Chris French here from Modern Midwest Entertainment! First of all, welcome to 2012! Secondly, I hope the year heats up well for you. As for me, the year is already heating up. I'm on the downward slope with my classes at Full Sail University, so, I'm getting more excited by the day! Now that you have the little update with me, let's get down to business, shall we? We shall!
A lot of people in the general public don't think about this, but in the Entertainment Industry, a LOT of what goes on behind the scenes goes hand in hand with the law. Legal issues have abounded in the the Entertainment Industry even before there WAS a modern entertainment industry. Remember John Wilkes Booth? Now you're probably asking what the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, has to do with anything. Well, let me refresh your memory. Booth was, in the 1860s, comparable to, say, Johnny Depp in today's society. Booth was one of the preeminent actors of his day! He was a celebrity. Booth's father, Junius, and brother, Edwin, were also celebrities as actors. John Wilkes Booth is a major example of 19th century entertainment industry legal trouble: An entertainment figure doing something INCREDIBLY wrong and getting in legal trouble for it.
Now let's turn our focus from the 19th century to the 21st century. The entertainment industry is flourishing, and so are the legal issues within it. Let's take a look at a few of the issues that were prevalent in 2011, and my take on them.
According to an article I read on Law360.com entitled Top 10 Trademark Events in 2011, Betty Boop became a focal point of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals treading into dangerous trademark waters by dismissing a trademark infringement case against A.V.E.L.A, INC., stating that it's use of Betty Boop's image on it's handbags and T-shirts constitutes "aesthetic functionality. . .Betty Boop. . .did not serve as a trademark because it was the very thing that made the handbags and t-shirts desirable" (Golla and Johnston, 2012).
The Motion Picture Association of America, INTA and companies that license sports and collegiate logos all filed amicus briefs in a motion for rehearing. The 9th Circuit Court issued another opinion that made no mention of the Betty Boop aesthetic functionality (Golla and Johnston, 2012).
As I was reading this, I was rather amazed that the court would take a legally trademarked character like Betty Boop (who is recognized by GENERATIONS of people), and basically dis the original trademark holder like that. I know the court later issued the opinion without the mention of aesthetic functionality, BUT, it worries me that any court would be able to find AGAINST a holder of a legal trademark through the USPTO. I'm going to keep an eye on this one, because this could affect me, Modern Midwest Entertainment, and everyone that is working on a trademark now, and in the future.
Another issue I found whilst trolling the World Wide Web was the case of John Ferriter. Ferriter was a talent agent and partner at William Morris Endeavor talent agency. He was the only partner to vote against the 2009 merger between William Morris and Endeavor. He sued WME for 25 million dollars on the basis of his feeling that he was "marginalized at the agency and eventually forced out". William Morris Endeavor settled this case out of court at the end of 2011. (Belloni, 2012).
I looked up more about John Ferriter. According to his biography at www.octagon.com, Ferriter has "expanded the careers of" the likes of Dr. Drew Pinsky, Ryan Seacrest, Larry King and Donnie and Marie Osmond. (Octagon.com, 2012)
I have heard of this kind of thing before. A senior executive of a company goes against what the company wants and eventually gets forced out of the company. This is nothing new in the world of big business. I guess this holds true for the entertainment industry as well. I find it to be sad that a dissenting voice in most of these cases has to be silenced. Isn't the voice of dissent supposed to be the voice of compromise and change? I understand that the economic times are difficult and a lot of companies feel that the "voices of dissent" are expendable, but it's often times the voices of dissent that come up with the newest and brightest ideas. Personally, I think that more companies need to listen to their "voices of dissent" instead of forcing them out. That's just my opinion.
Finally, the last issue I'm going to look at for now deals with the realm of dead celebrities. Not many celebrities can boast the following, even in death, the like of Jimi Hendrix, but his family is still working through litigation to be able to claim right to his image and IP, according to an article I read at ipandentertainmentlaw.com.
According to the article:
After losing a battle in 2005 to have Jimi Hendrix’s right of publicity protected by New York state law, where Hendrix lived at his death, Hendrix’s heirs worked to amend the Washington state right of publicity law. Hendrix’s heirs sued under the newly amended law. In 2011 a trial judge held Washington’s Personality Rights Act, that allowed anyone to sue in Washington to enforce their rights regardless of where the lived when they died, was unconstitutional. The trial court's decision has been appealed to the Ninth Circuit. (ipandentertainmentlaw.com, 2011.)
In this same article, it was mentioned that the family of John Dillinger (yes, the famous gangster from the 1920s), was unable to claim his name and likeness, because Indiana, where he was from, had no law protecting IP at the time of Dillinger's death in Chicago. (ipandentertainmentlaw.com, 2011).
I am unsure of how many states have personal publicity laws out of the 50 states, but I think it would be better if there were a federal law in place that would cover the entire country. It would be standardized that way and really cut down on the confusion between individual states. I am not sure if a person has the right to will their own IP while they're still living, but I also think that an image conscious celeb might give that some thought. . .as a matter of fact, I'm going to look into that. I think that might be a good idea for anyone that I work with through MMWE. . .Sounds like an idea to me.
Well gang, I've rambled on enough about the laws and things that have interested me for one night. I hope that you enjoy the read, and I really hope that you have learned something in my ramblings. For further information, I have included references below.
Until next time,
SEE YA!
References
Belloni, M. (2012). WME Settles Litigation with Former Agent John Ferriter.
Retrieved from: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/wme-lawsuit-agent-john-ferriter-279133
ipandentertainmentlaw.com. (2011). Right of Publicity - 2011 in Review.
Retrieved from: http://ipandentertainmentlaw.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/right-of-publicity-2011-in-review/
Golla, G. & Johnston, S.W. (2012). Top 10 Trademark Events of 2011.
Retrieved from: http://www.law360.com/media/articles/296831/top-10-trademark-events-of-2011
Octagon.com. (n.d.). John Ferriter Biography.
Retrieved from: http://www.octagon.com/AboutUs/110
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