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News Briefs
January 31, 2013
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Warner Bros. Wins Copyright Battle over Superman
January 31, 2013
O'Melveny & Myers scored a big win for Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc. in January 2013 in the company's ugly copyright battle with the heirs to the creators of Superman. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided that the heirs of now-deceased Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel signed away their rights to the Man of Steel in a 2001 agreement with Warner Brothers.
Evolving Court Views on Requests for ISP User Identities
January 31, 2013
When copyright suits are instituted over file-sharing infringements that take place over the Internet, the copyright owner may not know much about who the infringers are. Even in the best case, a plaintiff is unlikely to start with much more than an Internet Protocol (IP) address ' the number that identifies a computer or group of computers that may have been used to download or share all or part of an infringing file.
Court Watch
January 31, 2013
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
No Substantial Similarity in Photo Used in TV Movie
January 31, 2013
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that two television production companies didn't violate a photographer's copyright when they used an image they created that was similar to his photo ' depicting an imposter, who called himself Clark Rockefeller, and his daughter ' in a made-for-TV movie.
7th Circuit Backs Use of Fan Footage in Joan Rivers Film
January 31, 2013
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of a suit by a fan whose 16-second backstage discussion with the comedienne Joan Rivers was included in the documentary <i>Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work</i>.
IFA CEO Speaks About Legislative, Regulatory Challenges
January 31, 2013
Speaking on Jan. 16 in Chevy Chase, MD, Stephen J. Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association, laid out IFA's legislative priorities for 2013, assessed IFA's impact on policy issues, and discussed business trends that are affecting the industry.
Valuing a Celebrity's Right of Publicity
January 31, 2013
Unlike patent, trademark and copyright law, rights of publicity are governed by a patchwork of state statutes and common-law decisions, rather than by a single federal statute. And unlike trade secret law, rights of publicity are not subject to a uniform state law adopted in the vast majority of states. But as with valuing other intellectual property assets, right of publicity (ROP) valuations need to consider the unique characteristics of the subject asset and the context of the valuation.
Decisions of Interest
January 31, 2013
In-depth analysis of recent key cases.
NJ & CT News
January 31, 2013
Key rulings from neighboring states.

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