Estate Planning: A Few Simple Things

Posted by on Apr 13, 2012 in Estate Planning, News | 0 comments When beginning the process of planning your estate, there are a few simple things to keep in mind. These are often overlooked or not understood. First, the recipients of your will or living trust typically do not pay tax on the gifts. There are some situations where this does happen such as income from a tax deferred account (Income in Respect of a Decedent or IRD). Because there is no income tax...
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Hulu Users Filed Class Action Lawsuit Against Hulu Claiming The Online Video Hub Used “Zombie Cookies” to Track Users’ Online Activities

Posted by on Apr 13, 2012 in Art, Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Entertainment, Film, News, Television | 0 comments The bad just got worse for the popular website Hulu. Hulu has been defending against a class action lawsuit filed by Hulu users who claim the popular website has been tracking its users’ online activity with cookies and other identifiers that are placed on users’ computers. These cookies are sometimes called “zombie cookies” because they reappear even when Hulu users clear the...
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How Much Are Paparazzi Photos of Celebrities Really Worth? $600,000? $1,500,000?

Posted by on Apr 12, 2012 in Art, Business Litigation, Copyright, Entertainment, Film, Intellectual Property, Music, News, Sports, Television | 0 comments Paparazzi photo or not, a photographer has an automatic right of ownership in the photos he takes the minute he takes them. This right is called a copyright. A company called Mavrix essentially takes photos of celebrities and, thus, owns a copyright in many of these photos. Mavrix Photo is an agency that calls itself the “premier source for celebrity images and photo-journalism.” This...
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Producer Seeks $1Million in Damages For Intentional Name Misspelling in Movie Credits

Posted by on Apr 11, 2012 in Art, Business Litigation, Business Transactions, Entertainment, Film, News | 0 comments How much is a name worth? Well, if you are film producer Bob Van Ronkel, it is worth $1 Million (or at least according to the complaint he recently filed in Los Angeles Superior Court). Mr. Von Ronkel’s lawsuit lists causes of action for breach of written contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud in the inducement, negligent misrepresentation, injunctive...
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Actress’s Lawsuit Against IMDb.com and Amazon.com is One Step Closer to Trial

Posted by on Apr 10, 2012 in Business Transactions, Entertainment, Film, News, Television | 0 comments On March 30, 2012, the Washington Federal Court Ninth Circuit made several findings in the case of Huang Hoang, who has been making headlines in the entertainment industry for her lawsuit last October claiming website IMDb.com and its parent company Amazon.com are liable to her for damages because they had revealed her true age of 40 years old. Ms. Hoang, who is better known in the entertainment...
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Be Wary of Tax Debt Reduction Promises

Posted by on Apr 8, 2012 in Estate Planning, News | 0 comments If you listen to the radio or watch television, there is no doubt you have heard advertisements for companies offering to settle your tax debt.  They typically will have a testimonial from a client (or customer) stating the “ABC company reduced my tax debt 90%” or something to that effect.  While this is possible in certain circumstances, it is not the norm nor is it guaranteed.  The...
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