Practice Notes
March 28, 2007
Recent happenings of interest to you and your practice.
Decision of Note: Texas Court Lacks Jurisdiction over 'Daily Show' Host
March 28, 2007
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas decided that it lacked personal jurisdiction over comedian Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, in a suit filed over a segment in which a Texas resident appeared. Busch v. Viacom International Inc., 3:06-CV-0493-L. The Daily Show broadcast a parody of a dietary drink that TV evangelist Pat Robertson promoted. The Daily Show segment included a clip from Robertson's show The 700 Club in which plaintiff Phillip Busch, a user of the dietary drink, shook Robertson's hand. Busch filed claiming defamation and misappropriation of image in the Daily Show piece.
Tips for Negotiating Mobile-Game Development Agreements
March 28, 2007
The mobile-game industry can be lucrative. Mobile games ' which can be downloaded to cell phones and other mobile devices ' can be cheaper and easier to develop than games created for platforms like PCs or game consoles, where users expect higher production values. What also makes mobile games attractive to developers and entrepreneurs is the potential market of consumers who already carry and use cell phones ' estimated at 207.9 million nationwide and 2 billion worldwide. Mobile games present huge brand opportunities as well: Celebrities such as hotel heiress Paris Hilton, rapper 50 Cent, skateboarder Tony Hawk and poker champion Phil Hellmuth have each licensed their names and images to mobile games. Tom Cruise, notoriously shy of associating his name with videogames, lent his name exclusively to a Mission Impossible III mobile-phone game.
Viacom v. YouTube
March 27, 2007
This suit is potentially dealing with a very important issue that goes way beyond YouTube's actions or inactions ' the scope of the DMCA in today's Internet. The technology being utilized by YouTube was not even imagined a decade ago when the DMCA was enacted. <br>However, it is open for speculation that this suit, coming such a short time following a negotiations break-down between the parties on entering into a licensing arrangement, is just a negotiation strategy, gambit or ploy by Viacom for a more favorable deal.
<i>The Place to Network</i>: Creative Networking Programs to Catalyze Client Development
March 27, 2007
Networking has become extremely important for law firms, especially now that the legal business is growing more and more competitive. If your attorneys are not getting out there to stake claim to new relationships (and new matters), someone else will. Fortunately, attorneys and firm marketing professionals who are at the forefront of networking have developed innovative programs to assist attorneys in making a stranger into an acquaintance, an acquaintance into a prospect, and a prospect into a client. Ah ' the circle of life!
Must-Sue TV
March 27, 2007
Not to be left behind, the legal community is actively engaged in the ever-expanding blogoshpere. With more than 1000 active legal blogs on the Web, firms and attorneys recognize the value of blogs as unique marketing and business development tools. However, for a blog to be beneficial, it must distinguish itself from the diluted market through creativity, consistency, and a strategic media plan.