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Bank Not Liable for Unauthorized Film Loan Transfer

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled that a film investor incurred no recoverable damages when a bank made an unauthorized transfer of money from his account to a film company to which the investor was obligated to pay the funds. Frungillo v. Imperia Entertainment Inc., 08-0908 (DRD). Michael Frungillo had agreed to loan $250,000 for production of the independent martial-arts film Never Submit. But he alleged in his lawsuit that Wachovia Bank had violated the Uniform Commercial Code and New Jersey banking statutes when it transferred the money from his account to Never Submit LLC without his permission. Senior District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise noted, however, in an unpublished opinion: “Wachovia's actions ' regardless of whether they violated the security procedures governing Mr. Frungillo's account ' did nothing more than place Mr. Frungillo in the position that he was obligated to assume under his contract with [the film production company]. Therefore, Mr. Frungillo may not recover compensatory damages from Wachovia as a result of the transfer.

Disney Owns “Pooh” Copyrights and Trademarks

The U.S. District for the District of California ruled in favor of Disney Enterprises on copyright, trade dress and trademark claims brought by the assignee of “Winnie the Pooh” author A.A. Milne. Milne v. Stephen Slesinger Inc. (SSI), 2:02-cv-08508-FMC-PLAx. SSI had obtained rights from Milne and Milne trustees through a series of agreements between 1930 and 1983. The later agreements gave U.S. and Canadian exploitation rights to Disney. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper found: “Significantly, nowhere in its motion papers does SSI identify precisely what rights it believes it retained. ' Although SSI now claims copyright and trademark rights in the works, no evidence has been offered that SSI ever attempted to perfect or register any such rights, prior to the filing of these counterclaims. Disney, on the other hand, registered at least 15 trademarks based on the Pooh works in the United States, between 1983 and 2006. In 2004, Disney registered copyrights in 45 works featuring Pooh characters, and renewed copyright registrations for another 14 such works.”

Bank Not Liable for Unauthorized Film Loan Transfer

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled that a film investor incurred no recoverable damages when a bank made an unauthorized transfer of money from his account to a film company to which the investor was obligated to pay the funds. Frungillo v. Imperia Entertainment Inc., 08-0908 (DRD). Michael Frungillo had agreed to loan $250,000 for production of the independent martial-arts film Never Submit. But he alleged in his lawsuit that Wachovia Bank had violated the Uniform Commercial Code and New Jersey banking statutes when it transferred the money from his account to Never Submit LLC without his permission. Senior District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise noted, however, in an unpublished opinion: “Wachovia's actions ' regardless of whether they violated the security procedures governing Mr. Frungillo's account ' did nothing more than place Mr. Frungillo in the position that he was obligated to assume under his contract with [the film production company]. Therefore, Mr. Frungillo may not recover compensatory damages from Wachovia as a result of the transfer.

Disney Owns “Pooh” Copyrights and Trademarks

The U.S. District for the District of California ruled in favor of Disney Enterprises on copyright, trade dress and trademark claims brought by the assignee of “Winnie the Pooh” author A.A. Milne. Milne v. Stephen Slesinger Inc. (SSI), 2:02-cv-08508-FMC-PLAx. SSI had obtained rights from Milne and Milne trustees through a series of agreements between 1930 and 1983. The later agreements gave U.S. and Canadian exploitation rights to Disney. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper found: “Significantly, nowhere in its motion papers does SSI identify precisely what rights it believes it retained. ' Although SSI now claims copyright and trademark rights in the works, no evidence has been offered that SSI ever attempted to perfect or register any such rights, prior to the filing of these counterclaims. Disney, on the other hand, registered at least 15 trademarks based on the Pooh works in the United States, between 1983 and 2006. In 2004, Disney registered copyrights in 45 works featuring Pooh characters, and renewed copyright registrations for another 14 such works.”