Before Mathew Rosengart helped Britney Spears out of a conservatorship, he was a prosecutor in the DOJ’s campaign finance unit. Now we talk about Donald Trump’s criminal trial and what prosecutors and the defense team are probably thinking…
WOWZA. Check out this cease and desist sent by Pharrell Williams to Donald Trump for using “Happy” on “the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings,” as the letter puts it.
NEW: Disney, for the first time, now seeks damages for the way that Ron DeSantis appointees repudiated a Disney World development contract. The move comes after DeSantis suggested he wished to move on.
BREAK: Eminem’s publisher has filed a lawsuit with massive stakes. Spotify allegedly lacks license to stream “Lose Yourself” and more of rapper’s hits. The lawsuit also challenges the constitutionality of the Music Modernization Act.
Our new acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker thinks Marbury v. Madison — which established the principle of judicial review — is one of the worst decisions in the Supreme Court's history. SERIOUSLY.
WOW! This just in: A judge grants BuzzFeed's motion to compel testimony from James Comey and others at the Justice Dept. and FBI over the Trump Dossier.
Yup, I’m right. GMR didn’t license performance rights to the venue or campaign. I don’t think it will end up in litigation, but if it did, Pharrell would have pretty decent shot of prevailing on a copyright claim. Question would be Trump’s liability. That would be the challenge.
Here's a copy of the full explosive lawsuit: Alleged sexual misconduct. Allegedly corrupt process for Grammy nominations. Alleged financial irregularities. All there. And here's our story, which will be updated:
🚨EXCLUSIVE 🚨: Rupert Murdoch's Fox rocked by one of the biggest financial penalties in TV history after an arbitrator concludes top execs gave false testimony to cover up a "reprehensible" fraud. And there's MUCH more...
There are people asking about the possibility of a blanket license from a Performance Rights. I’d like to point out that Pharrell administers his compositions not through ASCAP or BMI but through Azoff’s alternative outfit. Better than usual possibly this use wasn’t licensed.
EXCLUSIVE: Bots and other inauthentic users helped fuel the fan-led campaign for Zack Snyder’s Justice League “Snyder Cut” release, according to a WarnerMedia report.
Wow, the former president of the Recording Academy is alleging in a suit that she was sexually harassed by Joel Katz, who is probably the most powerful lawyer in the music business...
Breaking: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just filed an invasion of privacy suit a moment ago. They say that the paparazzi have gone to extreme lengths to capture photos of their child including the use of drones.
A Super Bowl special from me, for
@PuckNews
, as I can reveal the NFL clashed with Dr. Dre over a lyric from a signature hit how he’s “still not loving police.” The league also nixed a plan by Eminem to kneel, Colin Kaepernick-style.
Disney is the midst of filing 5 blockbuster lawsuits that will decide ownership of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. A new copyright termination battle between "Superman" vets Dan Petrocelli and Marc Toberoff.
"[T]hey were both abusive to each other...but to rise to the level of what she was claiming, there wasn’t enough or any evidence that really supported what she was saying"
So much for the evidentiary burden of a libel plaintiff.
According to the suit, Spotify has been unable to figure out who owns one of the iconic songs of the 21st century. The publisher says this is “absurd.”
BREAKING: Donald Trump can't stop discovery in a defamation suit brought by former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos. An appeals court today rejected a stay. He has until May 29 to respond to a subpoena and appears to be facing a deposition.
DC Circuit affirms ruling where Karem regains his White House pass. The appellate judges rule that he didn't get fair notice from the White House with regards to rules of professional conduct. Therefore he's likely to succeed on claim of due process violation.
You cannot beat us down on police lines.
You can't intimidate us by pulling our press passes.
You cannot deny us due process.
We were here before you. We will be here after you.
@realDonaldTrump
@BoutrousTed
@RSF_en
In the year prior to the
@RonanFarrow
expose about Leslie Moonves, he and other CBS executives sold more than $200 million in company stock. Shareholders are now in court pointing to these "suspicious" insider sales as evidence of a fraud.
Donald Trump BEATS Stormy Daniels defamation lawsuit AND awards him attorneys fees. Big loss for Michael Avenatti (and those contributing to her legal defense fund).
This isn’t end of Fox’s legal troubles by any stretch. Besides Smartmatic case, there’s going to be shareholder lawsuits. And Fox also just rolled out the red carpet for future libel plaintiffs. That’s another reason why an apology was never in cards. Battle’s over. War’s not.
BREAKING: Disney settling Scarlett Johansson's explosive lawsuit over the ‘Black Widow’ release,
@THR
has learned. Very huge. Disney bowing to reality it can't lose top stars as it charts its streaming future.
In a new lawsuit, Graham Chase Robinson — the ex-vp of Robert De Niro's production company — says he's an unapologetic sexist who initiated unwanted physical contact and "took a page out of the Bill O’Reilly playbook."
As for the constitutional issue, it’s a big one that may influence the future of intellectual property. According to the complaint, a retroactive elimination of damages for infringement amounts to a violation of the “Takings Clause.”
BREAKING: Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos tells court she has documents — calendar entries, old emails, correspondence with Fox News, etc. — corroborating her story of being sexually assaulted by Donald Trump
Angelina Jolie learned from a FOIA request that the FBI had drafted a statement of probable cause against Brad Pitt. After a meeting with the AUSA, it was agreed there would be no arrest. Jolie is now seeking more info from the DOJ
In the failed defamation lawsuit brought by Stormy Daniels, the judge has awarded Donald Trump $292,052 in attorneys' fees and costs. That's a 25 percent reduction on the $389,403 claimed.
I was asked by
@MattBelloni
to lay out what Amber Heard would probably argue on appeal. I gave seven grounds. Here’s the first four. (Sign up for
@PuckNews
to see rest.)
Setting aside the sheer absurdity of this letter, wouldn't the use of the seal in this letterhead constitute trademark infringement since it is so strikingly similar to the presidential seal and thus may cause confusion in commerce?
@eriqgardner
Bill Cosby has reached what seems to be an unusual settlement. He's resolved defamation claims by 7 women. But he's also still pursuing them in court for interfering with his deals with NBC and Netflix.
BREAKING: The new sports streamer from Disney, Fox, Warner Bros — what
@Ourand_Puck
calls Spulu — faces an antitrust lawsuit from FuboTV. A complaint was just filed under seal, and I imagine a redacted version will become public soon.
I believe I was the only reporter at the
@deray
v.
@JudgeJeanine
hearing. A look at a case exploring how we talk about jurisprudence in this country, how Fox News viewers interpret what they hear from its commentators, and yes, about double standards.
Breaking: Google beats the lawsuit brought by Dennis Prager over whether YouTube violates 1st Am. by allegedly censoring conservatives. Judge looks at argument that YouTube has become the functional equivalent of a state-run "public forum" — and rejects it
Harvard Law School prof Bruce Hay today sued the publisher of New York Magazine for breach of contract and sexual harassment (on top of libel) over paternity entrapment story. The theory is that his cooperation amounted to an agreement for high journalism standards.
Looks like Kavanaugh has posted his own article about the lawsuit. And ends by claiming to be the 26th highest grossing movie producer of all time. Who keeps score?
Here's a calendar date for
@TomArnold
and pretty much everyone. By August 21, we should find out whether MGM and Mark Burnett are fighting a subpoena for never-seen "Apprentice" footage featuring Donald Trump.
NEW: A federal judge has ruled that Fox News' decision to retract its Seth Rich story isn't privileged. Now, the cable outlet tells a federal judge that he's making a consequential mistake by refusing to stop a reporter's deposition.
The U.S. Copyright Office calls the "Carlton Dance," popularized by Alfonso Ribeiro in "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," a "simple routine," not eligible for registration. An examiner also does a bit of research on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."
A UK judge orders Johnny Depp to turn over audio recordings between him and Amber Heard — previewing an explosive defamation trial that is set to begin in the UK two weeks from now...
OK, here it is. In a case that 9 news publishers and others warned would cause a tremendous chilling effect on the core functionality of the web, a judge today rules photo copyrights can be infringed by embedding tweets. THIS IS BIG:
This is a defamation case that many lawyers are going to find interesting precisely because of the issue identified here (statements connected to a "sham" complaint). That said, on most of the defamation claims, judge says there are factual questions that must go to trial.
I'm watching Johnny Depp testify, of course. Not sure what his casting in "21 Jump Street" or what he first thought of the script to "Pirates of the Caribbean" has to do with his libel claims, but if the judge wants to allow a podcast-like interview, ok.