Tarantino v. Gawker In what is perhaps the greatest example of a film auteur facing off against a journalistic outpost since Orson Welles battled William Randolph Hearst, Quentin Tarantino has sued Gawker for contributory copyright infringement due to Gawker’s linking to and publicizing Tarantino’s leaked screenplay for Hateful Eight.
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Archives: First Amendment Law
Bound 3 – Kanye, Kim, James, and Seth?
November 25, 2013
Bound 3 – Kanye, Kim, James, and Seth? Last week, Kanye West released a video for his song “Bound 2,” featuring himself and a nude Kim Kardashian riding a motorcycle. Today, actor/comedians James Franco and Seth Rogen released their own version, “Bound 3.” Bound 3 is an exact copy of the original – the song is identical, most of the shots are direct copies – except Franco appears as Kanye, and a hilariously nude Rogen appears as Kim. Hopefully Kanye and his record label will have a sense of humor about Bound 3, but if they don’t, what can they…
Messing with Texas’ Trademark
October 22, 2013
Messing with Texas’ Trademark Contrary to popular belief, the phrase “Don’t Mess With Texas” wasn’t coined by Davy Crockett or Jim Bowie at the Alamo. Rather, it was created in 1986 as part of an anti-littering campaign by the Texas Department of Transportation. It’s also a registered trademark. Recently, some controversy has arisen over the authorized uses of the phrase. Read on to find out what the mess is all about.
Tattoo Copyright Update
October 8, 2013
Tattoo Copyright Update Last year, I wrote a blog post titled “Can Tattoos Be Copyrighted?” The issue arose due to a lawsuit between Warner Brothers, the distributors of The Hangover Part II, and S. Victor Whitmill, the artist who created Mike Tyson’s famous facial tattoo. In the movie, Ed Helms’ character wakes up with an identical tattoo. The lawsuit was eventually settled, of course, and the terms of the settlement were not disclosed, of course. But the case brought the issue of tattoo copyrights to the public consciousness. The issue continues to develop, so I felt it was time to…
