Like Our Big Sibling Is Getting Sued

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Cobra Kai Kobre Kim Above the Law blog.jpgThe legal ninjas of Cobra Kai Kobre & Kim are coming after our friends at DealBreaker. Yikes.
Good luck, guys! We’re pulling for you.
P.S. Our esteemed colleague, DealBreaker editor John Carney, is also a lawyer (who practiced at Skadden for several years). So he’s not as easily intimidated by scary lawyer letters as most other blog editors.
Update: Filing lawsuits against bloggers — all the cool kids are doing it!
Solengo Seeks Court Order To Strip DealBreaker Of Brochure [DealBreaker]
As Pitch Leaks to Web, a Hedge Fund Wants Quiet [DealBook]
Earlier: Will Our Big Sibling Get Sued?

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Coming Attractions: Viacom – YouTube – Google Smackdown

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one billion dollars Austin Powers Above the Law blog.jpgThis was widely predicted as a consequence of Google’s acquisition of YouTube. If you combine a website that allegedly engages in “massive intentional copyright infringement” with the deep pockets of one of America’s largest companies, you’re asking for lawsuits. From the AP:

MTV owner Viacom Inc. sued the popular video-sharing site YouTube and its corporate parent, Google Inc., on Tuesday, seeking more than $1 billion in damages on claims of widespread copyright infringement.

Viacom claims that YouTube has displayed more than 160,000 unauthorized video clips from its cable networks, which also include Comedy Central, VH1 and Nickelodeon.

As noted by the WSJ Law Blog, Viacom is represented by Jenner & Block in DC. We’re curious to find out who gets tapped by Google for defense. We’re looking forward to an interesting fight — which, in addition to supplying entertainment value, will hopefully also clarify the proper operation of copyright law in cyberspace.
Viacom Sues YouTube Over Copyrights [Associated Press]
Viacom Sues Google and You Tube [WSJ Law Blog]

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Are Jennifer Aniston’s Breasts in Your Privilege Log?

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More legal troubles for controversial celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton, aka Mario Lavandeira. The latest lawsuit against him, filed by Universal City Studios, asserts copyright infringement, arising out of Lavandeira’s publication of a topless photograph of Jennifer Aniston (taken from allegedly stolen footage from “The Break-Up”).
The complaint is fairly straightforward. The most amusing part of the filing is an exhibit to the complaint: the topless Jennifer Aniston pic, with a strategically situated “Redacted” stamp:
Jennifer Aniston pic photo Above the Law.gif
During our time in commercial litigation, we got to know the “Redacted” stamp very well — perhaps too well. But we never saw the “Redacted” stamp used in quite such an interesting way.
We suspect that the Court will order an in camera examination of the unredacted photograph. Especially if the case winds up before Judge Manuel Real.
Lawsuit Over Topless Aniston Photo [The Smoking Gun via Drudge Report]

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Morning Docket: 02.02.07

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football 3 Above the Law Legal Gossip Site.jpg* More details constantly emerging from the Scooter Libby trial [CNN]
* That Boston duo is out of custody for ATHF ads that caused a bomb scare. They gave a bizarre press conference, insisting on speaking only about ’70s haircuts. One reporter asked, “[Lawyer], are you disappointed by your client’s behavior?” to which the attorney responded, “My client is a performance artist.” [CNN]
* Yesterday an article discussed the NFL’s IP enforcement. Today, they enforce. [SI]
* Of course, “Dodgeball” is also subject to IP enforcement. [Hollywood Reporter Esq.]
* When fantasy football meets “legal prowess,” you get the WSJ Law Blog Football Hall of Fame. [WSJ Law Blog]
Have a great Super Sunday, Big Game weekend, lawyers! All billing stops at 6:25 EST.

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