Overlawyered » parody

From IowaHawk’s Clint Eastwood parody

Walter Olson — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:03:21 +0000

….what’s true about Detroit is true about all of us. This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get back up, slip again, and send the video to our personal injury lawyer. And when we do – the world is going to hear the roar of our engines.

Tags: autos, Detroit, parody

From IowaHawk’s Clint Eastwood parody is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Totally Meghan McCain” parody columns

Walter Olson — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:02:36 +0000

At RedState, Leon Wolf has been parodying the work of Senatorial daughter and talk-show personality Meghan McCain. McCain’s lawyer, Albin Gess of Snell & Wilmer, wrote RedState editor Erich Erichson to threaten litigation over the posts, which prompted this magnificent letter in response (PDF) from Georgia attorney Christopher Scott Badeaux, representing Wolf. It also guaranteed more critical attention to McCain herself and her work, including this cruel entry by Ken at Popehat.

What Ken calls “the use of money and power to achieve censorship” — particularly in jurisdictions where judges are averse to awarding sanctions and anti-SLAPP protections are weak — is a continuing problem long overdue for open public discussion.

Tags: bloggers and the law, nastygrams, parody

“Totally Meghan McCain” parody columns is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Birthers Sue Esquire for $120 Million Over Satirical Article”

Walter Olson — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:51:49 +0000

Leading birthers Joseph Farah and Jerome Corsi are suing Esquire for $120 million because the magazine published a satirical article headlined, ‘BREAKING! Jerome Corsi’s Birther Book Pulled From Shelves!,’ Forbes’ Jeff Bercovici reports.” [Atlantic Wire, Daily Caller]

Tags: libel slander and defamation, parody

“Birthers Sue Esquire for $120 Million Over Satirical Article” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

California’s new online-impersonation ban

Walter Olson — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:56:37 +0000

Liability is predicated on “intent to harm, intimidate, threaten, or defraud another person – not necessarily the person you are impersonating.” [Michael Arrington, TechCrunch] Despite talk of using the statute against stalkers, Choire Sicha predicts a somewhat different application: “harm as in ‘brand dilution’ — that is what will be prosecuted. Of course there is no carve-out for playful, political or non-murderous uses of online impersonation.” The bill’s text, notes Arrington, doesn’t address such free speech issues as satire and parody, though it does restrict itself to impersonations that are “credible.” Compare: much-demonized Koch Industries goes to court to identify originators (apparently political critics) of website imitating its own [Web Host Industry Review]

Tags: California, online speech, parody

California’s new online-impersonation ban is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Norman Tugwater, Fantasy Sports Lawyer”

Walter Olson — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:11:42 +0000

From the VitaminWater beverage folks, a series of videos about an obnoxious lawyer who supposedly champions athletes’ rights.

Tags: parody, sports

“Norman Tugwater, Fantasy Sports Lawyer” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Update: judge allows “giraffe attack” spoof back on web

Walter Olson — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:05:29 +0000

“Nicholas Brilleaux, publisher of Hammond Action News, got a big victory yesterday when a Louisiana judge dissolved an order prohibiting him from posting a satirical news story about a fictional giraffe attack on his blog.” [Citizen Media Law, OnPoint News, earlier]

Tags: libel slander and defamation, Louisiana, parody

Update: judge allows “giraffe attack” spoof back on web is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Clips of Jon Stewart shows

Walter Olson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:09:44 +0000

Viacom/Comedy Central retreats from some legal rumblings on behalf of a show itself known for its clever use of video clips from other sources. [Levy, CL&P]

Tags: copyright, movies film and videos, parody

Clips of Jon Stewart shows is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Judge orders website to yank “giraffe attack” story

Walter Olson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:26:42 +0000

A judge has ordered a satirical website to remove an article about a fictional attack by a giraffe at a Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana wildlife center. The center had argued that the article was not clearly labeled as satire and had been taken for real by some readers. A lawyer for the center says his client is asking “to have the story permanently removed from the site and to prevent Hammond Action News from ever distributing it.” Having handed down a temporary restraining order, the judge will consider the permanent removal request March 15. [The Advocate; Hammond Action News]

P.S. Commentary on the story from Ken at Popehat, who links another local story reporting that president of wildlife park threatened college-student satirist with “criminal charges, FCC charges, fraud charges, an IRS complaint, a governor’s office complaint, and a federal lawsuit” (h/t commenter Doug).

Tags: libel slander and defamation, Louisiana, parody

Judge orders website to yank “giraffe attack” story is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Large coal firm threatens critic’s site

Walter Olson — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:19:06 +0000

Peabody Energy, by way of St. Louis law firm Senniger Powers, has sent a nastygram (PDF) demanding the takedown of an enviro-activist website that critically mimics the “Consortium for ‘Clean Coal’ Utilization,” of which Peabody is a part. Along with trademark infringement claims, the letter advances a congeries of other legal theories (defamation, tortious interference with contracts) and insists on the total removal of the site. [Citizen Media Law, EFF, Riverfront Times]