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The legal battle over whether production company Sweetpea Entertainment or toy giant Hasbro owns sequel rights to Dungeons & Dragons came has come to an end — at least for now. But the seven-day trial that wrapped late Tuesday in federal court in downtown LA did not end quietly. “Hasbro cannot have it both ways,” attorney Patricia Glaser said in her closing statement, calling out the company for disputing a 2010 D&D movie sequel but not a 2005 one and dragging her client, Sweetpea and its owner Courtney Solomon, into court. Noting the “tentpole opportunity” the production company has with Warner Bros , Glaser added, “only Sweetpea, not Hasbro, has the right to make a movie with Dungeons & Dragons as its primary title.” Of course Hasbro sees it differently, which is why they rolled the dice with its initial complaint last May . “Hasbro has a right to begin to make movies of its own based on the property,” said lawyer Jeremy Goldman in his closing before … [Read more...] about ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Trial Ends; Will Warner Bros Or Universal Cast Magic Sequel Spell?

Jay Z and Timbaland have won a lawsuit alleging that they infringed on the rights to a sample used in the former’s 2000 hit “Big Pimpin’.” A judge ruled Wednesday that the nephew of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi, whose “Khosara, Khosara” birthed the hip-hop tune’s funky flute hook, did not have standing to pursue his claim against the rapper and producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter . The composer’s relative, Osama Fahmy, claimed the musicians had continued to distribute the song without regard for Egypt’s moral rights laws. “Fahmy lacked standing to pursue his claim,” Judge Christina Snyder ruled. “In light of that decision, it will not be necessary to submit to the jury whether ‘Big Pimpin” infringed ‘Khosara, Khosara.’ I had to hear the testimony of Egyptian law experts in order to reach that decision.” The composer’s nephew filed the lawsuit in 2007. Although Timbaland , who used the hook believing it to be public domain, paid $100,000 to EMI when he … [Read more...] about Jay Z, Timbaland Win ‘Big Pimpin” Sample Trial

The jury finished hearing closing arguments Tuesday morning in the trial of three white men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery , an unarmed Black man, on a residential street in Brunswick, Georgia . The February 2020 killing occurred while Arbery was running through the neighborhood of Satilla Shores; a father and son believed he looked like someone responsible for nearby break-ins, armed themselves, and pursued him in a pickup truck, with a neighbor joining the pursuit in a second pickup truck. Arbery was shot multiple times at close range. The case went without arrests for more than two months and would later spark protests for racial justice, as many described the shooting as a prominent instance of racial violence. Video of the fatal encounter appeared to show Arbery running between two pickup trucks and looping around the front truck before tussling with a man with a shotgun and then falling, bleeding, to the ground. The verdict in the already highly-profile case … [Read more...] about Prosecution Begs Jurors to ‘Use Common Sense’ in Closing Arguments for Three Men Charged With Murdering Ahmaud Arbery

Axios , the digital media startup covering politics, technology and media, has agreed to be purchased by Cox Enterprises , the communications, automotive and media company. The value of the deal for Axios Media was $525 million, according to a source familiar with the transaction and other reports. Cox Enterprises bought a stake in Axios last year. Alex Taylor, Cox Enterprises chairman and CEO, said that “bringing a forward-thinking organization like Axios into Cox Enterprises is exciting for us on many levels, and we look forward to helping them continue to scale and grow.” Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei , Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz will continue to have stakes in the company, and will still lead  editorial and day-to-day business decisions. Taylor will take one of four board seats controlled by Cox, with the three Axios founders remaining, Axios reported. VandeHei said that they “have found our kindred spirit for creating a great, trusted, consequential … [Read more...] about Axios To Sell To Cox Enterprises In Deal Valued At $525 Million

Less than a month after being ripped open by a massive hacking, Sony Pictures has now been slapped by former employees with the first of what could be many class action suits. “An epic nightmare, much better suited to a cinematic thriller than to real life, is unfolding in slow motion for Sony’s current and former employees,” says the December 15 complaint by Michael Corona and Christina Mathis. The 45-page filing ( read it here ) in federal court in California seeks class action certification for all past and present Sony U.S. employees with California and Virginia subclasses, jury trial and unspecified “appropriate relief, including any actual and statutory damages, restitution and disgorgement.” With personal information, leaked films, executive emails and other corporate entrails coming out in waves since the initial hack on November 24, a lawsuit like this hasn’t been entirely unexpected as questions of the studio’s liability are in play. The plaintiffs isolated Sony’s … [Read more...] about Sony Attack: Studio Hit With First Class Action By Ex-Employees

The legal woes continue to mount in the wake of the cyber attack on Sony Pictures . A former software engineer at the studio has filed the latest class-action lawsuit over the hack, claiming that his personal information “may have been compromised as a result of the security breach.” Anastasio Garcia Rodriguez, who worked at Sony Pictures from February 2011 to May 2013, claims the info obtained by the hackers “includes at a minimum his Social Security number, immigration information and visa, and passport information.” The suit joins a number of others — read about three of them here , here and here — brought in the wake of the devastating late-November attack, which has crippled Sony Pictures and created an international incident between the U.S. and North Korea, which the FBI says was behind the hack. Garcia Rodriguez’s January 2 filing in U.S. District Court for Central California (read it here ) claims Sony Pictures “owed a legal duty to Plaintiff and Class … [Read more...] about Sony Attack Yields Another Employee Lawsuit

EXCLUSIVE : It looks like everyone is shaken but not too stirred after all. Today, MGM and James Bond producer Danjaq filed for a dismissal of their copyright infringement lawsuit against Universal over the latter’s Section 6 project ( read the filing here ). The legal action against screenwriter Aaron Berg over the World War 1 spy project is also “dismissed without prejudice,” said the paperwork submitted in federal court Wednesday. With the discovery process just ended, the case was set to go to trial on February 16, 2016. “The Parties have resolved the matter to their satisfaction,”Aaron Moss of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP told me today. Moss, Bert Fields, and Daniel Stone of the heavyweight firm represented Universal and Berg in the action. At least for now, this brings an end to a potential legal saga that started back in April last year . In the original complaint, MGM and Danjag accused Universal of putting together a “ James Bond … [Read more...] about MGM & James Bond Producer End Copyright Lawsuit Against Universal

The Comcast-owned heavyweight may have lost round one of the studio Bond battle with MGM and 007 producer Danjaq , but they were firing from the legal trenches today. “Plaintiffs’ lawsuit is the desperate attempt of a rival studio to misuse its copyrights in order to kill a competitor’s project before it even gets off the ground,” said the answer Tuesday by Universal to the copyright infringement lawsuit from the duo that was first filed by MGM and Danjaq back on April 3 . Universal’s attempt to have the matter dismissed in late May was rejected by federal Judge James Otero in late September. “The similarities are sufficient to give rise to a claim for copyright infringement,” said Judge Otero in his recently released but heavily redacted decision. Today’s filing is another attempt to kick that can – from another angle so to speak. In their filing this spring, MGM and Danjaq claimed that Universal’s Section 6 project was a “ James Bond knockoff.” They … [Read more...] about Universal Hits Back At “Desperate” James Bond Lawsuit From MGM & 007 Producers

The same day the case over who owns sequel rights to Dungeons & Dragons wrapped, the case over the alleged “ James Bond knockoff” received the go-ahead to continue. In a sealed order, a federal judge is denying the motion by Universal to toss the multi-claim copyright infringement Section 6 lawsuit from MGM and Bond producer Danjaq . The order, from Judge James Otero, was dated September 23 but filed on Wednesday. A July 28 hearing on the matter was vacated later that month by the court, and Otero made his decision based on the materials of the case so far. In their late May motion to dismiss the action, the Comcast-owned studio said MGM and Danjaq’s case was based on “threadbare allegations about hypothetical future infringement in works yet to be produced.” Otero obviously disagreed. We’ll know why when his order is unsealed. MGM and Danjaq’s initial April 3 complaint cited what they say are the remarkable similarities between their man with a … [Read more...] about Universal Loses Bid To Toss James Bond Copyright Suit From MGM & 007 Producer

2ND UPDATE: I just got off the phone with top Hollywood litigator Bert Fields who tells me, “I intend to testify. I have nothing to hide. I have not been subpoenaed but if I am, I will show up and testify.” Asked why the feds said in pre-trial proceedings at the Pellicano trial today that Fields planned to take the Fifth Amendment rather than testify about his relationship with Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano, Bert told me, “It’s complicated” and declined to reveal more than that. What a stunner of a day. First, the feds announced in federal court this morning that Fields, long considered Hollywood’s leading litigator who frequently hired The Pelican on cases, would be taking the Fifth Amendment when he’s called to testify in the Pellicano trial. The news immediately threw the pre-trial proceedings into a tizzy as prosecutors and defense attorneys tried to figure out its ramifications. So U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer scheduled a conference on the … [Read more...] about EXCLUSIVE! BERT FIELDS WILL TESTIFY (…And Won’t Take The Fifth)