Rapper 2 Chainz was sued in North Carolina court by Christine Chisholm, a woman who claimed she was referred to as a “THOT” (“that ho’ over there”) in a video, posted on YouTube, in which she appeared backstage after a 2 Chainz concert. (See “2 Chainz Sued for Five Million Over ‘THOT’ Video.”) In the video, 2 Chainz asks his rap colleague “Cap 1” “Is this your THOT?” while Ms. Chisholm is waiting in another room, apparently having been invited backstage. She is then invited to approach 2 Chainz, speaks with him for about a minute, at one moment directly speaks into the video camera, and is then asked to leave. read more
Bradley Cooper Snipes at French Tabloid Over Right to Private Life: Scope of Legal Rights to Privacy
Bradley Cooper, star of the hit film “American Sniper,” has filed suit in France against the French tabloid “Oops!” concerning a story about his relationship with supermodel Irina Shayk. The lawsuit alleges that the story, which says that Cooper’s relationship with Shayk is now out in the open, violates his right under French law to a “private life.” Oops! retorted that the story was based upon photos that ran in a Spanish magazine and were available in the U.S. (See “Bradley Cooper — Sacre Bleu, I Must Sue Zee French Magazine … Over Irina Shayk.”)
The French Civil Code provides that “everyone has the right to respect for his or her private life.” read more
Law, Politics and Business Trials – the Myth of the McDonald’s Coffee Spill Case
I attend a numbering of professional networking and bar events. At one recent event a speaker representing foreign clients discussed his clients’ desire to negotiate arbitration clauses to avoid the U.S. court system, which they view as exemplified by the “McDonald’s coffee spill” case.
I encourage clients to negotiate arbitration clauses where they wish to assure a private and more nimble resolution to business disputes. (See “Jay Spillane Delivers Update on Business Arbitration to ProVisors’ Valley LLP Group.”) But, the idea that a case over spilt coffee teaches negative lessons about the U.S. court system has me diving head first into the fraught intersection of law and politics. read more
Lessons from Little League: Keep Your Feet in the Batter’s Box and Swing
Last season my youngest son, at age six, played Farm Division in Little League. In Farm Division the coach lobs a few soft pitches to the batter. If the batter does not hit safely, the ball is put on a tee and the batter swings until hitting a fair ball. Every batter reaches base safely, even in the (unlikely) event that the first baseman catches the fielder’s throw and steps on first base before the batter.
Apparently Little League felt that boys who were reaching the World Series in their final year were getting too large and mature. So they changed the age cutoff for determining division placement. read more
That’s My Name and You Can’t Use It: Trademarks Battles Over Personal Name Marks
There was snickering recently in the blogosphere about efforts by Kylie and Kendall Jenner to register their names as trademarks in relation to various goods and services, including “entertainment in the nature of providing information by means of a global computer network in the fields of entertainment, fashion and pop culture,” trademark-speak for a gossip website. Apparently these sister/models were guests on the Kardashian reality show and have garnered their own spinoff series. The dig was that spoiled teenagers want their names to belong to them and them alone. https://www.tmz.com/2015/05/04/kylie-and-kendall/.
There may be excellent philosophical reasons to bemoan the unearned fame of people who garner attention and riches for no reason other than that they are young, attractive and were birthed by famous and wealthy parents. read more