Under a proposed bill in the New York legislature, the owners of (say) Marilyn Monroe’s estate would be entitled to prevent the use of her persona in advertising for many years to come. [Trademark Blog]
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Under a proposed bill in the New York legislature, the owners of (say) Marilyn Monroe’s estate would be entitled to prevent the use of her persona in advertising for many years to come. [Trademark Blog]
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The WSJ Law Blog interviews the well-known author (The Death of Common Sense, The Collapse of the Common Good), Covington & Burling lawyer, and founder of Common Good. I praised the hardcover edition last year.
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Arizona vs. Florida eateries: “Two US restaurants are battling in court over who originated the medical disaster theme of serving food unhealthy enough to put diners in hospital.” [Telegraph, SlashFood]
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Two Winkler County nurses filed accusations of problematic practices against Doctor Rolando G. Arafiles Jr. before the Texas Medical Board in April; a prosecutor who was friends with the doctor has now charged the two with a felony, “misuse of official information.” Local and national nursing associations have protested and established a legal defense fund. (Kevin Sack, “Nurse to Stand Trial for Reporting Doctor”, New York Times, Feb. 6; KFDA (undated)). It’s possible that the nurses made false accusations maliciously, but that seems something that could be handled through civil suits and then only after the Texas Medical Board adjudicated the complaints. Such overreaching by doctors could backfire, as it would give credence to the proposition that medical malpractice lawsuits are a necessary check to incompetent doctors.
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Those grainy explosions and cars hurtling through the air look awfully familiar, as if they’ve appeared in other law firms’ footage. At any rate, this Berger & Green ad from Pittsburgh is getting attention via a link on BoingBoing.
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Aurora Hill alleges that McDonald’s coffee is “extremely hot in the extreme” and caused nervous shock, pain, and scarring when it spilled on her. (Aimee Green, The Oregonian, Feb. 4).
You may recall that part of the trial lawyer fiction about the merits of the infamous Stella Liebeck suit was that it supposedly successfully caused fast food restaurants to lower the temperature of coffee so that no one would ever be burned again.
My faith in humanity is encouraged when I see that the poll of Consumerist blog readers on the topic marks 86% for the option “Hot coffee is hot. Deal with it” on a blog that usually is reflexively pro-trial lawyer. Ironically, I wouldn’t count this suit as entirely meritless: Hill alleges that McDonald’s workers failed to adequately affix the lid to the cup, causing the spill as they handed her the coffee in the drive-through, which, if true, would strike me as actionable.
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It seems while reducing bicycle fatalities, the laws also significantly reduce bicycle use. It’s not clear to what extent kids may be shifting to other risky (or riskier) activities like skateboarding, and to what extent they may simply be becoming more sedentary as a consequence.
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“No actual kookaburras could be reached for comment, as they were too busy engaging in howls of derisive laughter at these litigious humans.” [George Wallace, A Fool in the Forest, earlier]
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They’re invoking laws against wiretapping, which you might naively think were passed to protect the people from the authorities, not vice versa, [Boston Globe/Daniel Rowinski, New England Center for Investigative Reporting; Radley Balko, Reason "Hit and Run"] Now lawyer Simon Glik, who was arrested for recording an arrest, is suing three cops and the city [NLJ]
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Mike Hipple took photos of Dance Steps on Broadway, a public art installation on sidewalks in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The photos earned him $60 and now a lawsuit from sculptor Jack Mackie. [KOMO]
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From western Michigan: “Saugatuck Township asks voters to approve new tax to fight lawsuits seeking lower property taxes” [Grand Rapids Press]
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An Australian judge has ruled that a flute riff in Men at Work’s “Down Under” wrongfully used the most famous nursery tune associated with Australia, “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree,” which turns out to be a composition from 1932 still under copyright. [Carton/Legal Blog Watch, Fountain]
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I’ve got a few things to say about this lawless development at Point of Law.
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As part of a class action settlement agreeing to offer more same-sex date matching, eHarmony has allotted $500,000 to persons who can show they were harmed by its failure to offer it before. [San Francisco Chronicle, earlier]
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TTABlog reports on the oldest pending case before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
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