News & Media
Boobies!
Move over, Coca-Cola. Hooters Restaurant (of bodacious tatas and BBQ wings fame) is suing some restaurant group called La Cima for theft of their trade secrets. La Cima wants to open up a bunch of boobie restaurants of their own called Twin Peaks. Source. Apparently, Hooters’ former Vice President of Ops bailed to go be the CEO of La Cima Restaurants and (allegedly) took with him a bunch of sales, recruiting, and other stuff from Hooters. Now La Cima is aggressively expanding into the casual dining industry featuring…boobies! I doubt hiring cute girls and putting them in next to nothing counts as a
Shocking revelation: Piracy hurts individuals!
By J. DeVoy In a stunning revelation sure to be devastating to freetards everywhere, not everyone who creates copyrightable work is Lars Ulrich or some ponytailed douchebag driving a BMW 7-series while demanding that the RIAA sue more people so his fat, dumb and entitled daughter can have a pony. The common plea from the anti-enforcement community can be summarized as: “How can you sue PEOPLE?!” Well, it’s easy – people commit piracy. We don’t let thieves and rapists off the hook because they’re people. And while copying files is not analogous to either of those crimes, it is still
For the Record … Anti-Mormonism is not "bigotry" (neither is any other anti-religious sentiment)
James Fallows over at the Atlantic says, “Just for the Record: Anti-Mormonism Is Bigotry Too.” No. No it is not. Fallows sums his position up: To be against Mitt Romney (or Jon Huntsman or Harry Reid or Orrin Hatch) because of his religion is just plain bigotry. Exactly as it would have been to oppose Barack Obama because of his race or Joe Lieberman because of his faith or Hillary Clinton or Michele Bachmann because of their gender or Mario Rubio or Nikki Haley because of their ethnicity. (source) If a candidate believes in trickle-down economics, and you are against
Federal/State Showdown
From Charles Platt I’m sketchy on this aspect of Constitutional law, but isn’t the Justice Department strongly influenced by presidential policy, formally or informally? I don’t watch TV, so I don’t know how much play this story is getting, but doesn’t it seem utterly outrageous, bearing in mind that the Commander in Chief is an admitted former cocaine user? From a British newspaper: “Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges. They also threatened to confiscate their property even if they are
Marijuana really brings out the asshole statist in everyone, doesn't it?
Federal prosecutors decided that it is time to make examples of the Californians who are supplying marijuana to willing customers. Their rationale: People are making money off of it. Their heartstring argument, we can’t have people selling marijuana in stores near parks and schools. Yes, “what about the children?” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3BzpJoapHc] And a few states over, a Papa Johns pizza delivery driver called the cops on a guy who was smoking pot. (source) Turns out the guy had a medical marijuana card, and when the cops got there they apologized for bugging him and left. Lets hear it for the Aurora
While you're busy fellating Steve Jobs' corpse…
I don’t know if it is just my network of Facebook friends or what, but I’m getting a little sick of the public mourning in the wake of Steve Jobs’ death. (Edit – Clearly it is not just my friends who are fuckwits – see this gem sent by my friend, ADM) Honestly, if you left flowers at an apple store or stood outside one with an image of a candle on your iPad, you should be sterilized. Forcibly. Without anesthesia. You do not deserve to reproduce, and if your genes are actually carried forward, it will mean that mankind
Sexy Sax Man
And now, for something completely different… and awesome. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaoLU6zKaws]
This is COLUMBUS DAY!!!
This is COLUMBUS DAY. I’d like to invite anyone whose name ends with a vowel (Persians excluded) to raise their hands, extend their middle fingers, and flip off the Native Americans, the hippies, and everyone else in the International Association of Crybabies who has a piss and a moan about Christopher Columbus. This is not “indigenous people’s day,” it is not “la dia de la raza” and it isn’t frigging “wear a beret, listen to Joni Mitchell, and wear patchoulli day.” To the “Native Americans” who have a beef with Columbus Day — suck it. First off, it isn’t as
In defense of juggalos
By J. DeVoy It’s easy to laugh at freaks made up like clowns, devoted to the rap group Insane Clown Posse, who call themselves “juggalos.” It’s harder to serve up a cogent defense of the subculture. Nonetheless, In Mala Fide serves up a detailed analysis in this recent post.
Psha! Public Domain Schmublic Domain.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I always feel like the nerd invited to eat lunch with the popular kids with the USSC hears an IP case. Yesterday, the Big Dogs heard a nifty little First Amendment Copyright case that I honestly don’t know how to feel about yet. But pay attention to this one, kids. It’s a doozy. Source 1. Source 2. Golan v. Holder is the name of this little gem and it centers around a conductor who can’t afford to play Peter and the Wolf anymore thanks to Congress yanking it (and myriad other foreign works) back
More on Nevada's anti-SLAPP law
By J. DeVoy Can Nevada’s anti-SLAPP statutes, for their many flaws, thwart a privately brought federal claim? Why yes, they can. Anti-SLAPP laws come in two flavors: procedural and substantive. Substantive anti-SLAPP laws, such as the previously proposed federal anti-SLAPP law, provide qualified immunity for protected statements and create or crystallize the speaker’s rights. In contrast, procedural anti-SLAPP laws provide a mechanism to dispose of abusive litigation – normally with a Motion to Dismiss. The extent of these procedural protections vary from state to state; Massachusetts’ procedural anti-SLAPP law, for instance, cannot be applied in Federal Court. Stuborn Ltd. Partnership v. Bernstein,
Gimme back my copyright, beyotch!
A recent addition to what could be the next tsunami of copyright suits, Jim Peterik of 1982 Survivor fame is contemplating getting the rights back for the gloriously awesome song “Eye of the Tiger”. Source. Termination rights are covered in Title 17. Long story short, if you licensed or assigned your copyright to someone after Jan. 1, 1978, you (or your heirs) can terminate that license or assignment after 35 years (provided you gave proper notice). Do not pass go, do not collect $200. The basis for termination has been around for awhile, but no one really cared about it
Welcome a New Satyriconista
We got together in the lab and decided to cook up a new Satyriconista. A few grave-robbed parts here, a brain from a mental patient, stole a little swagger from Chuck Norris, applied a little radiation and 1.21 Gigawatts of power, and BAM! Please welcome Beth Hutchens. Beth Hutchens is a Phoenix-based Intellectual Property attorney with a penchant for good Scrabble® words. She is licensed to practice in Arizona and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and would have touted her g33k status, but Fisher had seniority. She eats, sleeps, and breathes all things IP with a special
The Company We Keep
Bahrain is one of our “allies.” (source) How they dealt with pro-democracy protesters was no better than how China dealt with theirs in Tiananmen Square. Now, they are prosecuting doctors for treating injured protesters – including sentencing one woman to 15 years. (source) Bahrain, ruled by the Sunni Muslim Al-Khalifa family, is pretty damn insecure, as it well should be. Despite its oil wealth, it has a hell of a deep divide between the haves and the have-nots. Naturally, it whores itself out to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which seems to be a good move for the filthy Al-Khalifa trash,
Invasion of the Body Searchers
The New Zealand Herald discusses the TSA’s aggressive search of Amy Alkon at Los Angeles International Airport (“LAX”). Alkon publicly described her searcher’s extreme examination of her body, including pushing her hand into Alkon’s genitals, as “rape.” The TSA agent sent Alkon a threatening letter through counsel, warning of a defamation suit and offering to settle the dispute for $500,000. Alkon retained Marc Randazza to respond to the threat. In his response letter, Randazza wrote: “Your client aggressively pushed her fingers into my client’s vulva,” […] “I am certain that she did not expect to find a bomb there. She did
Too Sexy for Crisp Skin?
By Tatiana von Tauber People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) thinks this chicken is just too sexy for anyone to see, “downright offensive” in fact. “When I saw it I just couldn’t believe that an editor of The New York Times would find it acceptable,” PETA’s founder and president Ingrid Newkirk told The Atlantic Wire. “It’s downright offensive, not just to people who care about animals but almost to everyone. It’s a plucked, beheaded, young chicken in a young pose,” she said. (source) Newkirk went on to call it “necrophilia.” I think PETA needs a sense of humor. This
Toilet Law School Files Feces Defamation Suit
By Marc J. Randazza I’m not much of a prestige whore, but I’m not blind to the reality that Thomas M. Cooley Law School is a standalone punchline within the legal profession. I’m familiar with its absurdly large class sizes, its questionable practice of culling the bottom few percent of its students each year to ensure high enough bar passage rates to maintain its tenuous grasp on ABA accreditation, and its bizarre self-ranking system that places an inordinate emphasis on library seating capacity. After all, “[t]o study, a student needs a place to sit”! (source at xiv.) Also, if the
5th Circuit Rules in Favor of Student Speech Rights
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that students who handed out christian-centric materials to other students had a First Amendment right to do so. School principals who prohibited this student-to-student speech violated the students’ First Amendment rights, the Court held. “We hold that the First Amendment protects all students from viewpoint discrimination against private, non-disruptive, student-to-student speech,” Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote in a part of her opinion, joined by nine of the 16 participating judges. “Therefore, the principals’ alleged conduct—discriminating against student speech solely on the basis of religious viewpoint—is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.” (source) I guess
Texas Abortion Runs Afoul of the First Amendment
A Texas law designed to deter abortion will remain enjoined. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, of Austin, blocked enforcement of significant portions of the sonogram law on Aug. 30, until the case is resolved. Sparks found the law violates the First Amendment, ruling that requiring doctors to show a woman seeking an abortion the sonogram images, describe those images to her or play the sound of the fetal heart, even against her wishes, is unconstitutional. (source)
Sarah Palin Threatens a SLAPP Suit. Stupid? You Betcha!
By Marc Randazza Sarah Palin always seems to be talking about families. Despite bashing that door open, she takes such umbrage when anyone mentions her own. So, When writer Joe McGinniss starts digging for facts and sources to complete his book “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin,” what does Sarah do? She lawyers up and threatens to sue… you betcha! If this strikes you as unseemly – a former governor and vice presidential candidate who clings to whatever relevance she has left by making noise about seeking the presidency and touting her unfortunately named family, threatening to sue