News & Media
Brüno may have stepped in it….
We got a pile of frivolous, stupid, and unsupportable lawsuits out of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat. Cohen’s latest, Brüno, might just mar Cohen’s record. It seems, if the allegations are true, that Cohen identified a Bethlehem grocer as a leader in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. However, the grocer claims that he is no such thing. Cohen also claimed on a promotional tour for the movie that he had to be brought to a “secret location” to interview the guy … the “secret location” turned out to be a hotel next door to an Israeli military post. Complaint here. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlbxZRwnBws]
A Likelihood of Confusion and Cameltoe Camouflaging
By: Zac Papantoniou H/T to Ryan Gile at Las Vegas Trademark Attorney Blog, for bringing this trademark infringement suit involving cameltoe-covering undies to light, and thus making it clearly visible for us here at the Legal Satyricon to find (Note – Due to the nature of this case, and my juvenile sense of humor, I take no responsibility for making really bad puns). Ryan Gile wrote an interesting post yesterday, regarding a trademark infringement lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The plaintiff and defendant in the suit are competing makers of cameltoe covering
Big Firm Blogs Are Boring
No friggin shit. In other news, the sky is blue, water is wet, and Gail Dines has a penis.
Red Hat Club case results in $100,000 award for plaintiff. A dark day for American literature
I wrote about the Red Hat Club case in April of 2008 in The Georgia Court of Appeals commits attempted murder on American literature in “Red Hat Club” case. Without re-writing that post, which tells the story enough, the case was a “libel in fiction” case. An author based a fictional character on a person, that person saw a pay day, and she got it.
You Sinful Front Huggers Can Go to Hell! You Go to Hell and Die!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Oj0-splZw] I’m almost positive this is for real and not parody. The rough riders for Christ part is what kills me. Lawd, I can’t take much more.
The People's Republic of Brooklyn
by Jason Fischer “All your property rights are belong to us!” Thanks to the socialist wing of our highest court, the language of the Fifth Amendment has been perverted to include economic development as a justifiable reason for disregarding private property rights. In the latest episode of “how can the government make sex to me, without even buying me a drink first,” a developer in New York has convinced that state’s highest court that the New Jersey Nets need a new arena more than 146 people need to keep their homes (source). In case you’re not familiar with United States
Palin Confusion
Many people are confused by Sarah Palin. But, it seems that a recent parody of her book has confused a lot of people as to which one is the real Palin product. Of course, when the author of a book is, herself, a joke and a walking talking parody, it can be confusing to try and figure out which one is the parody and which one is actually trying to be real. Quick quiz: Why isn’t this filed under “trademark law?”
Newsflash: People Can't ACTUALLY Be Douchebags!
This just in, you guys: a person can’t actually be a douchebag! Breaking Freaking News! Someone get that Drudge Report Siren up. Done! This is totally news to me, because until the Supreme Court of New York for New York County (phew) held differently, I really thought that when people called me a douche, they meant I was an actual, factual walking vaginal bulb syringe. It was always so confusing. All is made clear by this case. Here, the principal of PR firm Four Corners Communication, Drew Kerr, registered the domain name www.rosstorossian.com, in order to criticize Ross Torossian, some
Killing a fly with a bazooka – Wisconsin prison guards use grenade inside cell and try and cover up the evidence
File this under “holy shit!” Wisconsin prison guards decided to toss a “non lethal” grenade into a prisoner’s cell. This grenade usually is used for outdoor crowd control. Naturally, the use of such a device on a 135 lb inmate seemed like excessive force, and the inmate received a $49,000 settlement. But then the Wisconsin prison officials didn’t want to release a video of the incident. They complained that it would compromise guard safety. The department initially denied the request for the video, claiming that release could jeopardize the prison’s camera surveillance system and allow inmate viewers to plot against
The Weblog Awards
Whatever. I mean, yeah, it would be sweet as hell to win. I’m not holding my breath though. Nevertheless, if you want to go vote for us, click here and vote up the generous nomination that Mr. King provided.
Scott Greenfield – The Conscience of the Bar
Between his criticism of scaring clients and the difference between “anyone can blog” and “everyone can blog”, I think that Scott just might have a higher calling than his practice. I know I might sound like I am being a smartass. I am not (this time). If Scotty were in charge, this would be a better profession — to the benefit of all.
And now a word from our sponsor
Eric Holder in his younger days. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pK5HmuCMBM]
Mickey Mouse sues Donald Duck
Yes, really. The sad thing is, its not the dumbest complaint I’ve ever seen filed in the Southern District of Flori-duh.
Porn is "inescapable"
Monica Hesse, a writer for the Washington Post, seems to have a porn paranoia issue. Her article “Publicly, a whole new lewdness” has a decidedly Comstockian bent to it. But, the subtitle is even more hilarious: “Everywhere you look, porn is suddenly inescapable.” People like Hesse are proof that evolution has failed. If she finds porn to be “inescapable,” I wonder how her ancestors avoided predatory animals. I mean, escaping from a hungry saber-toothed tiger required someone to run, jump, climb, and hide. “Escaping” from porn requires that one merely LOOK SOME FRIGGING WHERE ELSE! I see things that I
This is SPARTA!!!!
Okay, not exactly… but the Citizen Media Law Project has launched its Online Media Law Network. Good coverage of it here by one of my favorite journalists.
Jackassletters.com
This must be one of the strangest, but (to me at least) funniest public hobbies on the internet. Christopher Jorgensen writes letters with just the right dash of snark and silliness and sends them off to various companies and famous people, and then posts their replies. He has suggested a urine absorbent thong line for Victoria’s secret, called hooey on 2,000 flushes (he only got 1,864 flushes), and informed Robitussin that their product makes a great cocktail ingredient. All had really funny replies. Needless to say, most targets of his Jackass Letters don’t get the prank, and wind up seeming
Will Phillips, age 10, First Amendment Bad Ass
Will Phillips – you are the First Amendment Bad Ass of the month. Will’s family has a number of gay friends. In recent years, Laura Phillips said, they’ve been trying to be a straight ally to the gay community, going to the pride parades and standing up for the rights of their gay and lesbian neighbors. They’ve been especially dismayed by the effort to take away the rights of homosexuals – the right to marry, and the right to adopt. Given that, Will immediately saw a problem with the pledge of allegiance. “I’ve always tried to analyze things because I
Anonymous Hooker Blogger Outed
by Jason Fischer If you’re a fan of Showtime‘s adult series “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” (or even if you aren’t), you may be interested to know that the real-life anonymous author of the blog and book that inspired the series went public earlier this week. (Source) Dr. Brooke Magnanti, Ph.D. in informatics, epidemiology and forensic science, in an interview with The Times, talks candidly about how she got into the biz of having sex for money. Dr. Brooke Magnanti(a.k.a. Belle du Jour) I was finishing my writing — I was getting ready to submit my thesis. I saved
Belichick made the right call
Statistically speaking. UPDATE: Freakonomics concurs.