“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]
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]
Everyone seems to be willing in principle to re-release public-domain Jack Benny shows that are milestones in early TV comedy, but CBS balks at paying for all the lawyering that would be needed. [BoingBoing] More: JackBenny.org.
Folks behind venerable Martindale-Hubbell lawyer directory wouldn’t stoop to comment spam, or would they? [Turkewitz and more; related Popehat, Bennett]
An already odd binge of litigation has gotten yet odder: the California man who has sued Sony for kicking him off its PlayStation online network, and has sued Nintendo and Microsoft on other grounds, is now suing Activision Blizzard, publisher of the immensely popular online game World of Warcraft, which he accuses of maintaining a “harmful virtual environment” with “sneaky and deceitful practices.” He alleges that use of the game tends to bring on mental health problems, and — the best bit — says he intends to subpoena lyricist Martin Gore of the band Depeche Mode and Hollywood actress Winona Ryder as third party experts on alienation. [GameSpot via Ambrogi/Legal Blog Watch; earlier] Update: Estavillo is subpoenaing Bill Gates too [Seattle PI Microsoft blog]
Sprinkler law inspired by Great White nightclub disaster could kill off small Seattle music venues [Nicole Brodeur, Seattle Times]
Court tosses law student’s suit against lawyer who boasted on air he’d pay a million bucks if anyone could prove him wrong about his case [Hoffman, ConcurOp; earlier]
Baseball-anthem case: “The Boston resident who saw his recent copyright claim against Bon Jovi dismissed is appealing the verdict.” [NME, earlier]
Man who climbed Mount Rainier while drawing workers’ comp pleads not guilty to fraud charge [KOMO; more on Washington workers' comp here, here and here]
Senate committee intends to vote next week on OSHA nomination of David Michaels without holding a hearing to air critics’ concerns [Carter Wood, ShopFloor]
Blawg Review #237 is at Christian Metcalfe’s U.K. Property Law Blog;
By a 3-2 vote, the CPSC has confirmed that the absurd and inflexible Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act bans the sale of children’s products which contain components of conventional (leaded) brass. The vote drew dissents from commissioners Anne Northup (statement) and Nancy Nord (official comments, PDF; further statement at her blog). From the latter:
…The Commission has now very clearly determined that we do not have the flexibility under the law to make common sense decisions with respect to lead.
…I am especially concerned about what this decision means for our schools, where brass is found on desk hinges, coat hooks, locker pulls and many other items. Are schools now going to be forced to remove all brass and if so, who will bear this financial burden?
…brass is found throughout a home and removing it from toys does little in terms of removing it from a child’s environment. If brass were really harmful to children, we would be taking action to remove it from the home but no one is suggesting that there is a safety issue that needs to be addressed in this way.
Evidence of actual health risks from brass in the everyday environments of American children is, of course, anything but compelling. Rick Woldenberg has been covering the story here, here, here, and here. Greco Woodcrafting predicts rough times ahead for school bands, as well. And the WSJ editorializes today. More: this summer the CPSC issued guidance on the closely related topic of ballpoint pens (the roller balls of which include lead alloy); the upshot was so long as manufacturers don’t primarily market any given pen design as being for kids, they’re in the clear, even if large numbers of children are among the pens’ users. (Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association petition and response, both PDF; earlier here, here, etc.) For more on that episode, see 3 Green Angels, NAM “Shop Floor” and more, Rick Woldenberg and more, and Whimsical Walney.
PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGES from Elise Bake, Der Ball Der Tiere (”The Animals’ Ball”, German, 1891), courtesy ChildrensLibrary.org.
“Reports [Britney Spears] will lip-sync during many of [her 15 planned Australian] concerts has prompted debate on whether there should be disclaimers on tickets advising consumers whether a concert has been pre-recorded.” [ABC.net.au] Writes reader Steven Jones: “The inevitable result of this legislation is that concert promoters will have the warning whether the performer lipsyncs or not (there is no legal penalty for a false warning). This means that consumers will be no better informed, but the promoters will be covered legally.”
Bernard Kerik’s bail revoked because he used Twitter to promote a website put up by his friends flaying the prosecution? [Scott Greenfield] Plus: More complicated than that, says Bill Poser in comments;
“I won’t be able to function,” says Missouri woman after judge rules her monkey is not a service animal [On Point News, Molly DiBianca] More: service ferret gets owner kicked out of North Carolina mall [DigTriad]
Eleventh Circuit agrees that U.S. cannot prosecute criminal defense lawyer Ben Kuehne for money laundering charges for having written opinion letter saying untainted money was available for legal fees [WSJ Law Blog, coverage (and update) at Scott Greenfield's site, Miami Herald]
One for the Coase Theorem literature? Cranky neighbor forces closure of famed South Carolina recording venue [Ribstein]
“Jury Says No to Libel Claim Over Truthful E-Mail” [NLJ, Ardia/Citizen Media Law; high-profile First Circuit Noonan v. Staples case, earlier here and here]
Transmission of folk music is getting tangled in copyright claims [BoingBoing]
Scientific shortcut? Veterans Department will presume Parkinson’s, common heart ailment are caused by Agent Orange for GIs who set foot in Vietnam [NY Times]
Federal hate crimes bill: yes, courts will consider speech and beliefs in assessing penalties [Sullum and more, Bader]
Texas trial lawyer Mark Lanier’s famed Christmas bash will feature Bon Jovi this year [ABA Journal, background here and here]
Let’s explain our Constitution to her: U.K. cabinet minister thinks Arnie can close private website because it’s based in California and he’s governor [Lund, Prawfsblawg]
Ten best Supreme Court decisions, from a libertarian point of view? [Somin, Volokh]
Cert petition on dismissal of suit against Beretta shows Brady Center still haven’t given up on undemocratic campaign to achieve gun control through liability litigation [Public Nuisance Wire interview with Jeff Dissell, NSSF]
San Diego: unforeseen consequences of “anti-blight” lender regulation [Outside the Box]
1,000 lose jobs as environmental litigation halts Northern California refinery project [Wood, ShopFloor, update]
City of Detroit lawyers on ethical hot seat after former mayor’s texting coverup scandal [ABA Journal, earlier]
What happens when IP law firms breed homegrown patent trolls? [Ron Coleman]
“It’s kind of like the practice of law, except that the clients are more likely to leave happy.” [Glenn Reynolds being naughty on Instapundit]
U.K.: Owner of copyright to John Cage’s avant-garde “four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence” work sues later impresario whose album track includes one minute of silence [seven years ago on Overlawyered; New Yorker treatment]
The headline at Business Insider puts it more rudely than that. Business Week notes that “The singer faced a near-constant drumbeat of legal troubles in life. He’ll likely cue up plenty of them in death as well.” More: WSJ Law Blog; Eric Turkewitz with an early analysis of the medical and pharmacist liability possibilities.
More attention for U.S. Chamber’s movie trailers promoting awareness of lawsuit abuse [NY Times]
Train didn’t actually strike her car at dicey RR crossing after gate closed behind her, but New York woman’s suing Metro-North anyway for the bad scare [Westchester, N.Y. Journal-News]
Uh-oh: Defamation-and-privacy section of American Association of Law Schools keeps electing as leaders feminist lawprofs known for speech-restrictionist views [Greenfield, earlier]
Cows and vows don’t mix: Oregon county says weddings may not be held on farm-zoned land [KTVZ]
Too many cops and too many lawsuits in city schools, says Errol Louis [NY Daily News]
Law professor and prominent blogger Ann Althouse is getting married — to one of her commenters. Congratulations! [her blog, Greenfield] Kalim Kassam wonders when we can look forward to the Meg Ryan film “You’ve Got Blog Comments”.
“Louisiana panel recommends paying fees of wrongfully accused Dr. Anna Pou” (charged in deaths of patients during Hurricane Katrina) [NMissCommentor]
U.K.: “Privacy Group Wants To Shut Down Google Street View” [Mashable]
Takedowns without DMCA takedown notices: a hosting company pulls down a user’s posted MP3 song files because the user, an indie record label, can’t produce a copyright registration certificate for them — and never mind that they’re the label’s own material posted with the okay of its artists. (Tamera Bennett, Oct. 20, Gordon Firemark, Oct. 21; via Coleman, Likelihood of Confusion).
IMPORTANT NOTE: To anyone who was planning on attending MI's live event on Capitol Hill this afternoon, at which we were to unveil the newest Trial Lawyers, Inc. report, Trial Lawyers, Inc.: K Street--A Report on the Litigation Lobby 2010,... […]
The largest individual award to a Florida smoker will be reduced, Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld (Broward County Circuit Court) ruled Friday. [Here's the story on Law.com] Judge Streitfeld called the $300 million jury verdict, rendered months ago, "excessive" and "shocking," based... […]
In today's Wall Street Journal, I have an opinion piece that explains how the plaintiffs' bar is using its campaign-funding largesse to buy political influence: Since 1990, the sums donated to federal political candidates by lawyers--excluding lobbyists--exceed $1 billion, according... […]
"A railroad company's dogged pursuit of conspiracy and fraud charges against an asbestos law firm is unfolding in a federal appellate court and with a major assist from business and tort reform groups." [Marcia Coyle, NLJ]... […]