The two women arrested for allegedly plotting to carry out a plot to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks appeared in court and voluntarily waived their rights to a speedy trial. The woman Colleen LaRose and Jamie Paulin-Ramirez (dubbed “Jihaad Jane” and “Jihaad Jamie” by the media) have pleaded not guilty. Their trail could start as […]
Caught by Comics Riff:MacFarlane, speaking in a Reuters Television interview, said the Arizona law was more shocking than his own irreverent, hot-button shows. His animated comedies “Family Guy,” “American Dad” and “The Cleveland Show” all air on Fox.“It’s too much. It’s kind of a slap in the face, it’s not the way to handle it. […]
The AP reports that terrorism charges have been filed against Jamie Paulin-Ramirez. Originally from Colorado, she was one of the seven arrested in Ireland allegedly plotting to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks. Paulin-Ramirez is linked to Colleen LaRose (aka JihadJane) who was earlier arrested in Pennsylvania.
Last week I posted news that the White House Copyright Czar was soliciting comments from copyright holders on ways to improve copyright protection. I’ve received the following response from entertainment attorney Stu Rees, who was awarded the 2007 Silver T-Square by the National Cartoonist Society for “demonstrated outstanding dedication or service to the Society or […]
Thank you Lynn Reznick for forwarding this to me. Summary: The new White House copyright czar is collecting comments from artists on how to improve copyright protection. See below for details. All comments must be received by Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at 5 p.m. EST. Please read and submit your comments.FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP White […]
Newsarama is reporting that DC Comics has replaced their “local outside counsel with Los Angeles “Super Lawyer” Daniel Petrocelli.” Time Warner’s decision to bring on such a high-profile litigator as its new outside counsel would seem to signal that the company does not expect a settlement with the Siegel family in the foreseeable future. It’s […]
A judge has ruled against the Tribune Co. which sought to dismiss a lawsuit filed Warren Beaty over the rights of the Dick Tracy character. Beaty sued the Chicago media company after it notified Beaty that they were taking back the rights since he had not exercised them since the 1990 movie in which Beaty […]
The family of the late Stephen Slesinger, who gave Winnie-the-Pooh his trademark red shirt, has sued Disney over alleged unpaid royalties. The family had previously sued Disney and lost over licensing rights. The court decision established Disney as the owner, but the family was due 2% royalties which the family now alleges Disney is underreporting. […]
Sandra Guzman, who was fired from her editing job at the New York Post for being critical of the paper after it ran Sean Delonas’ dead chimpanzee cartoon has filed a lawsuit against the paper. The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan alleges the she was “subjected to a hostile work environment in […]
A lawsuit filed against the San Diego Union-Tribune by their former editorial cartoonist, Steve Kelley, has been thrown out due to lack of “evidence of any unfair or unlawful business practice.” The ruling is a set back for Kelley who accused his former employer of intimidating current Union-Tribune Steve Breen from developing a comic strip […]
Last spring I reported that actor Warren Beatty had filed a lawsuit against Tribune Co and that Tribune Media Syndicate had filed an adversary complaint in a dispute over the television and movie rights to the Dick Tracy character. Beatty, who bought the rights in the 1980’s contends that he had started a television special […]
From an AP story comes news that two men from Chicago were arrested for allegedly plotting attacks on overseas targets including Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Federal prosecutors have charged 49-year-old David Coleman Headley and 48-year-old Tahawwur Hussain Rana. Prosecutors contend Headley told FBI agents that the initial plan called for an attack against the newspaper […]
Tom Richmond has posted an email he’s received from the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership on the status of the Orphan Works bill and the implications on how the lawsuits against Google for it’s digitizing books will affect copyright law. In 2004, the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers sued Google for copyright infringement. […]
Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes of the New York Times Media Decoder blog write about the $4 billion acquisition of Marvel by Disney may become entangled in legal mire as the heirs of Jack Kirby, who created many of the iconic Marvel heroes, have already begun sending notices of copyright termination to Marvel, Disney and […]
At a hearing in California on Monday, three judges at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gave Paris Hilton the OK to pursue her case against Hallmark, rejecting the company’s claims the cartoon on a greeting card was of a generic woman and not Hilton. The card showed Hilton’s face superimposed on a cartoon of […]