The Usually Silent Teller is Suing to Protect his Craft

Posted by on Apr 23, 2012 in Art, Copyright, Employment, Film, Intellectual Property, News, Television | 0 comments Teller, half of Penn & Teller is suing a magician for copyright infringement. According to numerous reports, Teller is suing a Dutch Magician named Gerard Dogge. The suit alleges that Dogge is infringing on Teller’s copyrighted trick known as “Shadows”. The trick uses a rose projected onto a screen with a spotlight. The magician cuts the shadow which in turn cuts that actual...
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Trial Date Set in Actress Huang Hoang’s Lawsuit Against IMDB and Amazon

Posted by on Mar 6, 2012 in Art, Employment, Entertainment, Film, News, Television | 0 comments The Texas-based actress suing IMDB and its parent company Amazon for publishing her true age on their website is now moving forward and the federal judge presiding over the case has set a trial date for January 07, 2013. Hoang’s lawsuit asserts causes of action for breach of contract, fraud, and violation of Washington’s Privacy and Consumer Protection Act. Now that the Ms. Hoang has...
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IMDb Refuses to Delete or Change Actors’ Ages, Despite Talks with SAG and AFTRA

Posted by on Nov 7, 2011 in Art, Employment, Entertainment, Film, Music, News, Sports, Television | 0 comments Earlier last month, an anonymous actress filed a million dollar lawsuit against the IMDb (“Internet Movie Database”) website claiming that the database violated her constitutional right to privacy by accessing and providing personal information, specifically her age. It may come as no surprise that the entertainment industry is taking the recent lawsuit very seriously and has been in talks...
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Who Owns the Copyright to Your Artistic Work? You or Your Employer?

Posted by on Jul 13, 2011 in Art, Copyright, Employment, Entertainment, Film, Intellectual Property, Music, News, Television | 0 comments It may come as a shock to some people that an individual could create fabulous artistic work and have absolutely no rights to the work. How is this possible you ask? Well, federal copyright law states that if you have created artistic work under a “work for hire” arrangement, you are not the owner. The person who commissioned you to create that work, actually owns the work. Unlike a person...
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Discriminating Against an Employee based on that Employee’s Physical Disability

Posted by on Jul 12, 2011 in Employment, News | 1 comment An employee is deemed to have a physical disability when the employee has a physiological condition that “limits a major life activity” or makes engaging in a major life activity difficult. Courts consider an employee to have a physical disability even if the employee’s use of medications, assistive devices, prosthetics or reasonable accommodations makes it easier for the employee to...
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The Basics of Age Discrimination

Posted by on Jul 12, 2011 in Employment, News | 0 comments California Government Code Section 12940(a) states that “it is unlawful for an employer to discharge an employee solely because of his or her age.” In addition, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 explicitly prohibits discrimination against any employees or job applicants over the age of 40 years. As such, being over forty years old is one of the protected...
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