Esq. | Breaking Legal News | Entertainment Law News | The Hollywood Reportertag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-14639342010-10-04T08:59:42-07:00Blog focusing on breaking legal news in entertainment and media. THR Esq. offers analysis on how industries in Hollywood are impacted and influenced by the law. Published by The Hollywood Reporter.TypePadNBCU, BBC win 'stolen' TV idea casetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e20133f4d5ee78970b2010-10-04T08:59:42-07:002010-10-04T08:59:57-07:00By Eriq Gardner A federal judge in New York has let NBC Universal, the BBC and the Travel Channel off the hook on allegations the studios were engaged in criminal racketeering by running a website that allowed people to submit...hollywoodreporterJudge sides with Spielberg/DreamWorks; 'Disturbia' not too similar to 'Rear Window'tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e2013487943342970c2010-09-22T09:47:40-07:002010-09-22T11:07:04-07:00By Eriq Gardner A message to all those who are thinking about suing a Hollywood studio for ripping off an idea: Unless the studio agreed to hear your pitch, or unless you've got concrete evidence that your copyrighted material was...hollywoodreporterWhy more talent agents might soon be defecting to rival agenciestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e20133f32bcae4970b2010-08-23T06:10:00-07:002010-08-22T23:46:44-07:00By Eriq Gardner We might be on the verge of an important court decision that could make it easier for agents and other Hollywood representatives to jump from one employer to another. In April, Matthew Baldwin, a sports agent who...hollywoodreporterHulu wins patent infringement casetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e201348655dc1b970c2010-08-20T11:36:20-07:002010-08-20T11:24:56-07:00By Eriq Gardner Hulu might not be the favorite website of TV creators like Steve Levitan ("Modern Family"), but the studio-owned video platform has a fan in federal court. Hulu has survived a patent infringement lawsuit brought by a company...hollywoodreporterCourt allows video gamer to argue he is addicted to Lineage II tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e201348655d023970c2010-08-20T11:16:31-07:002010-08-20T11:16:32-07:00By Eriq Gardner A federal judge in Hawaii is allowing a video gamer to tell a jury about the severe withdrawal he suffered after being booted from the MMORP game Lineage II. Craig Smallwood, representing himself in court, sued NCSoft,...hollywoodreporterMassive judgment in World of Warcraft copyright infringement casetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e20134863dbd72970c2010-08-16T09:36:39-07:002010-08-17T12:45:03-07:00By Eriq Gardner A federal court has thrown down the gauntlet against the operator of a private server used to play the MMORP game World of Warcraft, awarding Vivendi subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment a staggering $89 million. (Here's the court's order...hollywoodreporterJury sides with 'Girls Gone Wild' in suit by sexy dancertag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e2013485dd4f41970c2010-07-30T11:42:35-07:002010-08-04T13:52:20-07:00By Eriq Gardner "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis finally has a reason to throw one of his outrageous parties. This week, a St. Louis jury found in favor of Francis' Mantra Films in a $5 million lawsuit brought by...hollywoodreporterVideo game designer-turned-space traveler awarded $28 million by jurytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e20133f2b913e0970b2010-07-30T11:40:39-07:002010-07-30T11:40:39-07:00By Eriq Gardner Famed video game designer Richard Garriot has just taken one hell of a trip. Two years ago, the man behind blockbuster role-playing games Ultima and Tabula Rasa spent $30 million of his own money to be a...hollywoodreporterJudge Joe Brown wins ruling in his own lawsuittag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e2013485d542ac970c2010-07-29T11:17:09-07:002010-07-29T11:05:59-07:00By Eriq Gardner Does it matter that Joe Brown of the "Judge Joe Brown Show" isn't licensed to practice law in California? One guy, Mark Schweninger, thinks so. He's suing Brown for fraud and slander after appearing on the CBS...hollywoodreporterJudge orders TLC to stop using 'Cake Boss' titletag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d69069e20134859d7761970c2010-07-22T10:01:26-07:002010-07-22T09:18:32-07:00By Eriq Gardner A federal judge has ordered TLC to stop using "Cake Boss" as the title of its popular reality TV show. Seattle District Court judge Richard Jones has found that the title causes too much confusion with a...hollywoodreporter