EMI appeals ruling that Men at Work copied tune

SYDNEY – Record company EMI lodged an appeal Thursday against a court ruling that the Australian band Men at Work copied a flute melody from a children's campfire song in their 1980s hit "Down Under."

EMI filed papers with the Federal Court in Sydney listing 14 grounds for appeal and saying that songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert did not breach copyright in the song.

EMI said similarities to two bars of the song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" might be noticed by "the highly sensitized or educated musical ear" but were unlikely to be noticed by the ordinary listener.

The company said the inclusion of the melody was at most a form of tribute to the tune written more than 70 years ago by Australian teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition.

Earlier this month Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson ruled that the famous flute riff from "Down Under" had "a sufficient degree of objective similarity" to parts of the children's tune.

Publishing company Larrikin Music, which holds the copyright for "Kookaburra," is seeking millions of dollars in royalties from EMI and the songwriters.

EMI also argued in its appeal that the Girl Guides Association of Victoria state actually owned the copyright, as they sponsored the 1934 song competition.
A date has not been set for the appeal to be heard.

"Down Under" and the album "Business As Usual" topped the Australian, American and British charts in early 1983. The song remains an unofficial anthem for Australia and was ranked fourth in a 2001 music industry survey of the best Australian songs. Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

"Kookaburra," about an Australian native bird, is a campfire favorite from New Zealand to Canada.

'80s hit Down Under copies kids' song, court says

Australian band Men at Work copied a well-known children's campfire song for the flute melody in its 1980s hit Down Under and owes the owner years of royalties, a court ruled Thursday.

Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree was written more than 70 years ago by Australian teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition, and the song has been a favourite around campfires from New Zealand to Canada.

The teacher died in 1988, and publishing company Larrikin Music owns the copyright to her song about the native Australian bird. Larrikin filed the copyright lawsuit last year.

"I have come to the view that the flute riff in Down Under … infringes on the copyright of Kookaburra because it replicates in material form a substantial part of Ms. Sinclair's 1935 work," Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson said.

He ordered the parties back in court Feb. 25 to discuss the compensation Larrikin should receive from songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert and Men at Work's record companies Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Songs Australia.

Adam Simpson, Larrikin Music's lawyer, said outside court the company might seek up to 60 per cent of the royalties Down Under earned since its release — an amount that could total millions.

The songwriters and their recording companies did not immediately comment.

Down Under and the album Business As Usual topped the Australian, American and British charts in early 1983. The song remains an unofficial anthem for Australia and was ranked fourth in a 2001 music industry survey of the best Australian songs. Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for best new artist.

'MacGyver' creator aims to stop spoof

The man behind MacGyver is consulting lawyers in a bid to block the release of an upcoming spoof movie based on the 1980s TV series.

A new film, titled MacGruber and starring Val Kilmer, is set to hit cinemas in April, but Lee Zlotoff, creator of the original show, alleges the parody breaches copyright laws as he retained the movie rights to his TV creation.

A lawyer for Zlotoff has fired off a series of cease-and-desist letters to executives at Relativity Media, the company behind the new comedy, according to Thresq.com.

Zlotoff's attorney, Paul Mayersohn, tells the website his client is currently considering filing a lawsuit in a bid to block the film's release.

He says, "We feel they're infringing our rights."

Report: David Letterman's alleged blackmailer wants a plea deal

The man accused of trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman is seeking a plea deal that would have him spend only a year in jail.

Robert Halderman, the CBS News producer who was arrested in October, is reportedly talking to prosecutors about a deal in which he'd plead guilty in exchange for a one-year sentence -- way below the maximum 15 years he'd face if convicted by a jury.

That's the word, anyway, from the New York Post, which cites unnamed sources in its report on the plea offer. Halderman's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, denies it, saying, "There have been no plea negotiations. None whatsoever."

Shargel also tells the paper he's still pursuing a motion to have the case dismissed and will file more papers on the motion later this week.

If a deal is made, it won't be by current Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. Incoming D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr. takes office next month and will oversee the rest of the case.

Halderman was arrested Oct. 1 after allegedly telling Letterman he would blab about the "Late Show" host's affairs with staff members unless he received $2 million. "I have said, for a price, I will sign a confidentiality agreement and I will not make this information public. That's the deal," Halderman said, according to prosecutors.

Charlie Sheen arrested on Christmas

ASPEN, Colo. — Charlie Sheen was arrested Friday in the Colorado resort town of Aspen on charges related to domestic violence, police said.

The star of CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” was taken into custody on suspicion of second-degree assault and menacing, both felonies, along with criminal mischief, a misdemeanour, Aspen police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro said.

Police arrested the 44-year-old actor after responding to a 911 call regarding a report of domestic violence at 8:34 a.m. at a historic house up for sale for $7.5 million. The alleged victim in the case, whose name was withheld, did not have to be taken to the hospital, police said.

Police said Sheen will be held without bond until his first court appearance in this ski resort town about 200 miles west of Denver. The court was closed for Christmas, and no date for his appearance has been set.

Jail officials said Sheen wasn’t available to comment. After-hours messages left for his managers weren’t immediately returned.

Dasaro said Sheen would be advised of any bond conditions when he appears in court. Colorado law requires protection orders between people arrested in domestic violence cases and their alleged victims.

Sheen is the son of actor Martin Sheen. He is married to Brooke Mueller Sheen, who gave birth to the couple’s first children, twin boys, in March. They married in May 2008 following Sheen’s bitter divorce from Denise Richards.

Charlie Sheen’s screen credits include “Platoon,” “Wall Street“ and the “Hot Shots!“ movies. He nearly died of a drug overdose in 1998 but received court-ordered rehabilitation.

Rockers No Doubt sue Activision over "Band Hero"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rock band No Doubt sued video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc over the use of their likeness on its new "Band Hero" product, accusing the company of turning the rockers into a virtual karaoke act.

No Doubt and Activision had a contract allowing the company to use the band members in the game, but Activision, which is based in Santa Monica, California, went beyond the agreement by allowing gamers to use avatars of the band performing songs from other rock groups, the lawsuit states.

"Band Hero" is a variation on Activision's "Guitar Hero" game, which was launched in 2005 and passed the $2 billion sales mark at the beginning of this year.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, a day after "Band Hero" hit stores, and it accuses Activision of fraudulent inducement and breach of contract.

In one instance of how "Band Hero" allows for unauthorized use of No Doubt's likeness, a feature on the game has the band's Gwen Stefani singing Rolling Stones song "Honky Tonk Women," the band's lawsuit states.

The feature "results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes," the lawsuit states.

In a statement the company said: "Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit."

With its lawsuit, No Doubt is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction preventing Activision from distributing the game. No Doubt wants Activision to recall existing copies.

No Doubt hails from the suburban community of Anaheim, California, south of Los Angeles, and the band scored hits with the songs "Don't Speak" and "Underneath It All."

In September, Courtney Love, the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, criticized Activision for using Cobain's likeness in "Guitar Hero 5" in ways that she did not approve of, including singing songs from other bands.

Bachman brothers battle over BTO name

Canadian rocker Randy Bachman is in a court fight with his younger brother Robin over the rights to the name of their iconic 1970s group Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

Robin Bachman and Blair Thornton, both former BTO members, have launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

The suit claims Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, the other member of the rock quartet, signed away their rights to the names Bachman-Turner Overdrive, BTO and any similar brands when Randy left BTO in 1977 to go solo.

Thornton and Robin Bachman claim Randy Bachman's company trademarked the name Bachman-Turner and Bachman-Turner Union in Canada and the United States earlier this year.

The pair claim those names could be confused with the BTO identity.

Their statement of claim asks for an injunction, saying Randy Bachman and Turner are confusing the public and businesses into believing their other companies are connected with the business of Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive's hits, such as Taking Care of Business and Hey You, climbed the charts in the 1970s. Randy Bachman, 66, is currently host of the CBC Radio show Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap.

Suspect's lawyer says Letterman 'manipulates'

NEW YORK – The defense lawyer for the CBS News producer charged with trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman is calling the talk-show host "a master at manipulating audiences."

Attorney Gerald Shargel defended Robert J. "Joe" Halderman on Monday during a round of interviews on network television morning shows.

Shargel says the charge against his client is "so obviously out of character to the point of not making any sense."

He says that Letterman manipulates audiences for a living and that to think he "gave the entire story and there's nothing more to be said is simply wrong."

Halderman is a producer for the true-crime show "48 Hours Mystery." He pleaded not guilty Friday in Manhattan to attempted first-degree grand larceny.

Shargel says he's looking forward to cross-examining Letterman.

DA: Man charged in Letterman plot was deep in debt

NEW YORK – A CBS newsman who prosecutors said was desperate and deep in debt was charged Friday with trying to blackmail David Letterman for $2 million in a plot that forced the late night comic to acknowledge having sex with some of the women who have worked for him.

The bizarre case created a messy legal and professional problem for one of CBS' most valuable personalities. Commentators and bloggers quickly accused Letterman of hypocrisy because he has made a career of mocking politicians mercilessly, often for their sexual transgressions.

From a strictly business perspective, Letterman's revelations on Thursday's show were an immediate success: His overnight ratings were up 38 percent over the same night a week ago, the Nielsen Co. said.

It remains to be seen whether Letterman will suffer long-term damage just as his career appears to be peaking. Letterman has taken over as the king of late-night in the ratings this summer, and last week he beat NBC's Conan O'Brien for the first time among young viewers.

Robert J. "Joe" Halderman, a producer for the true-crime show "48 Hours Mystery," pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court as he was arraigned on one count of attempted first-degree grand larceny, punishable by five to 15 years in prison. He was released after posting $200,000 bail.

Halderman's connection to Letterman was not immediately clear, but public records show that until August, he lived in Norwalk, Conn., with Stephanie Birkitt, a 34-year-old woman who works on the "Late Show" staff and used to work at "48 Hours."

Birkitt was an assistant to Letterman on the "Late Show" and frequently appeared on camera with the host in comedy bits. Last month, Birkitt moved to Manhattan's upper West Side. There was no answer Friday at a phone listed in her name.

It was unclear how many women were involved in relationships with Letterman, 62, who married longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko in March. The couple began dating in 1986 and have a son, Harry, born in November 2003.

All the affairs took place before Letterman's marriage, said Tom Keaney, spokesman for Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants. Keaney also said Letterman "is not in violation" of the company's harassment policy "and no one has ever raised a complaint against him."

CBS issued a statement Friday: "We think it was appropriate for Dave to disclose the matter publicly as he has, and we are continuing to cooperate with authorities."

CBS would not address questions about whether Letterman faced any disciplinary actions for relationships with subordinates. CBS News also declined to address questions about whether Halderman's alleged actions call into question any of the work he has done for the news division.

David Lande, a New York City-based civil attorney whose cases have included sexual harassment, said Letterman presumably was in a position of power with a voice in hiring, firing and promotions.

"So, to the extent that he had control over these factors with the women he was involved with, he could be subject to liability," he said. "I am sure CBS lawyers are reviewing the matter very carefully."

Shanti Atkins, president of ELT, a firm that consults on ethics and sex in the workplace issues, said Letterman, his company and CBS could also be vulnerable to claims of sexual favoritism by others in the company if they believe people got ahead because they were sleeping with the boss.

Assistant District Attorney Judy Salwen told the judge Halderman was in debt, but did not elaborate.

"The evidence is compelling," she said. "It shows the defendant is desperate, and he is capable of doing anything."

The prosecutor said Halderman gave the talk show host a package of materials that "contained clear, explicit and actual threats that indicate this defendant ... (wanted to) destroy the reputation of Mr. Letterman and to submit him and his family to humiliation and ridicule."

Halderman, hands cuffed behind his back, stared at the floor during most of Friday's court hearing and said only "not guilty."

His lawyer, Gerald Shargel, said Halderman worked at CBS for 27 years and had no prior criminal record. He described him as an involved father who coached soccer, baseball and football and has two children, ages 11 and 18.

"This story is far more complicated than what you heard this afternoon," Shargel said outside court, but he would not elaborate.

Halderman earned about $214,000 in 2007. He was ordered in 2007 to pay his ex-wife $6,800 per month in child and spousal support until May 2011, when the payments will be reduced to $5,966 until May 2014, according to papers filed in Stamford Superior Court.

He had asked for a reduction to $2,039 per month because his ex-wife, Patty Montet, was sharing a house in New Canaan with a man. But Montet argued — and the judge agreed — that her living arrangement was for convenience and not romantic. Montet also claimed Halderman was getting $1,500 a month from Birkitt.

"Mr. Halderman claims he is struggling financially, but it is difficult to see what, other than mismanagement and extravagant spending, is the reason for this," Montet's attorneys said in the court file. "His is a world of golf trips, vacations, increasing 401k assets, comprehensive benefits, security in employment, earnings as an award-winning producer for CBS, and home ownership."

Halderman allegedly left an envelope in Letterman's car early Sept. 9. According to authorities, he wrote that he needed "to make a large chunk of money" and said that Letterman's world would "collapse around him" if damaging information about him were made public.

Letterman acknowledged that the letter contained proof that the late-night host had sexual relationships with members of his staff.

Three meetings between Letterman's lawyer and Halderman subsequently took place in Manhattan's Essex House hotel, the last two with the lawyer recording the conversations and prosecutors listening in, District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.

At the last meeting, on Wednesday, the lawyer gave Halderman a phony check for $2 million, Morgenthau said.

Halderman deposited the check Thursday in a Connecticut bank and was arrested later that day outside CBS News' Manhattan office, he said.

Halderman has been described by colleagues as a talented and occasionally volatile producer. His boss, Susan Zirinsky, called "48 Hours" staff members into a meeting on Friday to discuss the case, calling it a personal tragedy.

Marcy McGinnis, who was Halderman's boss when she was CBS' London bureau chief, said she had him work on many important stories, like Princess Diana's death and the war in Bosnia. She said she was shocked by the alleged extortion.

"The idea of it is so unbelievable. This is a very smart guy. There must have been some sort of mental breakdown. I'm no expert, but it just seems like it was 100 percent out of character."

It's the second set of embarrassing headlines for Letterman in four months. He apologized on the air earlier this summer for a crude joke involving Sarah Palin's family. But when the controversy continued to swirl, he came back after a weekend to offer a stronger mea culpa.

Letterman's contract with CBS runs through next August, although the network has been in negotiations to continue that through 2012.

Advertisers spent $145.2 million on the show from January through June this year, according to TNS Media Intelligence. They appear to be holding firm behind the late night host.

"We haven't seen any clients nor do we anticipate any clients looking to move inventory out of the show," said Laura Caraccioli-Davis, an executive vice president and director at Starcom. "We believe that he handled it with full transparency. Consumers are looking for that authenticity and honesty."

Lawyer: Polanski will fight extradition to the U.S.

ZURICH (AP) — Imprisoned director Roman Polanski is in a "fighting mood" and will battle U.S. attempts to have him extradited from Switzerland to face justice in California for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, his lawyer said Monday.

An international tug-of-war over the 76-year-old director escalated Monday as France and Poland urged Switzerland to free him on bail and pressed U.S. officials all the way up to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the case.

Polanski was in his third day of detention after Swiss police arrested him Saturday on an international warrant as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award from a film festival.

Polanski has told Swiss officials that he will contest a U.S. request that he be transferred to the United States, attorney Herve Temime said in an e-mail. Temime said Polanski's legal team would try to prove that the U.S. request was illegal and that the Oscar-winning director should be released from Swiss custody.

"Taking into account the extraordinary conditions of his arrest, his Swiss lawyer will seek his freedom without delay," Temime said.

He also told France-Info radio that he was able to speak with Polanski from his Zurich cell.

"He was shocked, dumbfounded, but he is in a fighting mood and he is very determined to defend himself," Temime said.

A complicated legal process awaited all sides. While France expressed hope that Polanski would be freed shortly, Swiss officials said there would be no rash decision.

The Swiss Justice Ministry on Monday did not rule out the possibility that Polanski, director of such classic films as "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby," could be released on bail under very strict conditions that he doesn't flee Switzerland.

Justice spokesman Guido Balmer said such an arrangement is "not entirely excluded" under Swiss law and that Polanski could file a motion on bail. But he said Switzerland's top criminal court would undertake a thorough examination of evidence before deciding on any request, and that would take time.

"This is a legal story," Balmer told The AP. "There is no room for political pressure."

Authorities in Los Angeles consider Polanski a "convicted felon and fugitive."

Polanski at the time had pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse and was sent to prison for 42 days of evaluation. Lawyers agreed that would be his full sentence, but the judge tried to renege on the plea bargain.

On the day of his sentencing in 1978, aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time and require his voluntary deportation, Polanski fled to France.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he hoped Polanski could be quickly freed by the Swiss, calling the apprehension a "bit sinister." He also told France-Inter radio that he and his Polish counterpart Radek Sikorski wrote to Clinton on the case.

Polanski was "thrown to the lions," said French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand. "In the same way that there is a generous America that we like, there is also a scary America that has just shown its face."

Polanski, who has dual French-Polish citizenship, has hired Swiss attorney Lorenz Erni to represent him in Switzerland, according to the law firm Eschmann & Erni.

Polanski seems most likely to spend several months in detention, unless he agrees to forgo any challenge to his extradition to the United States. Under a 1990 accord between Switzerland and the U.S., Washington has 60 days to submit a formal request for his transfer. Rulings in a similar dispute four years ago over Russia's former atomic energy minister Yevgeny Adamov confirmed that subjects should be held in custody throughout the procedure.

That means the procedure for extradition could also be lengthy for the United States. Its request for Polanski's transfer must first be examined by the Swiss Justice Ministry, and once approved it can be appealed at a number of courts.

The 2005 saga over Adamov's extradition, eventually to Russia and not the U.S., took seven months. The case also sets a possible precedent for France, which may wish to try one of its own nationals in a domestic court rather than in Los Angeles.

For now, Polanski is living in a Zurich cell where he receives three meals a day and is allowed outside for one hour of daily exercise.

Rebecca de Silva, spokeswoman for the Zurich prison authorities, refused to say exactly where Polanski was being held for security reasons, but said cells are usually single or double occupancy and that each room contains a table, storage compartment, sink, toilet and television.

Family and friends can only see Polanski for an hour each week, but that does not include official visits from lawyers and consular diplomats, de Silva said.

The Justice Ministry insisted Sunday that politics played no role in its arrest order on Polanski, who lives in France but has spent much time at a chalet in the luxury Swiss resort of Gstaad. That has led to widespread speculation among his friends and even politicians in Switzerland that the neutral country was coerced by Washington into action.

Temime, Polanski's lawyer, told the daily Le Parisien that the filmmaker stayed in Gstaad for months this year.

"He came here, but I have no idea how frequently," said Toni von Gruenigen, deputy mayor of Saarnen, where the famously discreet community is located. "He kept a low profile."

The U.S. has had an outstanding warrant on Polanski since 1978, but the Swiss said American authorities have sought the arrest of the director around the world only since 2005.

Polanski has asked a U.S. appeals court in California to overturn a judges' refusal to throw out his case. He claims misconduct by the now-deceased judge who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it.

His victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over. She sued Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement.

Earlier this year, Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza in Los Angeles dismissed Polanski's bid to throw out the case because the director failed to appear in court to press his request, but said there was "substantial misconduct" in the handling of the original case.

In his ruling, Espinoza said he reviewed not only legal documents, but also watched the HBO documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," which suggests there was behind-the-scenes manipulations by a now-retired prosecutor not assigned to the case.

Polanski has lived for the past three decades in France, where his career has continued to flourish; he received a directing Oscar in absentia for the 2002 movie "The Pianist." He is married to French actress Emanuelle Seigner, with whom he has two children.

He has avoided traveling to countries likely to extradite him. Balmer said the difference during Polanski's visit this time to Zurich was that authorities knew when and where he would arrive. The Alpine country does not perform regular passport checks anymore on arrivals from 24 other European countries.

Balmer also rejected any hint that the arrest was somehow aimed at winning favor with the U.S. after a series of bilateral spats over tax evasion and wealthy Americans stashing money at Swiss banking giant UBS AG.

"There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming. That's why he was taken into custody," Balmer told The AP. "There is no link with any other issues."

The arrest prompted angry criticism Monday from fellow filmmakers and actors across Europe.

"It seems inadmissible ... that an international cultural evening, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by police to apprehend him," says a petition circulating in France and signed by artists including Costa Gavras, Stefen Frears and Monica Bellucci.

Oscar-winning director Andrzej Wajda and other Polish filmmakers also appealed for the immediate release of Polanski, a native of France who was taken to Poland by his parents, escaped Krakow's Jewish ghetto as a child during World War II and lived off the charity of strangers. His mother died at the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp.

Polanski has already "atoned for the sins of his young years," Jacek Bromski, head of the Polish Filmmakers Association, told The AP. "He has paid for it by not being able to enter the U.S. and in his professional life he has paid for it by not being able to make films in Hollywood."

Swiss police: Roman Polanski arrested for 1970s sex case

ZURICH (AP) — Director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he flew in for the Zurich Film Festival and faces possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Sunday.

Polanski was scheduled to receive an honorary award at the festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005.

"There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming," ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. "That's why he was taken into custody."

Balmer said the U.S. would now have to make a formal extradition request.

Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978, a year after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with the underage girl. The director of such classic films as Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby has asked a U.S. appeals court in California to overturn a judges' refusal to throw out his case. He claims misconduct by the now-deceased judge who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it.

The Swiss statement said Polanski was in "provisional detention for extradition," but added he would not be transferred to U.S. authorities until all proceedings are completed. Polanski can contest his detention and any extradition decision in the Swiss courts, it said.

Polanski has lived for the past three decades in France, where his career has continued to flourish, and he received a directing Oscar in absentia for the 2002 movie The Pianist.

Polanski has not been extradited from France because his crime reportedly was not covered under treaties between the United States and France.

He has avoided traveling to countries likely to extradite him. For instance, he testified by video link from Paris in a 2005 libel trial in London against Vanity Fair magazine because he did not want to enter Britain for fear of being arrested.

In Paris, Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said he was "dumbfounded" by Polanski's arrest, adding that he "strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them."

Those comments referred to the fact that Polanski, a native of France who was taken to Poland by his parents, escaped Krakow's Jewish ghetto as a child and lived off the charity of strangers. His mother died at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp.

Mitterrand's ministry said Sunday that he was in contact with French President Nicolas Sarkozy "who is following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved."

Polanski worked his way into filmmaking in Poland, gaining an Oscar nomination for best foreign-language film in 1964 for his Knife in the Water. Offered entry to Hollywood, he directed the classic Rosemary's Baby in 1968.

But his life was shattered again in 1969 when his wife, actress Sharon Tate, and four other people were gruesomely murdered by followers of Charles Manson. She was eight months pregnant.

He went on to make another American classic, Chinatown, released in 1974.

In 1977, he was accused of raping the teenager while photographing her during a modeling session. The girl said Polanski plied her with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill at Jack Nicholson's house while the actor was away. She said that, despite her protests, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her.

Polanski was allowed to plead guilty to one of six charges, unlawful sexual intercourse, and was sent to prison for 42 days of evaluation.

Lawyers agreed that would be his full sentence, but the judge tried to renege on the plea bargain. Aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time and require his voluntary deportation, Polanski fled to France.

The victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over. She sued Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement.

Zurich Film Festival organizers said Polanski's detention had caused "shock and dismay," but said they would go ahead with Sunday's planned retrospective of the director's work.

The Swiss Directors Association sharply criticized authorities for what it deemed "not only a grotesque farce of justice, but also an immense cultural scandal."

Tolkien estate, New Line settle lawsuit over films

LOS ANGELES – The heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien and a movie studio that produced the blockbuster "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy have settled a lawsuit over the films' profits, it was announced Tuesday.

The out-of-court resolution clears the way for a two-film prequel based on Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit" and will benefit charities around the world, according to a joint press release announcing the settlement.

The lawsuit had sought to rescind New Line Cinema's rights to make films based on the book.

Tolkien's heirs sued New Line Cinema in February 2008, claiming the studio owed it millions in profits from the movies released between 2001 and 2003. The films earned an estimated $6 billion in sales of movie tickets, DVDs and merchandise.

No settlement paperwork has yet been filed with a Los Angeles court. The terms of the deal are being kept confidential.

"We deeply value the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films and are pleased to have put this litigation behind us," said Alan Horn, president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Warner Bros. acquired New Line in March 2008.

One of the main beneficiaries of the settlement is The Tolkien Trust, a British charity that supports causes around the world.

Christopher Tolkien, one of the author's trustees, said the lawsuit was regrettable, but the estate is "glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow The Tolkien Trust to properly pursue its charitable objectives."

Bonnie Eskenazi, an attorney who handled the lawsuit for the Tolkien estate, said the settlement vindicated the heirs and will touch more than just movie audiences.

The lawsuit claimed Tolkien's trust received only an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began but was due 7.5 percent of the gross receipts.

Peter Jackson, who directed "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, will serve as executive producer on "The Hobbit" films. The prequels have already endured a legal path as treacherous as the story's trek by hobbit Bilbo Baggins to the Lonely Mountain.

Jackson and New Line feuded for a year over the trilogy's profits before reaching an agreement in 2007 that cleared the way for work on "The Hobbit."

The two prequels will be directed by Guillermo del Toro, who directed the two "Hellboy" movies and "Pan's Labyrinth."

Spector gets 19 years in jail

LOS ANGELES - Phil Spector was sentenced Friday to 19 years to life in prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot through the mouth in the music producer's home six years ago.

Spector, 69, looked straight forward and showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ordered a term of 15 years to life for second-degree murder plus four years for personal use of a gun.

Clarkson's mother, Donna, made a brief statement before sentencing, speaking of her daughter's fine qualities, sense of humour, intelligence and dedication to her craft of acting.

"I'm very proud of Lana, proud to be her mother," Donna Clarkson said. She added, "No one should suffer the loss of a child."

The judge also ordered Spector to pay $16,811 in funeral expenses, $9,740 to a state victims' restitution fund and other fees.

Spector, dressed in his customary dark pinstripe suit with a red silk tie, was led away immediately. His attorney asked that he be transferred immediately from county jail to a state prison. It was not immediately known to which prison Spector would be assigned.

Spector gained fame decades ago for what became known as the "Wall of Sound" recording technique that changed rock music.

Clarkson was most famous as the star of Roger Corman's 1985 cult film classic "Barbarian Queen." She was 40 when she died.

Spector's young wife, who is in her late 20s, attended the sentencing.

"This is a sad day for everybody involved," Rachelle Spector said. "The Clarkson family has lost a daughter and a sister. I've lost my husband, my best friend. I feel that a grave injustice has been done and from this day forward I'm going to dedicate myself to proving my husband's innocence."

Spector's son Louis, accompanied by his wife, also came to the sentencing. He had attended much of the trial.

"I'm torn about this," he said. "I'm losing my father who is going to spend his life in jail. At the same time, justice is served."

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson said afterward that the outcome sent a message: "If you commit crimes against our citizens we will follow you and prosecute you. And no matter whether you are famous or wealthy, you will stand trial."

Asked how he felt about Spector personally, Jackson said, "I find nothing tragic about him. Everything he did was intentional."

Jackson said the case was "rock solid" legally and will not be subject to a successful appeal.

Defence attorney Doron Weinberg told reporters that the appeal will be extremely strong.

"Mr. Spector did not kill Lana Clarkson," he said, "and we hope by the time we are through we will be able to prove that."

Spector had two trials with essentially the same evidence. His first in 2007 was televised gavel to gavel and spectators flocked to the courtroom. But when the jury deadlocked after a five-month trial, his legal "dream team," which at times numbered half a dozen lawyers, bailed out.

By the time the second trial started in 2008, interest had waned. The judge ordered cameras turned off and only a handful of spectators and reporters stopped in sporadically to watch testimony.

During jury selection, only a few panellists remembered Spector's heyday as producer of teen anthems including "To Know Him is to Love Him" by The Teddy Bears, The Ronette's "Be My Baby," The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" and The Righteous Brothers' classic, "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'." Spector also worked on a Beatles album with John Lennon.

Ironically, Clarkson didn't know Spector's music legacy either when she met him only hours before she died at his Alhambra "castle" in February 2003. She was working as a hostess at the House of Blues nightclub on the Sunset Strip, where she had to be told by a manager that Spector was an important man.

His time had passed. Clarkson's career also was ebbing. Their fateful meeting, recounted in both trials, led to her death and the end of his life as he knew it. For the next six years he spent millions of dollars on lawyers as he sought to prove that Clarkson killed herself.

But what had happened inside his house was never clear. Clarkson's body was found slumped in a chair in a foyer. A gun had been fired in her mouth. Spector's chauffeur, the key witness, said he heard a gunshot, then saw Spector emerge holding a gun and heard him say: "I think I killed somebody."

Weinberg said forensic evidence proved that Clarkson shot herself and cited her desperation at not being able to get acting work. Jackson said the shooting fit the pattern of other confrontations between Spector and women.

Much of the case hinged on the testimony of five women from Spector's past who said he threatened them with guns when they tried to leave his presence. The parallels with the night Clarkson died were chilling even if the stories were very old - 31 years in one instance.

Weinberg said Spector's appeal will assert that the judge erred in allowing the women to testify.

Suit says Ticketmaster violated anti-scalping law

A $500 million class action lawsuit has been launched against Ticketmaster and its TicketsNow subsidiary, accusing the companies of conspiring to force customers to pay inflated prices for tickets.

"We're hearing from people that ... they can't buy tickets for the face value, and if you want to go to see your favourite artist, you have to pay two or three times the face value," said Jay Strosberg of Sutts, Strosberg LLP, which filed the suit today in conjunction with Vancouver law firm Branch MacMaster.

"It's a matter of fairness," Strosberg said. "It's also causing a fair amount of frustration."

Ticketmaster's practices amount to a violation of Ontario's Ticket Speculation Act, aimed at preventing ticket scalping, said Strosberg. The claims have not been proven in court.

"Our office has been flooded with calls," he added. "We have a registration system online and people are registering at a speed which we've never seen." The registration system is at ticketmasterclassaction.com.

Albert Lopez, spokesperson for Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster Canada and TicketsNow, did not return calls for comment yesterday.

Last week, New Jersey residents were outraged after being unable to purchase tickets for an upcoming Bruce Springsteen concert there via Ticketmaster, sparking a demand by a U.S. congressman for a federal investigation into the company's practices.

Such practices included directing potential buyers to the TicketsNow site, where tickets were priced well above the face value. New York Senator Charles Schumer has since added his voice to the call.

New Jersey's attorney general pledged to launch a state probe into the matter.

Springsteen himself denounced Ticketmaster for having a conflict of interest and wrung a concession from officials that fans would no longer be directed to TicketsNow. CEO Irving Azoff of Ticketmaster, based in California, also issued a public apology.

On Friday, Springsteen fans hoping to see a show on May 7 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto called the Star to complain that tickets sold out within minutes of going on sale online, but that more than 800 higher-priced tickets were available shortly afterward on TicketsNow, at prices up to $1,338.

Strosberg said he and lawyer Luciana Brasil of Branch MacMaster have been looking at the issue for some time.

The class action suit – which could include anyone who has done business with Ticketmaster and TicketsNow since Feb. 9, 2007 – was sparked by a complaint from Henryk Krajewski of Toronto, who tried to buy two tickets last September for a Smashing Pumpkins concert at Massey Hall.

Krajewski was unable to purchase the tickets at a face value of $133 from Ticketmaster and was instead forced to pay $533.65 on the TicketsNow site.

"We are interested in hearing about everyone's experience. People should be able to access entertainment for reasonable prices. That's what this lawsuit is about," Strosberg said.

"We're both younger lawyers, and we know what it's like to want to go see an event and to not be able to access tickets."

Both firms, he noted, are also experienced in the area of class action lawsuits. Sutts, Strosberg has recovered more than $1 billion in damages on behalf of its clients, and Branch MacMaster has authored a textbook on class action suits in Canada and acted in more than 80 such cases in four provinces.

Warner eyes cuts, "Watchmen" talks proceed

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Warner Bros is considering ways to slash its budget by 10 percent, saving tens of millions of dollars via layoffs or other steps, as the studio nears an expected settlement of a dispute with a rival house over its upcoming "Watchmen" film.

Warner joins rivals from Sony Corp's Sony Pictures to Walt Disney Co in trying to offset falling film and flat DVD revenues in a rocky U.S. economy.

"No decisions have been made," said a Warner Bros spokesman regarding the cost cuts, which are widely expected to result in an unspecified number of layoffs at the studio, which released the blockbuster Batman movie, "The Dark Knight."

Warner Bros is owned by Time Warner Inc, which last week projected a loss for the year, compared with a previous forecast of earnings of $1.04 to $1.07 per share.

Meanwhile, another drama continues to unfold with Warner's upcoming high-profile release of "Watchmen," which is the focus of a copyright infringement battle between Warner and News Corp's Twentieth Century Fox.

The two studios began negotiating last week and are expected to announce a settlement soon, enabling Warner to release the film in March as scheduled.

Both Fox and Warner said on Tuesday settlement talks were continuing, with one studio executive describing them as "fruitful."

Warner Bros produced the movie based on a 1980s comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons about superheroes operating under the specter of nuclear annihilation.

But Fox, which acquired the rights to the "Watchmen" story in 1986, claims it has a continuing stake in the film, and U.S. District Judge Gary Feess last month ruled that the studio owned "at the very least, a distribution right" in the film.

Because of the settlement talks, Feess -- presiding over the copyright dispute -- delayed a decision on Friday on whether or not to move up a January 20 hearing.

Warner's filmed entertainment group's revenue in the third quarter, which ended in September, fell 9 percent to $2.88 billion. The expected cost cuts at the studio falls in line with similar actions at various other entertainment companies.

The film studio, which produced the hit "The Dark Knight," cut production last year and streamlined its operations by eliminating various units like Warner Independent and absorbing New Line Cinema.

Studios in settlement talks over "Watchmen" film

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Attorneys for two studios fighting over the upcoming superhero movie "Watchmen" told a judge on Friday they were in settlement talks, sources said.

U.S. District Judge Gary Feess, presiding over the copyright dispute between Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. and News Corp's Twentieth Century Fox, was expected on Friday to rule on whether to move up a January 20 hearing on the movie's planned March 6 release.

But with the attorneys saying they were in talks, Feess delayed his decision on whether to move up the hearing. If there is no settlement, a new date could be set next week.

Warner Bros. produced the movie based on a 1980s comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons about superheroes operating under the specter of nuclear annihilation.

But Fox, which acquired the rights to the "Watchmen" story in 1986, claims it has a continuing stake in the film, and Feess last month ruled that the studio owned "at the very least, a distribution right" in the film.

Fox says it will try to stop 'Watchmen'

LOS ANGELES – An attorney for 20th Century Fox says the studio will press its case to delay the release of "Watchmen," but a rival studio says it plans to release the film as scheduled.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess last week agreed with Fox that Warner Bros. had infringed its copyright by developing and shooting the superhero flick, casting some doubt on its March 6 release date.

Feess said Monday he plans to hold a trial Jan. 20 to decide remaining issues.

Fox claims it never fully relinquished story rights for the graphic novel from its deal made in the late 1980s, and sued Warner Bros. in February. Warner Bros. contended Fox isn't entitled to distribution.

Warner Bros. said in a statement released Monday afternoon that it won't move the movie's release date and still thinks it will win the case, either at trial or through an appeal.

Fox wins ruling on Watchmen

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that 20th Century Fox owns a copyright interest in Watchmen, which may jeopardize Warner Bros.'s plan to release the superhero movie in March.

Judge Gary Allen Feess issued the surprise ruling on Wednesday, Variety reported.

"Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the Watchmen motion picture," the ruling said.

Judge Feess advised both Fox and Warner to consider either a settlement or an appeal.

Fox acquired rights to the Watchmen graphic adventure novel in the late 1980s for producer Lawrence Gordon. After spending more than $1 million US developing the project, it eventually dropped its plan to make a movie based on the work written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons.

Gordon later carried out the project with Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. The movie, about the underside of life for superbeings, was directed by Zack Snyder and stars Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earle Haley. Its release is scheduled for March 6, 2009.

In February, Fox filed a suit to prevent Watchmen from being released. It argued that Gordon's option to acquire Fox's remaining interest in Watchmen was never exercised.

Warner spokesman Scott Rowe has declined to comment on the ruling.

The Wall Street Journal says the ruling in favour of Fox comes as a surprise, "given that the studio appeared to have dropped the project more than a decade ago and was not involved in producing the film."

Dixie Chick sued for defamation

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines is the target of a defamation lawsuit by the stepfather of one of three eight-year-old boys slain in 1993.

Maines spoke out for three people convicted of the slayings and alleged the stepfather was instead involved in the killings.

Terry Hobbs, stepfather of Steve Branch, who was killed in 1993 with Christopher Byers and Michael Moore, filed suit in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Nov. 25. The suit names all three members of the Dixie Chicks, but focuses on Maines.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Hobbs claims he suffered loss of income, injury to his reputation and emotional distress.

Maines attended a Dec. 19 rally in Little Rock, where she claimed Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley - known to sympathizers as the "West Memphis Three" - were innocent and supposed new evidence pointed to Hobbs. Her comments echoed a Nov. 26, 2007, letter that was still on the Dixie Chicks' website Thursday, in which she claimed new DNA testing of hair from the crime scene linked Hobbs to the killings and his behaviour after the slayings indicated his guilt.

The lawsuit says the claim is false.

Hobbs told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper in a Feb. 1 interview his reputation is in tatters and he wants to clear his name.

"I want people to know I haven't done nothing wrong," Hobbs said.

"I want them to hear it from me."

No lawyer for Maines was listed in court filings and a publicist didn't immediately return a call for comment. Hobbs' lawyer, J. Cody Hiland, didn't immediately return a call for comment Thursday.

The lawsuit says Maines' statements were "so extreme in degree as to be beyond the pale of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society."

Assertions similar to those made by Maines were also made by lawyers seeking new trials for the three convicts.

The boys' bodies were found by police a day after they vanished from their quiet, tree-lined neighbourhood May 5, 1993. Police arrested the three after a confession by Misskelley in which he described how he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys as he ran down another trying to escape. A jury gave Misskelley a life-plus-40-year sentence for the killings. A later jury gave Baldwin a life sentence without parole. Echols, then 19, the oldest of the three, received the death penalty.

The Arkansas Supreme Court later upheld the convictions but a later documentary sparked interest on the Internet, as well as among celebrities, including Maines, who felt the teens were railroaded by police for their interest in heavy metal music and the occult. Supporters say they raised more than $1 million for a legal defence fund for the three, enough to pay for lawyers, new DNA testing and a second federal appeal on behalf of Echols.

A judge has since denied defence motions for a new trial.

O.J. Simpson sentenced to at least 15 years

LAS VEGAS – A broken O.J. Simpson was sentenced Friday to at least 15 years in prison for a hotel armed robbery after a judge rejected his apology and said, "It was much more than stupidity."

The 61-year-old football Hall of Famer stood shackled and stone-faced when Judge Jackie Glass quickly rattled off his punishment soon after he made a rambling, five-minute plea for leniency, choking back tears as he told her: "I didn't want to steal anything from anyone. ... I'm sorry, sorry."

The judge said several times that her sentence in the Las Vegas case had nothing to do with Simpson's 1994 acquittal in the slaying of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

"I'm not here to try and cause any retribution or any payback for anything else," Glass said.

Simpson was immediately led away to prison after the judge refused to permit him to go free on bail while he appeals.

Simpson's co-defendant and former golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J. Stewart, also was sentenced to at least 15 years.

Outside court, Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, and sister, Kim, said they were thrilled with the sentence.

"There's never closure. Ron is always gone. What we have is satisfaction that this monster is where he belongs behind bars," Fred Goldman said.

BNL's frontman avoids jail time

FAYETTEVILLE, N.Y. - Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page apologized to his fans, friends and family Tuesday and expressed gratitude to those who secured a deal that will result in an acquittal on drug possession charges as long as he stays out of trouble for six months.

Extensive negotiations between the Onondaga County District Attorney's office and lawyers for Page, his girlfriend Christine Benedicto and her roommate Stephanie Ford resulted in a "very favourable" deal for the trio, said Judge Thomas Miller.

All three received a so-called "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal" ruling, which means the charges against them will be dismissed in six months time if they aren't arrested again, receive therapy and pass drug screening, Miller said.

Page, 38, Benedicto and Ford were charged with drug possession in July after police found cocaine at a Fayetteville apartment. Benedicto was 27 at the time of the arrests, while Ford was 25.

After the court hearing, a calm, stern-looking Page read a statement to the media and said he hopes to prove himself to be a productive and law-abiding member of society.

"The respect and responsibility I have earned over the course of my life and my career thus far are important to me and I am moving forward from this with gratitude and with hope," Page said.

"I also apologize to all of those I have hurt or embarrassed during this episode."

When asked what he learned from the experience, Page declined to answer any questions.

He also expressed thanks for the support he received in the difficulty times after his arrest went public and the media scrutinized every detail of his case.

Almost a dozen TV cameras from Canadian and American networks were in the small-town court to cover the case on Tuesday.

"It has meant a great deal to me to be shown the impact I have on others' lives," he said.

"From people on the street who've stopped me to share their support and encouragement, to those friends and loved ones closest to me who've opened their homes and their hearts, I am deeply moved and thankful. The greatest gift a person can know is to not go through their life alone and I am fortunate enough to have been afforded that gift."

Page's lawyer, Mark Mahoney, said the ruling the co-accuseds received is common in New York state and he's confident they will escape from the incident with an unblemished record.

"We are very appreciative of the fact the district attorney's office... was sensitive to the fact that this was simply a charge of possession, everyone has a clean record and the exemplary performance of all the accused since the time of the arrest," he said.

The deal also means Page will have no problems crossing the border into the United States and his case won't affect his band's future, Mahoney added.

Page's arrest came just months after Barenaked Ladies released an album of children's music called "Snacktime."

Police in Fayetteville said the arrests were made after they spotted a suspiciously parked car with its driver-side door open. They knocked on the door of the apartment where the car was parked and were invited inside by Page and Ford.

Ford said in a statement to police filed with the court that she and Page had snorted a white powder she assumed to be cocaine using a rolled-up Canadian bill.

A separate court document says Page told police: "Yeah, it's cocaine."

Page pleaded not guilty and on Tuesday, Mahoney said his charges had been reduced from felonies to misdemeanours after laboratory analysis of the white powder revealed it to be a low quantity and quality of cocaine.

After Page's arrest, Barenaked Ladies cancelled an appearance at a children's benefit concert organized by Disney in Long Island, N.Y.

Recently, the band announced two concerts for kids and three Christmas-themed shows in Toronto and Ottawa in December.

Born in Toronto, Page met Barenaked Ladies bandmate Ed Robertson in school. In the late 1980s, the pair began performing acoustic sets injected with humour at various university campuses.

They were eventually joined by other band members - including Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan and Kevin Hearn.

Their hits have included "If I Had A Million Dollars," "Brian Wilson" and "The Old Apartment."

Last year, Page reportedly separated from his wife of almost 15 years. The couple have three children.

BNL star's day in court delayed

TORONTO - The next U.S. court appearance for Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page on drug possession charges has been delayed.

Page was due to appear in court in Fayetteville, N.Y., on Oct. 14 but his Buffalo-based lawyer says the case will resume on Oct. 28. Mark Mahoney says there's an dialogue ongoing with the district attorney's office on how the case could be resolved.

He says it's taking some time because there are three defendants and three lawyers involved.

Page was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance on July 11.

Court documents allege Page admitted to snorting cocaine in his girlfriend's upstate New York apartment last month.

Page was taken into police custody, but was later released after posting $10,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to 5 1/2 years in prison.

Blogger arrested over leaked Chinese Democracy tracks

U.S. federal authorities have arrested a Los Angeles-area blogger accused of posting leaked tracks from the forthcoming Guns N' Roses album online.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said its agents arrested 27-year-old Kevin Cogill, operator of the Antiquiet blog, on Wednesday morning on suspicion of violating federal copyright laws.

Cogill posted nine tracks from the long-awaited Chinese Democracy album on his site in June, but removed them shortly afterward, according to an arrest affidavit.

The website received so many hits that it crashed.

In the past, the band's eccentric frontman Axl Rose has said that Chinese Democracy is complete. Its release is expected this fall, about 14 years since the last Guns N' Roses album.

In July, video game developers Harmonix and MTV Games announced that Shacklers' Revenge, a track from Chinese Democracy, would debut on its much-anticipated title Rock Band 2 this fall.

Doomsday for The Watchmen?

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Who will watch The Watchmen? Nobody, if 20th Century Fox gets its way.

After a major court victory, the studio has announced a bid to block the release of Warner Bros.' anticipated adaptation of the seminal graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Fox originally tried to develop the project more than a decade ago, but didn't manage to get the film off the drawing board. The studio claims Warners never properly acquired the rights to The Watchmen, and, in a major twist, instead of seeking a share of the would-be blockbuster's box-office gross, Fox is seeking to kill the flick entirely before it unspools in theaters March 6.

Cue the agonized cries of fanboys everywhere.

A federal judge in Los Angeles agreed with Fox lawyers that there's enough evidence to keep the lawsuit going forward—and keep the film's release in limbo.

Directed by 300 helmer Zack Snyder, The Watchmen stars Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley as a band of former superheroes who find themselves reclassified as criminal vigilantes in an alternate universe circa 1985. As an unknown assassin begins to hunt them down, the heroes try to unravel a conspiracy and thwart a nuclear war.

The film's trailer wowed Comic-Con attendees last month, stirring big buzz for a film that many thought would never get made.

Per its complaint, Fox traces its distribution rights through a series of complex legal agreements that began in 1991, when the studio teamed up with veteran producer Larry Gordon to develop the DC Comics graphic novel.

The project stalled and Gordon went packing, leaving Fox, not Gordon, in control of the property, per the suit.

But Gordon resurfaced in 2006 and inked a deal with Warners to try to relaunch Watchmen.

In siding with Fox, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Allen Fees said Warners' legal camp failed to show that Gordon still had a stake in the project.

"Warner Bros.' production and anticipated release of The Watchmen motion picture violates 20th Century Fox's long-standing motion picture rights in the Watchmen property," Fox says in a statement.

"We will be asking the court to enforce Fox's copyright interests in The Watchmen and enjoin the release of the Warner Bros. film and any related Watchmen media that violate our copyright interests in that property."

It's not clear exactly why Fox is asking for an injunction to block The Watchmen from coming out, especially since the film's already in the can, although it could simply be a ploy to gain a large portion of ticket sales. There's also no indication why Fox waited so long to bring its case.

Warners, meanwhile, tried to spin the ruling as favorably as possible.

"It is our company's policy not to comment on pending litigation, and thus will not comment on the specifics of this case," the studio's statement reads. "That said, the court's ruling simply means that the parties will engage in discovery and proceed with the litigation.

"We respectfully disagree with Fox's position and do not believe they have any rights in and to this project."

Fees has asked the studios to expedite the pretrial wrangling. After all, the film's release is apporaching and the Doomsday Clock is ticking

Christian Bale questioned by UK police: reports

LONDON (Reuters) - Actor Christian Bale, star of the latest Batman movie blockbuster, "The Dark Knight," has been released on bail by British police after being questioned on allegations of assault, media reported on Tuesday.

The reports could not be independently confirmed by his U.S. representatives, who did not immediately reply to messages. But when asked if Bale had been arrested and released on bail, a police spokeswoman said:

"A 34-year-old man has been bailed to return to a police station on a date in September."

The wording is the usual tangential way that British police have of confirming news about well-known personalities.

The arrest follows an allegation of assault made by his mother and sister, the British tabloid Sun newspaper said.

It came the day after Bale attended the European premiere of "The Dark Knight," the latest in the Batman film franchise co-starring the late Heath Ledger as the Joker.

Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose shortly after completing the filming of "Dark Knight," which grossed more than $158 million in its first three days of release to rank as the biggest opening weekend for a movie in North America.

The studio behind the film, Warner Bros. Pictures, which is part of Time Warner Inc., was not immediately available for comment.

Bale was on the red carpet with co-stars Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhaal in central London's Leicester Square on Monday night.

A martial-arts enthusiast and environmental activist, Bale has also appeared in "Batman Begins," "American Psycho" and "Empire of the Sun."

Barenaked Lady admitted drug use

TORONTO - Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page, known for his quirky lyrics, environmental activism and clean-cut image, admitted to New York police that he was snorting cocaine prior to his arrest last week, court documents allege.

The documents, filed with the Fayetteville Village Court in New York, contain details from police as well as a statement from a woman arrested at the same time as the 38-year-old Toronto resident.

A felony complaint against the singer states he was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance early Friday morning after police stumbled upon a car parked across a driveway with its driver-side door open.

After tracking the license plate of the vehicle, police entered an apartment where they found Page and 25-year-old Stephanie Ford in the kitchen.

In a statement to police filed with the court, Ford said the two had just finished snorting what she believed to be cocaine using a rolled-up Canadian bill.

She said Page had stored several capsules containing a white powdery substance in a bottle labelled Calcium.

A separate court document states that police questioned Page about the substance he was snorting after it tested positive for cocaine.

"Yeah, it's cocaine," the documents quote Page as saying.

Police allege Page had about a third of an ounce of the drug on him at the time of his arrest. He was taken into police custody, but was later released after posting $10,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in a New York court on August 26. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.

The court documents say Ford, who was also charged with drug possession, told police the evening's events began when Page got into a fight with his girlfriend, Christine Benedicto, at a local bar.

In her statement to police, Ford said Page believed Benedicto was flirting with another man.

Ford told police the two argued, with Page leaving the bar and planning to drive back to Canada after he had been drinking. Ford told police she forcibly restrained him from getting behind the wheel by following him back to the apartment she shares with Benedicto and sitting on him.

Benedicto later arrived at the apartment, confiscated Page's car keys, and drove off, according to Ford's statement. She was later arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.

The criminal charge is a notable blemish on what has otherwise been a squeaky-clean run for the bespectacled Page and bandmates Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan and Kevin Hearn.

Since forming nearly 20 years ago in Toronto's east end, they've crafted a sizable catalogue of catchy, humour-filled hits including "If I Had a $1,000,000," "Yoko Ono," "One Week" and "It's All Been Done" while garnering several Juno wins and two Grammy nominations.

The band recently released a children's album called "Snacktime." Their next public appearance is slated for a benefit concert hosted by Disney and Playskool on behalf of four children's charities.

In a brief message posted on its website, the band thanked fans for their support and said "the validity of the charges against Steven will be strongly contested."

"While this is happening, it's business as usual for Barenaked Ladies," states the message at www.bnlmusic.com.

"We will continue to perform and look forward to heading into the studio later this year to record a new album. We want to thank our loyal fans for their continued support during this difficult time."

Anne Hathaway's ex-boyfriend arrested on fraud charges

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Italian businessman who had been the long-time boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway was arrested on Tuesday on charges of operating a fraudulent real estate scheme that he claimed was linked to the Vatican, U.S. authorities said.

Raffaello Follieri, 29, was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering in a criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. He was expected to appear in court later in the day.

Follieri is accused of operating a scheme in which he led investors to believe that he had close connections with the Vatican that enabled him to buy the Catholic Church's unwanted U.S. real estate properties at a discount, according to federal prosecutors and the FBI.

Follieri and others used the investors' money for expensive clothes and restaurant meals, a $37,000-a-month Manhattan apartment, dog-walking services and other personal expenditures including medical expenses for his girlfriend at the time, according to the complaint. Authorities did not identify the girlfriend.

For four years, Follieri had dated Hathaway, who starred in "Get Smart," "The Devil Wears Prada" and other movies. Last week, Britain's The Daily Mail reported that the two had split.

The complaint said Follieri, of Foggia, Italy, had made false representations that included claims that the Vatican formally appointed him to manage its financial affairs and that he met with the Pope when he visited Rome.

WITNESSES

In reality, according to the complaint, Follieri did not have any connections that allowed him to buy Church real estate at below-market rates.

The complaint cites witnesses who said Follieri kept various ceremonial robes at his office in New York, including those of senior clergymen. In one instance, according to the complaint, Follieri asked a monsignor who was traveling with him to change out of his robes "and put on the robe of a more senior clergyman in order to create the false impression that Follieri had close ties to the Vatican."

When asked for comment, Follieri's lawyer, Flora Edwards, said: "It's a little premature at this time. I am hopeful we will be able to resolve everything."

The complaint contends Follieri got millions of dollars in investment money from an unspecified private equity firm based on his misrepresentations. The fraudulent scheme lasted from June 2005 through June 2007, according to the complaint.

According to published reports, California supermarket mogul Ron Burkle has previously sued Follieri in Delaware of misusing money from a joint real estate venture involving buying and reselling properties owned by the Catholic Church.

In the complaint, Follieri was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and five counts of money laundering.

If convicted, he could face as much as five years in prison for conspiracy, 20 years for wire fraud and 20 years in prison for money laundering, plus fines.

Seinfeld a comedian, not an actor

NEW YORK - Jerry Seinfeld claims a cookbook author is cooking up some fancy semantics by calling him an actor rather than a comedian to minimize the humour in statements she says defamed her.

Lawyers for Seinfeld say Missy Chase Lapine's lawyers resorted to the switch in words to describe Seinfeld when several weeks ago they filed a rewritten version of her lawsuit against him and his wife in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

"Jerry Seinfeld is an enormously wealthy and well-known actor," Lapine's revised lawsuit said. The original had called him a comedian.

Lapine, the author of "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals," accused Seinfeld's wife, Jessica Seinfeld, of plagiarizing her cookbook when in October she published her own, entitled: "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food."

During an appearance on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman," Jerry Seinfeld said Lapine was accusing his wife of "vegetable plagiarism" and compared her to the three-name killers of John Lennon and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"If you read history, many of the three-name people do become assassins," Seinfeld said. "Mark David Chapman. And you know, James Earl Ray. So that's my concern."

His lawyers said in court papers filed late Tuesday: "No reasonable viewer could have thought that Seinfeld really meant that Lapine ... might become an 'assassin' simply because she has three names."

Lapine's lawyers have said Seinfeld, best known for the popular television comedy series "Seinfeld," used the Letterman appearance to launch a "malicious, premeditated and knowingly false and defamatory attack" on her.

"The issues of law will be decided by the court, and we are confident of the outcome," Lapine lawyer Howard B. Miller said Wednesday.

Seinfeld's lawyers asked a judge to toss out the lawsuit on First Amendment grounds.

In separate court papers, Jessica Seinfeld accused Lapine of falsely claiming she invented the idea of hiding fruits and vegetables in children's meals when "countless prior works utilized this very same unprotectable idea," including a 1971 book. She called the lawsuit "opportunistic."

Charity run by Hathaway's boyfriend investigated

ALBANY, N.Y. - The state is investigating the charitable foundation of Anne Hathaway's boyfriend, a spokesman for the attorney general said Monday.

Italian businessman Raffaello Follieri, 29, who dates the "Devil Wears Prada" star, heads the Follieri Foundation, a charity whose work includes vaccinating children in Third World countries.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is heading the probe, Cuomo spokesman Matt Glazer said. He said he could not comment further on the ongoing investigation.

The Foundation has not filed IRS tax disclosure forms required from charities, according to a review of records by the Associated Press.

The New York Post, which first reported the investigation, said Hathaway was previously on the foundation's board of directors, but it was unclear when or for how long.

"There is an investigation going on that does not involve Anne," said Stephen Huvane, Hathaway's publicist, in an e-mail. "She is no longer a board member of the Follieri Foundation. Other than that we will not be commenting."

The number for a Follieri at his Manhattan apartment was disconnected.

Snipes gets 3 years, apologizes for `costly mistakes'

OCALA, Fla. - After haggling with revenue agents, criminal investigators and eventually U.S. prosecutors for almost a decade, Wesley Snipes finally caught them by surprise.

Hours before he was to be sentenced Thursday for failing to file income taxes he insisted he never had to pay, the action star cut the federal government three checks for $5 million, delivered in court.

So taken aback were prosecutors that they first declined the cash. But by the end of the day, the government took the money and more — a maximum three-year sentence for its highest-profile criminal tax target in decades.

"The sentencing court sends the right message to the American taxpayer — you've got to pay your taxes," U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill told reporters outside the usually quiet central Florida courthouse. "Rich, poor, it doesn't matter. We all pay our taxes."

Though Snipes was convicted of three counts of willfully failing to file returns, his trial was held by some as proof of victory for the tax protest movement. Snipes was acquitted of five other charges, including felony tax fraud and conspiracy, that would've exposed him to 13 more years in prison.

Criminal tax prosecutions are relatively rare — usually the cases are handled in civil court, where the government has a lower burden of proof.

Snipes' attorneys argued the sentence was too stiff for a first-time offender convicted of three misdemeanors, and recommended he be given home detention and ordered to make public service announcements.

But U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges said Snipes exhibited a "history of contempt over a period of time" for U.S. tax laws.

"In my mind these are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanors," Hodges said.

The action star of the "Blade" trilogy, "White Men Can't Jump," "Jungle Fever" and other films hasn't filed a tax return since 1998, the government alleged. Snipes and the IRS still must determine how much he owes, plus interest and penalties. The government alleged Snipes made at least $13.8 million for the three years in question, owing at least $2.7 million in back taxes on them alone.

Snipes read aloud from a prepared apology, calling his actions "costly mistakes" but never mentioning the word "taxes." He said he was the victim of crooked advisers, a liability of wealth and celebrity that attract "wolves and jackals like flies are attracted to meat."

"I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance," Snipes said.

His lawyers said he was no threat to society, and offered three dozen letters from family members, friends and even fellow actors Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington attesting to his compassion, intelligence and value as a mentor. They called four character witnesses Thursday, including television's Judge Joe Brown, who incited applause from the gallery by suggesting Snipes was no different than "mega-corporate entities" that legally avoid taxes.

Hodges twice halted the proceedings to quiet the crowd, threatening to clear everyone out if they made another outburst.

Snipes' co-defendants, Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, were convicted on both felony counts on which the actor was acquittal. Kahn, who refused to defend himself in court, was sentenced to the maximum 10 years, while Rosile received 4 1/2 years. Both will serve three years of supervised release.

Snipes and Rosile remain free and will be notified when they are to surrender to authorities. Defense attorney Carmen Hernandez signaled in court that Snipes would pursue an appeal.

Kahn was the founder of American Rights Litigators, and a successor group, Guiding Light of God Ministries, that purported to help members legally avoid paying taxes. Snipes was a dues-paying member of the organization, and Rosile, a de-licensed accountant, prepared Snipes' paperwork.

The actor maintained in a yearslong battle with the IRS he did not have to pay taxes, using fringe arguments common to "tax protesters" who say the government has no legal right to collect. After joining Kahn's group, the government said, Snipes instructed his employees to stop paying their own taxes and sought $11 million in 1996 and 1997 taxes he legally paid.

Defense attorneys Hernandez and Daniel Meachum said Snipes was unfairly targeted because he's famous. Meachum called prosecutors "big game hunters," selectively prosecuting the actor while Kahn's some 4,000 other clients remained free.

Hodges was not swayed.

"One of the main purposes which drives selective prosecution in tax cases is deterrence," the judge said, while denying it had anything to do with his sentence. "In some instances, that means those of celebrity stand greater risk of prosecution. But there's nothing unusual about it, nor is there anything unlawful about it. It's the way the system works."

'Potter' fan weeps in court

NEW YORK - A Harry Potter fan who wants to publish an encyclopedic guide to the wildly popular fantasy novels broke down and cried on the witness stand Tuesday as he faced off in federal court against his idol J.K. Rowling.

The British author sued Steven Vander Ark's publisher RDR Books last year, claiming that their "Harry Potter Lexicon" - based on Vander Ark's fan website - infringed on her copyright.

Vander Ark wiped away tears when he was asked to reflect on what the case has done to his relationship with the community of Harry Potter fans. The former middle school librarian, who fell in love with the books in the late 1990s and has devoted years to studying them and indexing their content online, could barely speak.

"It's been . . . it's been," he stammered, choking on his words. "It's been difficult because there has been a lot of criticism, obviously, and that was never the intention. . . . This has been an important part of my life for the last nine years or so."

Vander Ark testified on the second day of a trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, pitting his publishing company, RDR Books, against Rowling and Warner Bros., the maker of the Harry Potter films and owner of all the intellectual property related to the Potter books and movies.

Rowling and the media company are trying to prevent publication of the "Harry Potter Lexicon," which Vander Ark and Michigan-based RDR had sought to publish last fall. Its release was delayed pending the outcome of the suit; Rowling has argued that the book borrows too heavily from her novels.

During his testimony on Tuesday, Vander Ark acknowledged that he, too, had substantial concerns all along about whether publishing an encyclopedia based on Rowling's Potter universe would constitute copyright infringement. He said he was talked into doing it by the publishing company.

Rowling, testified Monday that the Harry Potter characters she created are as dear as her children, too precious to allow an inferior Potter encyclopedia to be published without letting the world know the ordeal is draining her of her will to write.

"I believe that it is sloppy, lazy and that it takes my work wholesale, verbatim. This book constitutes wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work," she said of Vander Ark's effort.

She also said she recently started work on her own encyclopedia but does not expect to complete it for two to three years. If Vander Ark's lexicon is published, "I'm not at all convinced that I would have the will or the heart to continue with my encyclopedia," she said.

The case caused her to stop working on a new novel, as well, she told the packed courtroom.

"It's really decimated my creative work over the last month," she said. "Again, it's very hard to describe to someone who's not engaged in creative writing, but you lose the threads, you worry if you will be able to pick them up again in exactly the same way."

In his opening statement, RDR lawyer Anthony Falzone defended the lexicon as a reference guide, calling it a legitimate effort "to organize and discuss the complicated and very elaborate world of Harry Potter." The small publisher is not contesting that the lexicon infringes upon Rowling's copyright but argues that it is a fair use allowable by law for reference books.

The nonjury trial will be decided by U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson Jr., who must determine whether the use of the material is legal because Vander Ark added his own interpretation, creativity and analysis. The testimony and arguments could last most of the week.

The trial comes eight months after the publication of Rowling's final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The seven books have been published in 64 languages, sold more than 400 million copies and produced a film franchise that has pulled in US$4.5 billion at the worldwide box office.

Battle over 'Star Wars' costumes

LONDON - It's a storm in a Stormtrooper's helmet.

Lawyers for George Lucas' Lucasfilm Ltd. and a British prop designer faced off in London's High Court on Tuesday over rights to the moulded white Stormtrooper uniforms from the "Star Wars" films.

Standing alongside the bewigged, black-robed lawyers in court was the object of their dispute - a six-foot tall, helmeted warrior of the evil Galactic Empire. Lucasfilm lawyer Michael Bloch called the menacing figure "one of the most iconic images in modern culture."

Lucasfilm claims violation of copyright and trademarks by prop designer Andrew Ainsworth, who sculpted the Stormtrooper helmets for the first "Star Wars" movie in 1977. London-based Ainsworth sells replicas of the helmets and armour, which he says are made from the original moulds, on his Web site.

Lucasfilm won a US$20-million judgment against Ainsworth in a California court in 2006, and is seeking to have it enforced in Britain.

Ainsworth is countersuing, claiming the copyright rests with him and seeking a share of merchandising revenue from the six "Star Wars" films, which his lawyers estimate at $24 billion.

Lucasfilm and its lawyers claim the design of the Stormtroopers was created by Lucas and his artistic team, and was already in place by the time Ainsworth was hired to create the helmets.

"The look to be created had been worked on by a large team of people for perhaps more than a year," Bloch said at the start of the 10-day hearing.

Any extra security the Stormtroopers might provide wasn't sitting well with Judge Anthony Mann, who cast a glance at the silent props standing beside him.

"Are they going to stay there for the entire trial?" he asked.

Smashing Pumpkins sue Virgin Records

LOS ANGELES - The Smashing Pumpkins are suing Virgin Records, saying the record label has illegally used their name and music in promotional deals that hurt the band's credibility with fans.

In a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, the rockers said they have "worked hard for over two decades to accumulate a considerable amount of goodwill in the eyes of the public," and that Virgin's use of the band in a "Pepsi Stuff" promotion with Amazon.com and Pepsi Co. threatens their reputation for "artistic integrity."

Virgin released the Smashing Pumpkins' music for more than 17 years, but the only active agreement between the two parties, the lawsuit claims, is a deal granting Virgin permission to sell digital downloads of the band's songs. The agreement does not give Virgin the right to use the band in promotional campaigns to sell outside products, the lawsuit said.

The band members said they would "never grant such authority to Virgin, or any other entity."

An after-hours call to Virgin Records wasn't immediately returned.

The lawsuit demands that Virgin pay with the profits earned in the promotion and asks for an injunction against using the Pumpkins' name or music in the future.

Gibson sues over "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gibson Guitar said on Friday that it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Viacom Inc's MTV networks, Harmonix and Electronic Arts relating to the wildly popular "Rock Band" video game and Harmonix's previously developed game, "Guitar Hero."

The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Tennessee, relates to the same patent involved in another suit Gibson filed earlier against various retailers of "Guitar Hero," a competitor to "Rock Band," the Tennessee-based guitar maker said in a statement.

The "Guitar Hero" series, published by Activision), has sold more than 14 million units in North America and raked in more than $1 billion since its 2005 debut, while "Rock Band" is a newer rival.

Gibson said the games, in which players use a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes on a television screen, violate a 1999 patent for technology to simulate a musical performance.

Harmonix developed the first "Guitar Hero" game and was later bought by MTV. Electronic Arts publishes "Rock Band" and another company, Activision Inc, as well as several retailers, either develop, distribute or sell one or several of the games in the "Guitar Hero" series.

"This lawsuit is completely without merit and we intend to defend it vigorously," Harmonix said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Electronic Arts could not be reached for comment.

Earlier this month, Activision filed a preemptive suit against Gibson, which had complained that the games infringe upon one of its patents.

Activision filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court for Central California to declare Gibson's patent invalid and to bar it from seeking damages.

Gibson, whose electric guitars are used by legendary blues and rock artists such as Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Slash, has been a high-profile partner in the "Guitar Hero" games.

Activision licensed the rights to model its video controllers on Gibson guitar models and to use their likenesses in the game.

Activision has said that by waiting three years to raise its claim, Gibson had granted an implied license for any technology.

Lawsuit settled over Beach Boys name

LOS ANGELES - Two former members of the Beach Boys settled a five-year legal dispute over use of the band's name, a lawyer said.

Al Jardine and Mike Love reached an agreement after a two-day conference in Superior Court, attorney Lawrence Noble, who represents Jardine, said Thursday. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

"Mr. Jardine feels very happy and feels that this is a friendly settlement that allows them to focus on the talent and future of this American iconic band," Noble said.

Love sued Jardine in 2003, claiming he fronted a group that used various versions of the Beach Boys name. The lawsuit said Love was the sole licensee to perform under the name, and that Jardine was denied use because he did not agree to abide by terms of a proposed license.

Love was seeking $2 million in court costs and $1 million he said Jardine collected from using the name.

A judge ruled in January that the case could go to trial. It was set to begin April 14.

The Beach Boys were founded in 1961 by brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Love and Brian Wilson's friend Jardine.

Dennis Wilson died in 1983 and Carl Wilson died in 1998.

'Gilligan's Island' star busted for pot

DRIGGS, Idaho - A surprise birthday party for Dawn Wells, the actress who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," ended with a nearly three-hour tour of the Teton County sheriff's office and jail when the 69-year-old was caught with marijuana in her vehicle while driving home.

Wells is now serving six months' unsupervised probation. She was sentenced Feb. 29 to five days in jail, fined $410.50 and placed on probation after pleading guilty to one count of reckless driving.

Prosecutors dropped misdemeanour counts of driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.

According to a sheriff's, Wells was pulled over after she swerved across the fog lines and centre lines of State Highway 33 and repeatedly speeded up and slowed down.

The officer who stopped her said he smelled burning marijuana.

Wells reportedly told him that she'd just given a ride to three hitchhikers and had dropped them off when they began smoking something.

Police found three half-smoked joints in the ashtray, a fourth half-smoked joint and two small cases used to store marijuana.

Wells' lawyer Ron Swafford said a friend admitted he'd left a small amount of marijuana in the car after having used it that day and that Wells was unaware of it.

Wells is the founder of the Idaho Film and Television Institute in Driggs and the organizer of the region's annual family movie festival called the Spud Fest.

Tolkien estate sues New Line Cinema

LOS ANGELES - The estate of "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company failed to pay a cut of gross profits for the blockbuster films.

The writer's estate, a British charity dubbed The Tolkien Trust, and original "Lord of the Rings" publisher HarperCollins filed the lawsuit against New Line Cinema on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The lawsuit claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts from the films to Tolkien's estate and the other plaintiffs. A call to a spokesman for New Line, a unit of Time Warner Inc., was not immediately returned.

The films — 2001's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," and 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" — have reaped nearly $6 billion combined worldwide, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs seek more than $150 million in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and a court order giving the Tolkien estate the right to terminate any rights New Line may have to make films based on other works by the author, including "The Hobbit."

Such an order would scuttle plans New Line has in the works to make a two-film prequel based on "The Hobbit."

"Rings" trilogy director Peter Jackson has already signed on to serve as executive producer on the project, which is tentatively slated to begin production next year, with releases planned for 2010 and 2011.

"The Tolkien trustees do not file lawsuits lightly, and have tried unsuccessfully to resolve their claims out of court," Steven Maier, an attorney for the Tolkien estate based in Britain, said in a statement. "New Line has not paid the plaintiffs even one penny of its contractual share of gross receipts despite the billions of dollars of gross revenue generated by these wildly successful motion pictures."

Maier also claims the film studio has blocked the Tolkien estate and the other plaintiffs from auditing the receipts of the last two films.

Eastwood sues Cdn. furniture firm

WINNIPEG - He's one of Hollywood's most rich and famous, but Clint Eastwood is taking Palliser Furniture to court -- for a few dollars more.

The actor has filed a lawsuit against the Winnipeg-based furniture manufacturing giant to strike back over The Eastwood, a line of home-theatre chairs he claims the company has produced, marketed and sold without his permission.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in United States District Court, comes as a similar lawsuit against Palliser from the estate of late actor Marlon Brando -- launched last March -- also heads to federal court in the Central District of California.

A lawyer representing Eastwood -- a heavyweight of Hollywood's A-list as well as a producer and director for a half-century -- confirmed both court actions are taking aim at Palliser's chairs for the same reason.

The Los Angeles lawyer, who asked not to be named, is also representing Brando's family and the Marlon Brando Living Trust in its court argument they hadn't been approached by Palliser Furniture before sales of the line of chairs called The Brando shortly after the star's death in 2004, and making millions of dollars from it.

"Our complaint speaks for itself. We really just don't comment on pending litigation," the lawyer said yesterday from L.A.

Eastwood's statement of claim argues Palliser's advertising and sales of the chairs bearing his name is "likely to confuse, mislead or deceive the consuming public" into believing the furniture is "in some way affiliated, connected or associated with" himself.

As well as Palliser's profits from the chairs, Eastwood is claiming unspecified punitive damages for "oppression, fraud and malice" in their sales.

Diane Dawiskiba, Palliser's manager of corporate services, did not return a call for comment. But in a letter last winter, before the filing of the Brando estate's lawsuit, she had stated Palliser's position that the chair The Brando is not based on the actor, but on a town of the same name on the French island of Corsica.

"Palliser is certainly not associating its use of the name with the Hollywood Brando name," the letter stated.

The lawyer representing Eastwood and Brando's family slammed that claim at the time, in light of Palliser's sales of other home-theatre chairs called The Bronson, The Connery, The Cooper and The Cagney.

Rebecca Brando, Marlon Brando's daughter, said she's pleased to hear Eastwood is taking a hard line like that of her family.

"I'm very happy for Clint. He's on board with us. He's joined the team," she told the Winnipeg Sun from L.A.

"This company cannot use our name for marketing purposes. I'm very happy we're going to federal court to set a precedent, so companies know they need permission from the estates -- from us, in order to use my father's name.

"He was a very private man, and it's not right for them to use his name and likeness in that way."

James Brown recordings locked in dispute

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The legal feud over the estate of James Brown is stalling the release of the soul legend's final recordings, his longtime adviser said.

Brown cut an album in Los Angeles the summer before he died in December 2006, but the songs are not being released because of courtroom disputes about who should benefit from his legacy and music royalties, said attorney Buddy Dallas. There are also between 50 and 60 other previously recorded songs in vaults, Dallas said.

Brown's fourth son, Daryl, is one of five heirs trying to have their father's will voided because they say his former advisers — including Dallas — used undue influence to get the singer to create charitable trusts from which the advisers would profit. The other advisers named in the lawsuit are Alford Bradley and David Cannon.

Dallas quit as an estate trustee in November but now is trying to retract his resignation.

Daryl Brown, who is lead guitarist for his father's backing band, the Soul Generals, says he is not aware of any recordings done in California in 2006. Brown and the Soul Generals were working on an album at a studio in Georgia, but they only finished two songs before the singer died, his son said.

But he said there are dozens of unreleased songs stored in vaults and on master tapes at Brown's Beech Island, S.C., estate.

Brown died on Christmas Day 2006 of heart failure. He was 73.

Another unwitting "Borat" cast member files lawsuit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The creators of the hit film "Borat" were sued again on Tuesday, this time by a driving instructor seen in the comedy admonishing the fake Kazakh reporter for yelling insults at other drivers.

Michael Psenicska was duped into participating in the film after it was described to him as a "documentary about the integration of foreign people into the American way of life," he said in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court.

The suit named British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who plays the title role, One America Productions and the film's distributor, 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. It also named Todd Lewis, a representative of One America who is listed in other lawsuits as Todd Lewis Schulman.

Psenicska said he was paid $500 in cash to give Borat a driving lesson. He described the experience as "surreal," saying Cohen drove erratically down residential streets, drank alcohol and yelled to a female pedestrian he would pay her $10 for "sexy time."

The lawsuit seeks $400,000 in actual damages and additional punitive damages for misleading Psenicska and for emotional harm he continues to suffer. Psenicska said if he had known the true nature of the film, he never would have participated.

The comedy has grossed $270 million at the box office, plus more than $60 million in DVD sales, the lawsuit said.

Fox said the lawsuit was without merit, calling Psenicska a willing participant who was paid to be in the movie.

"The fact is that Mike Psenicska gave the producers his consent," the studio said in a statement. "He signed a release and we have an agreement. Now, 2 1/2 years after giving his consent, and more than one year after the movie was released, Mr. Psenicska has decided to file a lawsuit, citing the financial success of the film, in spite of our agreement."

"Borat" has been sued at least four times already.

In June, a man seen in the film running away from Borat down the streets of New York City sued Fox in federal court in Manhattan.

In February, a judge threw out a lawsuit brought in Los Angeles Superior Court by two college fraternity members shown guzzling alcohol and making racist remarks. They claimed the scenes tarnished their reputations.

Last year, two residents of a Romanian village sued Fox for $30 million, claiming the film wrongly depicted them as rapists, abortionists, prostitutes and thieves. Scenes depicting Borat in Kazakhstan were filmed in Romania.

A South Carolina man also sued over a deleted scene.

'Grandma ... Reindeer' singer is sued

LOS ANGELES - A feud involving the man who sang "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" could wind up in court, just in time for Christmas.

Elmo Shropshire was sued for breach of contract Monday by a company that claims he interfered in a $1 million-plus deal to sell musical trucks, bobblehead dolls, snow globes and cookie jars featuring characters from an animated show based on the novelty song.

The tale about Santa mowing down a tipsy grandma with his sleigh was first heard in 1979 and has become a holiday favorite. It inspired a 2000 animated TV program that continues to run seasonally around the world.

The Fred Rappoport Co. of California contends it has the rights to use the song for products featuring characters from that program. Rappoport claims it got those specific rights under a 2004 settlement of a lawsuit filed by Shropshire.

The new lawsuit, which seeks at least $2 million in damages, was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. It contends that Shropshire this month improperly sent cease-and-desist letters to two companies that made a deal with Rappoport to market products featuring characters from the animated show.

Shropshire, who lives north of San Francisco in Novato, contended Tuesday that he was legally enforcing his rights to the song.

Rappoport "can sell any characters he wants from the movie," Shropshire said. "But I own the copyright from the song. He can't use the song without my permission."

Shropshire continued: "The song preceded the (animated) show by 20 years. There are a number of companies that license that song from us to make toys and to make CDs and to make a number of things. They're not going to feel so good if we allow someone else to use it for free."

Red Hot Chili Peppers sue Showtime

LOS ANGELES - The Red Hot Chili Peppers on Monday sued Showtime Networks over the name of the television series "Californication," which is also the name of the band's 1999 album and a single on it.

The lawsuit alleges unfair competition, dilution of the value of the name and unjust enrichment, claiming the title is "inherently distinctive, famous ... and immediately associated in the mind of the consumer" with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"Californication is the signature CD, video and song of the band's career, and for some TV show to come along and steal our identity is not right," the band's lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, said in a statement.

The television series stars David Duchovny as a novelist suffering from writers' block and a mid-life crisis.

The show features a character named "Dani California," which is also the title of a Red Hot Chili Peppers song released in 2006, the lawsuit noted.

The suit also names the show's creator and executive producer, Tom Kapinos, and two production companies, Twilight Time Films and Aggressive Mediocrity, Inc.

A call Monday to an attorney for Showtime was not immediately returned. Attempts to find a listing for Kapinos were not successful.

The suit seeks a permanent injunction barring Showtime and the other defendants from using the title "Californication" for the show, damages and restitution and disgorgement of all profits derived by the defendants.

In July 2007, Kapinos told reporters at a Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills that he first heard the term in reference to Oregon.

"Apparently in the '70s there were bumper stickers that said 'Don't Californicate Oregon,' because Californians were coming up there, and I just thought it was a great, great title for this show," said Kapinos.

Record companies win music sharing trial

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The recording industry won a key fight Thursday against illegal music downloading when a federal jury found a Minnesota woman shared copyrighted music online and levied $220,000 in damages against her.

Record companies have filed some 26,000 lawsuits since 2003 over file-sharing, which has hurt sales because it allows people to get music for free instead of paying for recordings in stores.

This was the first such case to go to trial. Many other defendants have settled by paying the companies a few thousand dollars.

The jury ordered Jammie Thomas, 30, to pay the six record companies that sued her $9,250 for each of 24 songs they focused on in the case. They had alleged she shared 1,702 songs in all.

The companies accused Thomas, 30, of Brainerd, of offering the songs online through a Kazaa file-sharing account. She denied wrongdoing and testified that she didn't have a Kazaa account.

During the three-day trial, the record companies presented evidence they said showed the copyrighted songs were offered by a Kazaa user under the name "tereastarr."

Their witnesses, including officials from an Internet provider and a security firm, testified that the Internet address used by "tereastarr" belonged to Thomas.

U.S. trial over music downloads starts Tuesday

A group of record companies says Jammie Thomas illegally shared everything from Enya to Swedish death metal online. Tuesday, she will become the first of 26,000 people sued by the recording industry to take the case to trial.

The Brainerd, Minn., resident is accused of illegally sharing 1,702 songs for free on a file-sharing network. Her trial offers the first chance for both sides in the debate over online music sharing to show a jury its version of the facts.

Thomas is accused of violating the song owners' copyrights. Her lawyer says the record companies haven't even proved she shared the songs.

Most of the 26,000 people the record industry group has sued have settled by paying a few thousand dollars.

"We think that speaks to the clarity of the law here," said Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America.

But lawyers for the defendants say they've settled because trials cost tens of thousands of dollars. Thomas's lawyer, Brian Toder, said she was determined to fight. He declined to make her available for an interview.

"She came into my office and was willing to pay a retainer of pretty much what they wanted to settle for," he said. "And if someone's willing to pay a lawyer rather than pay to make it go away, that says a lot."

Thomas is at risk for a judgment of more than $1.2 million. The recording association is seeking damages set under federal law, of $750 to $30,000 for each copyright violation.

"We repeatedly offer out-of-court settlements far less than what the law allows," Lamy said. The lawsuits aim to "communicate that there are consequences for breaking the law and encourage fans to turn to legal online services."

Jury selection starts Tuesday in Duluth, Minn., and opening statements are expected the same day.

The record companies claim that on Feb. 21, 2005, online investigators at SafeNet Inc., found 1,702 files shared under what they said was a Kazaa account being used by Thomas. The songs included Swedish death metal band Opeth, German industrial group VNV Nation and American rock band Chevelle.

"This individual was distributing these audio files for free over the internet under the username 'tereastarr@KaZaA' to potentially millions of other KaZaA users," according to court papers.

Virgin Records America Inc., Capitol Records Inc. and Warner Bros. Records Inc. are among the companies suing Thomas.

In addition to filing the lawsuits, the industry group has sent 4,000 pre-lawsuit letters, Lamy said.

File-sharing continues

The recording industry convinced a federal judge in 2001 to shut down Napster, which made copyrighted music available on its own computers. Since Napster reopened, it has charged users for music.

The file-sharing programs that emerged to take Napster's place point users to files available on a variety of computers and servers. But their impact has been the same: millions of songs are being downloaded for free instead of purchased legally.

So the recording industry began naming individual file-sharers users in lawsuits in September 2003. The industry association says the lawsuits have helped. But the number of households that have downloaded music with file-sharing programs has risen from 6.9 million in April 2003 to 7.8 million in March 2007, according to industry tracking.

"I think by most any metric you choose, it's been a failure," said Fred von Lohmann, the senior intellectual property attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group.

He questioned whether the lawsuits are much of a deterrent, because the 26,000 cases have targeted only a small percentage of music downloaders.

"The vast majority of people will never know anyone who's gotten sued for this," he said.

Toder, Thomas's attorney, plans to start with the basics — making the record companies prove they own the songs. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis threw out 784 pages of documents produced by the record companies to show they owned a sample of the songs. Toder had argued that the documents were produced seven months late.

Mistrial in Phil Spector murder trial

LOS ANGELES - Music producer Phil Spector's murder trial ended in a mistrial Wednesday because of a deadlocked jury. Each juror told Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler they could not reach a verdict.

The mistrial came on the 12th day of deliberations on whether Spector murdered actress Lana Clarkson more than 4 1/2 years ago.

Spector, 67, is charged with second-degree murder. Clarkson, 40, died when a gun went off in her mouth as she sat in a chair in the foyer of Spector's Alhambra mansion about 5 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2003. She had met Spector just a few hours earlier at her job as a nightclub hostess and went home with him for a drink after work.

O.J. faces felony charges in robbery

LAS VEGAS - O.J. Simpson was arrested Sunday and faces multiple felony charges in an alleged armed robbery of collectors involving the former football great's sports memorabilia, authorities said.

Simpson was arrested shortly after 11 a.m., Capt. James Dillon said.

The charges against Simpson will include robbery with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary with a firearm, all felonies, Dillon said. More charges could be brought against him, he said.

Simpson was being held at Las Vegas police offices pending the arrival of his lawyer, who was expected later Sunday, Dillon said.

"He was very cooperative, there were no issues," Dillon said.

At least one other person has been arrested and police said Sunday that as many as six people could be arrested in connection with the alleged armed robbery that occurred in a room inside the Palace Station casino-hotel on Thursday.

Simpson, 60, has said he and other people with him were retrieving items that belonged to him. Simpson has said there were no guns involved and that he went to the room at the casino only to get stolen mementos that included his Hall of Fame certificate and a picture of the running back with J. Edgar Hoover.

Simpson told The Associated Press on Saturday that he did not call the police to help reclaim the items because he has found the police unresponsive to him ever since his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were killed in 1994.

"The police, since my trouble, have not worked out for me," he said, noting that whenever he has called the police "It just becomes a story about O.J."

The Heisman Trophy winner, ex-NFL star and actor lives near Miami and has been a tabloid staple since his ex-wife and Goldman were killed in 1994. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges, but a jury later held him liable for the killings in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Police said two firearms and other evidence were seized at a private residence early Sunday.

Walter Alexander, 46, of Arizona, was arrested Saturday night on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary with a deadly weapon.

He was released without bail on Saturday night, Dillon said.

Besides the two firearms, police said they seized other evidence during early morning searches of two residences, Lt. Clint Nichols said.

"It was evidence of a crime that was committed," Nichols said. "And I believe we recovered some clothing that the individual was wearing in the commission of the robbery."

Simpson said auction house owner Tom Riccio called him several weeks ago to say some collectors were selling some of his items. Riccio set up a meeting with collectors under the guise that he had a private collector interested in buying Simpson's items.

Simpson said he was accompanied by several men he met at a wedding cocktail party, and they took the collectibles.

Alfred Beardsley, one of the sports memorabilia collectors involved in the alleged robbery, has said he wants the case dropped and that he's "on O.J.'s side."

Bill Murray Arrested for Drunk Driving in a Golf Cart

Hollywood star Bill Murray has been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in a golf cart in the Swedish capital Stockholm.

The actor was stopped by police in the early hours of Sunday and alcohol was smelled on his breath, according Stockholm police detective inspector Christer Holmlund.

Holmlund says, "He refused to blow in the (breath test) instrument, citing American legislation. So we applied the old method - a blood test. It will take 14 days before the results are in."

Murray - who is in the city attending a golf tournament - signed a document admitting driving under the influence and permitted a police officer to enter a guilty plea on his behalf if the case goes to court.

The 56-year-old will only be charged if his blood alcohol level is higher than the legal limit. If it is excessively high he could face a prison sentence - but a fine is more likely.

Holmlund adds, "There were no obvious signs, like when someone is really tipsy." The officer claims mystery surrounds the golf cart and who owns it - although Murray isn't facing theft charges:

"It was a golf cart. How it ended up in this predicament I don't know. I have done this since 1968 and I've never experienced anything like this."

Honeymoon over for "Greek Wedding" creative team

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Alleging big, fat accounting problems, the creative team behind "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is suing the independent production company behind the 2002 low-budget comedy phenomenon.

Plaintiffs in the suit, filed late Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, include business entities controlled by Nia Vardalos, who wrote the screenplay and starred in the film, and those of producers Tom Hanks, Rita Hanks and Gary Goetzman.

Collectively, the creative team has shared in profits rising into the tens of millions, but it claims that a lack of transparency in accounting by film co-financier Gold Circle Films has left the plaintiffs uncertain of how much they are owed. Gold Circle is backed by billionaire Gateway Inc. co-founder Norm Waitt Jr.

The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a full accounting of film profits under court supervision. In addition to Gold Circle, the suit names as defendants related entities Big Wedding Prods. and Vortex Pictures.

"The accounting statements rendered by defendants have been vague and inadequate in failing to provide information consistent with industry standards," alleges the suit.

The plaintiffs claim Gold Circle reports gross receipts of the film -- produced on a budget of $5 million -- total $287 million, even though media reports indicate a tally closer to $400 million. The defendants have failed to provide an audit requested to clarify the matter, the plaintiffs said.

Vardalos' contract stipulates an 8% participation in adjusted gross profits, while the other three plaintiffs are owed one-third each of the net balance remaining after backend disbursements, according to the suit.

IFC, the domestic distributor of "Greek Wedding," was a nonequity contractor on the film and is not a party to the suit.

Scott Niemeyer, a principal at Gold Circle, issued a company statement denying all claims in the lawsuit, which he labeled as "frivolous."

"The lawsuit filed by the plaintiffs is completely without merit," Gold Circle said. "Gold Circle has fully complied with its contractual obligations and has already paid plaintiffs a combined total of over $44 million in profits on 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding.' Gold Circle has never thwarted the producers' audit rights.

"Since receiving plaintiffs' initial audit request over two years ago in early 2005, Gold Circle has invited plaintiffs' auditors to schedule and conduct their audit," the statement added. "However, for over two years the plaintiffs and their auditors have done nothing to advance an audit. Plaintiffs' representatives have filed this frivolous lawsuit as a desperate attempt to cover up their failure to initiate potential audit claims that have since been time-barred under the express terms of the applicable contracts."

Media mogul Black guilty of fraud

CHICAGO - Former media mogul Conrad Black was convicted Friday of swindling the far-flung Hollinger International newspaper empire he once ran out of millions of dollars, becoming the latest in a wave of disgraced corporate executives to face prison time for financial fraud.

Black, 62, who once renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a member of the British House of Lords, was found guilty by a federal jury of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice for spiriting documents out of his Toronto office in defiance of a court order.

Black was acquitted of nine other counts ranging from tax fraud to the most serious charge — racketeering. He was also acquitted of fleecing Hollinger shareholders through such perks as taking the corporate jet on a two-week vacation to the island of Bora Bora.

The three-month trial drew international media attention, heightened by the silver-haired British lord's posh lifestyle and sometimes haughty comments. When shareholders grumbled about the cost of the Bora Bora trip, he wrote a memo saying: "I'm not prepared to re-enact the French revolutionary renunciation of the rights of the nobility."

Three other former Hollinger executives, John Boultbee, 65, of Victoria, British Columbia, Peter Y. Atkinson, 60, of Oakville, Ontario, and Mark Kipnis, 59, of Northbrook, Ill., were also convicted of fraud charges.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to have Black jailed immediately, saying he could face approximately 15 years to nearly 20 years in federal prison for the conviction. But defense attorneys said the actual sentence was likely to be much less.

In contrast to the $84 million in fraud prosecutors blamed on Black when he was indicted two years ago, the jurors found him guilty of a fraction of that — defense attorneys put the amount at $3.5 million.

Still, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the government was "gratified" by the verdict.

"We think the verdict vindicates the serious public interest in making sure that when insiders in a corporation deal with money entrusted to them by the shareholders, that they not engage in self-dealing, that they not break the law to benefit themselves instead of the shareholders," Fitzgerald said.

St. Eve set a Nov. 30 sentencing date, confiscated Black's passport and ordered him to remain in the Chicago area while she considers the government's request that she revoke his $21 million bond, partly secured by a seaside estate in Palm Beach, Fla. A hearing on the bond issue is scheduled for Thursday.

Black defense attorney Edward M. Genson argued that Black had "wanted his day in court and now wants his day on appeal" and would not run away.

"He has had his day in court," countered prosecutor Eric H. Sussman, "and now the question is whether he will have his day of sentencing."

Black was stony faced as he handed over the passport. When St. Eve asked if he would appear for sentencing, he said: "Absolutely."

Black avoided reporters' questions as he left the courthouse Friday afternoon. Edward Greenspan, Black's Canadian defense attorney, promised an appeal on "viable legal issues."

"We came here to face 13 counts and an indictment. Conrad Black was acquitted of all the central charges. They have been dismissed," Greenspan said, reading from a statement and refusing to answer questions.

"We vehemently disagree with the government's position on sentencing," he said, but did not offer what he believes is a proper sentencing range.

Hollinger International, based in Chicago, was at one time one of the world's largest publisher of community newspapers as well as the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Telegraph of London and Israel's Jerusalem Post.

At the core of the charges against Black was a strategy he arrived at starting in 1998 to sell off the bulk of the small community papers, which were published in smaller cities across the United States and Canada.

Black and other Hollinger executives received millions of dollars in payments from the companies that bought the community papers in return for promises that they would not return to compete with the new owners.

Prosecutors said the executives pocketed the money, which they said belonged to shareholders, without telling Hollinger's board of directors.

In the end, jurors convicted Black in connection with two sets of noncompete payments.

One involved $2.6 million in such payments he received in exchange for a noncompete pledge made to the American Publishing Co. The company was a Hollinger subsidiary and thus Black and executives who also got such payments were effectively getting money not to compete with themselves.

The other were "supplemental payments" made in April 2001 after Hollinger executives realized there had been no non-competition money in sales of community newspapers to Horizon Publications Inc. in March 1999 and to Forum Communications Inc. in September 2000.

Realizing that no such non-competition money for them had been included in the deals, the executives ordered up "supplemental payments." Black's share of that money came to $285,000.

The American Publishing money and supplemental payments were covered in three counts of the indictment. The fourth count Black was convicted of involved the removal of documents from his Toronto offices after a court had ordered them frozen unless otherwise permitted by a court monitor.

The government's star witness at the trial was F. David Radler, Black's partner in building the Hollinger empire over three decades. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud and agreed to testify in exchange for a lenient 29-month sentence and a $250,000 fine.

Black had said that he was busy with newspaper interests in Britain and eastern Canada and left most of the sales of community newspapers and noncompete arrangements to Radler. But Radler said that Black was well aware of how and why the money was being paid.

___

Associated Press Writers Don Babwin, Carla K. Johnson, Dave Carpenter and Dan Strumpf in Chicago contributed to this report.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to have Black jailed immediately, saying he could face approximately 15 years to nearly 20 years in federal prison for the conviction. But defense attorneys said the actual sentence was likely to be much less.

In contrast to the $84 million in fraud prosecutors blamed on Black when he was indicted two years ago, the jurors found him guilty of a fraction of that — defense attorneys put the amount at $3.5 million.

Still, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the government was "gratified" by the verdict.

"We think the verdict vindicates the serious public interest in making sure that when insiders in a corporation deal with money entrusted to them by the shareholders, that they not engage in self-dealing, that they not break the law to benefit themselves instead of the shareholders," Fitzgerald said.

St. Eve set a Nov. 30 sentencing date, confiscated Black's passport and ordered him to remain in the Chicago area while she considers the government's request that she revoke his $21 million bond, partly secured by a seaside estate in Palm Beach, Fla. A hearing on the bond issue is scheduled for Thursday.

Black defense attorney Edward M. Genson argued that Black had "wanted his day in court and now wants his day on appeal" and would not run away.

"He has had his day in court," countered prosecutor Eric H. Sussman, "and now the question is whether he will have his day of sentencing."

Black was stony faced as he handed over the passport. When St. Eve asked if he would appear for sentencing, he said: "Absolutely."

Black avoided reporters' questions as he left the courthouse Friday afternoon. Edward Greenspan, Black's Canadian defense attorney, promised an appeal on "viable legal issues."

"We came here to face 13 counts and an indictment. Conrad Black was acquitted of all the central charges. They have been dismissed," Greenspan said, reading from a statement and refusing to answer questions.

"We vehemently disagree with the government's position on sentencing," he said, but did not offer what he believes is a proper sentencing range.

Hollinger International, based in Chicago, was at one time one of the world's largest publisher of community newspapers as well as the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Telegraph of London and Israel's Jerusalem Post.

At the core of the charges against Black was a strategy he arrived at starting in 1998 to sell off the bulk of the small community papers, which were published in smaller cities across the United States and Canada.

Black and other Hollinger executives received millions of dollars in payments from the companies that bought the community papers in return for promises that they would not return to compete with the new owners.

Prosecutors said the executives pocketed the money, which they said belonged to shareholders, without telling Hollinger's board of directors.

In the end, jurors convicted Black in connection with two sets of noncompete payments.

One involved $2.6 million in such payments he received in exchange for a noncompete pledge made to the American Publishing Co. The company was a Hollinger subsidiary and thus Black and executives who also got such payments were effectively getting money not to compete with themselves.

The other were "supplemental payments" made in April 2001 after Hollinger executives realized there had been no non-competition money in sales of community newspapers to Horizon Publications Inc. in March 1999 and to Forum Communications Inc. in September 2000.

Realizing that no such non-competition money for them had been included in the deals, the executives ordered up "supplemental payments." Black's share of that money came to $285,000.

The American Publishing money and supplemental payments were covered in three counts of the indictment. The fourth count Black was convicted of involved the removal of documents from his Toronto offices after a court had ordered them frozen unless otherwise permitted by a court monitor.

The government's star witness at the trial was F. David Radler, Black's partner in building the Hollinger empire over three decades. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud and agreed to testify in exchange for a lenient 29-month sentence and a $250,000 fine.

Black had said that he was busy with newspaper interests in Britain and eastern Canada and left most of the sales of community newspapers and noncompete arrangements to Radler. But Radler said that Black was well aware of how and why the money was being paid.

Avril sued over 'Girlfriend'

TORONTO (CP) - Canadian faux-punk princess Avril Lavigne, repeatedly dogged by accusations she doesn't write her own songs, is now being dragged into a legal battle to prove she penned her chart-topping hit "Girlfriend."

A pair of U.S. songwriters allege her contagious single sounds suspiciously like a song called "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," released by the Rubinoos in 1979.

The American song features the upbeat chorus: "Hey, hey, you, you, I wanna be your boyfriend," much like Lavigne's boppy refrain, which declares: "Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend."

San Francisco lawyer Nicholas Carlin said Wednesday that the similarities are clear, and accused Lavigne of copying substantial chunks of the song from the one crafted by his client, Rubinoos founder and songwriter Tommy Dunbar.

"She's made a lot of money off of my client's song," Carlin said by phone from northern California, where the claim was filed.

"The entire song is not the same, they have different bridges, but the heart and soul of her song is directly taken from our client's song."

Lavigne's manager, Terry McBride, scoffed at the charges, calling the suit "baseless" and little more than a "case of legal blackmail."

"Avril's a great songwriter and she's proving it over and over and over again," McBride said from Vancouver, where he runs Nettwerk Music Group.

"Avril's very, very sensible. She knows music well. If the chords had been similar, the melodies had been similar, lyrics had been similar ... she would have gone, 'OK, I can see their point.' But nothing's similar."

McBride said the suit was filed July 2 but that he received a draft of the claim roughly six weeks ago.

It names as the plaintiffs songwriters Dunbar and James Gangwer and names Lavigne, Avril Lavigne Publishing, and the 22-year-old's songwriting partner Dr. Luke among the defendants.

While Carlin admitted that the lyrics and melodies differ, he insisted that the main hook of Dunbar's song was ripped off.

"You don't have to have the entire song to be similar to the original song for it to be an infringement. It just requires a certain, substantial similarity, meaning an important part of the song," he explained.

He went on to recite the lyrics to Lavigne's upbeat track, noting they morph from "I don't like your girlfriend" to "I want to be your girlfriend."

McBride said he hired a musicologist to study both tracks and the expert found no basis for the allegations.

"This one came back so solidly on our side it's just ridiculous," he said.

Still, McBride admitted he's considering settling the suit out of court if the costs of defending the case prove too high.

He noted that a similar claim against his client Sarah McLachlan about 10 years ago cost roughly $500,000 to defeat in court. When Nettwerk tried to recoup the costs from the plaintiffs, they declared bankruptcy, he said.

Veteran entertainment lawyer Paul Sanderson said copyright suits are common in the music business and are often settled out of court.

"There used to be a saying in the industry: 'Where there's a hit, there's a writ,' " said Sanderson, a Toronto lawyer who used to represent Lavigne and whose current clients include Chantal Kreviazuk and Ron Sexsmith.

"It really is about the money. If someone thinks that they have a possibility of making some money out of the claim and there's money in the pipeline that's been earned by a song ... there's money there to argue about."

McBride said his current legal battle is "an unfortunate part of this business."

"We will try and settle for costs that will be less than defending," he said. "Emotionally, it sucks. But at the end of the day you have to take that out of it."

The legal blow is just the latest in a series of jabs that question Lavigne's songwriting claims.

Last month, Kreviazuk suggested to Performing Songwriter magazine that Lavigne took credit for a song Kreviazuk wrote called "Contagious."

Kreviazuk told the publication she gave a song called "Contagious" to Lavigne two years ago and was surprised to see a track with the same name on Lavigne's current disc with a credit to Lavigne and songwriter Evan Taubenfeld.

McBride said Kreviazuk has never even heard the Lavigne track and has since retracted her statement.

"I know, personally, she regrets saying what she said," said McBride, adding the songs are nothing alike. "The interviewer obviously got Chantal on a bad day."

Lavigne, who grew up in Napanee, Ont., has also had to deflect accusations from the Matrix, the production team behind hits "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm With You."

Songwriter Lauren Christie told Rolling Stone that Lavigne did little but "change a word here or there," but Lavigne has insisted the pair crafted the melodies and lyrics together.

McBride said the barrage of criticism facing Lavigne is just part of life at the top of the charts.

"Everyone comes after the stars. If Avril was not successful, they wouldn't really care," he said.

15 actors sue for LOTR profits

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Fifteen actors from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy are suing New Line Cinema for breach of contract, claiming they're still owed a percentage of an estimated US$100 million in profits from the sales of movie merchandise, their lawyer said Wednesday.

The New Zealand actors were supposed to split five per cent of the revenue after expenses from sales of caps, video games, mugs and other merchandise, said the lawsuit filed May 30 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. But the suit contends New Line breached the contract by taking distribution and "gross participation" fees to which it wasn't entitled

The fees weren't in the contract and they ate up all the profits owed to the actors, said their lawyer, Henry Gradstein of Los Angeles.

With those fees, "the expenses will always be approximately 104 per cent. It's Hollywood accounting," Gradstein said.

The merchandise has created $100 million in net profits, including $22 million alone for items associated with Paul Norell, who played the "King of the Dead," the lawyer estimated.

New Line does not comment on pending litigation, spokesman Robert Pini said Wednesday.

It's not the first suit against New Line stemming from the hugely successful movie series.

Director Peter Jackson's production company sued the distributor two years ago, claiming it was shortchanged on profits, including revenue from DVD sales, for 2001's "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Also, in 2005 New Line reached an out-of-court settlement with Hollywood producer Saul Zaentz, who claimed he was owed an additional $20 million in royalties from the "Lord of the Rings" films. Terms were not disclosed.

Canadian journalist says "Knocked Up" a knock-off

TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian journalist is suing the director and the studio of the new hit comedy "Knocked Up," arguing that she's the rightful parent of the tale behind the movie.

In a suit filed against writer-director Judd Apatow, and against Universal Studios, Calgary-based Rebecca Eckler says there are too many similarities between the movie and her book about her accidental pregnancy to be a coincidence.

"I don't doubt, purely based on the screenplay, that he (Apatow) had a copy in his office somehow of the book," Eckler told Reuters.

"A lot of people, I'm sure, will say, 'Well, getting drunk and knocked up, it could happen to everybody.' Well, the fact is, it doesn't happen to everybody, and no one had written about it before I did. And he (Apatow) didn't sell the screenplay until after I did."

Eckler's book, "Knocked Up: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-Be," was published in the United States in 2005, and Eckler said she wants credit and compensation.

The story of an up-and-coming reporter who gets drunk and pregnant is the premise behind both the film and Eckler's book. She said other similarities include the fact that both fathers are Jewish-Canadians, and both mothers took a huge number of pregnancy tests to confirm a baby was on the way.

Apatow contends the two stories are very different.

"The book is about a woman who gets pregnant by the fiance that she loves on the night of her engagement party," he said in a statement. "The film is about a one-night stand between a pot smoking slacker and an ambitious young woman that leads to a pregnancy and their attempts to get to know each other.

"Anyone who reads the book and sees the movie will instantly know that they are two very different stories about a common experience."

Eckler said she filed her copyright infringement lawsuit in January. The trial is set to begin in March 2008.

The movie opened in North America on June 1 and stars Seth Rogen as pot-smoking daddy Ben Stone and Katherine Heigl as the mom-to-be, Alison Scott. It earned an impressive $30.7 million in its first weekend.

"I can see why the movie's successful. It's funny," said Eckler.

Love Kicks Cobain Shoe Ad to the Curb

Thanks in part to an outraged Courtney Love, a new Doc Martens ad has been given the boot.

The 42-year-old entertainer was steamed after learing that a new advertising campaign for the footwear company features late husband Kurt Cobain and other iconic punk rockers modeling boots in heaven.

The print ads, promoting the manufactuer's AirWair line and only approved for use in the United Kingdom, portrayed the Nirvana star sitting in a cloudbank, clad all in white except for a pair of black boots. A tag line in corner reads: "Dr. Martens. Forever." Similar ads featured the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious, the Clash's Joe Strummer, and the Ramones' Joey Ramone. The photos were leaked earlier this month via the music blog thedailyswarm.com.

"Courtney never approved the use of these images [for commercial gain] nor would she ever approve it. She knew nothing about it," Love publicist Alan Nierob tells E! Online.

The rep said British law, unlike American, appears to allow companies to use the images of dead celebrities without explicit permission from their estates.

Nierob said that Love was having her lawyers double check, but added that any suggestion she'd take legal action at this point was "premature."

Dr. Martens wasn't willing to push the issue. Facing a PR nightmare and backlash from the same fans the company was trying to court, the shoemaker said it was scuttling the campaign.

"Dr. Martens is very sorry for any offense that has been caused by the publication of images showing dead rock icons wearing Dr. Martens boots," the company said in a statement to E! Online. "Dr. Martens did not commission the work as it runs counter to our current marketing activities based on FREEDM, which is dedicated to nurturing grass roots creativity and supporting emerging talent.

"As a consequence, Dr Martens has terminated its relationship with the responsible agency."

The "responsible agency," London-based Saatchi & Saatchi, defended the work, saying the photographs of Cobain and company were legally purchased from Corbis, one of the world's largest stock photo companies.

“We believe the ads are edgy but not offensive. There has been blog commentary both for and against the ads, but it is our belief that they are respectful of both the musicians and the Dr. Martens brand,” said Kate Stanners, the agency's executive creative director.

Earlier, another campaign mastermind explanied the concept behind the ads to British music site NME. com

"We wanted to communicate that Dr. Marten boots are 'made to last' and we discovered that these idolized musicians wore them," copywriter Andrew Petch said. "Showing them still wearing their Docs in heaven dramatized the boots' durability perfectly. And, as images, they feel very iconic."

But Nierob says Dr. Martens made the right move.

"They obviously realized they did something wrong," the publicist said. "It was in poor taste."

Aside from Love, many fans took issue with anti-establishment punkers being used to promote shoes, others questioned the veracity of the ads.

"Kurt wore...Converse. Don’t know about Doc Martens," Ruby 17 wrote on Love's official Website, moonwashedrose.com. "Even so, they could have at least asked permission. Wondered if they asked permission from Joey Ramone’s estate or Sid Vicious estate as well? Does look tacky I agree."

"I can’t say I knew Kurt, but to me he doesn’t seem like the guy that would wanna be a spokesperson for clothing and shoes. Neither does Sid or Joey," a user named Linn added.

Love and Cobain married in 1992 and had a daughter, Frances Bean, before the grunge star killed himself in the couple's Seattle home two years later.
Love controls Cobain's estate and has been very hands-on when it comes to overseeing her late husband's legacy.

But earlier this month, the "Doll Parts" singer announced plans to auction off the bulk of Cobain's belongings.

"I still wear his pajamas to bed," she told spinner.com. "How am I ever going to go form another relationship in my lifetime wearing Kurt's pajamas? Everyone's been positive and behind me on it," she told the site. "We'll make a lot of money and give a bunch of it to charity."

No word yet on a date or which organization/s will receive the spoils. The garage sale comes about a year after Love struck a $50 million deal with Primary Wave Music Publishing for a 25 percent stake in Cobain's music royalties.

Love, meanwhile, has been putting her past drug problems behind her, boasting online that she's now clean and sober, has dropped 44 pounds, has fixed what she said was a botched nose job and is now living on a macrobiotic diet. She's also prepping a new solo album, Nobody's Daughter, which should be out later this year.

Chauffeur: Spector Said, "I Think I Killed Somebody"

The closest thing the Phil Spector prosecution has to a smoking gun took the stand today.

Adriano De Souza, who worked as Spector's driver the night that Lana Clarkson was killed, reiterated his grand jury testimony from 2004, testifying Tuesday that his former boss came out of his house at about 5 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2003, and said, "I think I killed somebody."

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office is arguing that Spector, who supposedly has a history of getting drunk and threatening his girlfriends with guns, killed Clarkson with a gunshot wound to the mouth in the hallway of his Alhambra mansion.

With De Souza's input, prosecutors are looking to refute Spector's explanation of the incident, which is that the actress shot herself.

Continuing the chain of testimony from people who saw Spector that night, De Souza described driving Spector and two different female companions to four L.A. nightspots, saying that, as the evening progressed, the Wall of Sound creator became increasingly intoxicated and moody.

Spector and Clarkson left the House of Blues in West Hollywood together at around 2:30 a.m., De Souza said. Spector seemed drunk and smelled of alcohol, and Clarkson at first refused his invitation to go home with him.

"I think she was afraid to go," De Souza said. "She said she could lose her job if she got a ride with a customer."

Eventually she relented. "I opened the door for her and she said she was going just for a drink," he recalled.

"What did Mr. Spector say?" Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson asked.

"Don't talk to the driver…He screamed it," De Souza recalled.

When asked if he had any trouble understanding his boss, De Souza, a Brazilian immigrant who says he had been in the United States for four years before the night of Clarkson's death, said he had no problem. He testified that he had worked for Spector 13 or 14 times in the past, usually at a rate of $30 an hour.

After making the 30-minute drive from West Hollywood to Alhambra, De Souza stayed in the car when Spector and Clarkson walked inside the famed music producer's mansion, he testified. Spector returned a few moments later to grab a briefcase from the black Mercedes-Benz S430, but didn't tell De Souza what was in it.

At about 5 a.m., De Souza said, he was asleep in the Mercedes, which was parked a few feet from the back entrance of Spector's house, when he was awakened by a "pow" noise.

Spector walked out the back door a minute later, the driver said, holding a Colt Cobra .38-caliber revolver in his right hand. The defendant also had a smudge of blood on his right index finger, De Souza said.

"I think I killed somebody," Spector said, according to De Souza.

The driver then asked his boss, "What happened, sir?" To which Spector simply shrugged his shoulders, De Souza testified.

De Souza then told the court how he looked through the back door and saw Clarkson's legs. Taking a closer look, he saw Clarkson, with blood on her face, slumped in a chair in the foyer.

The former Brazilian army lieutenant is expected to take the stand again Wednesday, where he's sure to face heated cross-examination from Spector's team.

In his opening statement a few weeks back, defense attorney Bruce Cutler called Spector's purported confession to De Souza "five words allegedly said to someone taking a siesta." Cutler has also dismissed the various stories from female witnesses who claim Spector once threatened them as "tall tales."

Also tomorrow, forensics expert Henry Lee is expected to testify, without the jury present, with regard to the bit of acrylic fingernail the prosecution is contending Lee picked up at the scene of Clarkson's death. The D.A.'s Office has accused the defense of tampering with evidence by not turning the so-called piece of nail over to prosecutors.

Before De Souza took the stand today, the jury heard from Sophia Holguin, Spector's waitress at the House of Blues on Feb. 3, 2003, who testified that the man seemed "angry in general" and that, after he finished his drink, he asked her to come home with him, as well.

She refused, Holguin said, telling him she had something to do the next morning. She characterized his demeanor that night as agitated. He was also talking fast and slurring his words, she said.

Holguin testified that she asked Clarkson, who was working as a hostess in the House of Blues' Foundation Room, to send Spector over to her section because he was a multimillionaire and a good tipper. It was a good call—Spector left a $450 tip on a $13.50 tab, she said.

Music piracy crackdown nets college kids

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — At first, Sarah Barg thought the e-mail was a scam.

Some group called the Recording Industry Association of America was accusing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln sophomore of illegally downloading 381 songs using the school's computer network and a program called Ares.

The letter said she might be sued but offered her the chance to settle out of court.

Barg couldn't imagine anyone expected her to pay $3,000 — $7.87 per song — for some 1980s ballads and Spice Girls tunes she downloaded for laughs in her dorm room. Besides, the 20-year-old had friends who had downloaded thousands of songs without repercussion.

"Obviously I knew it was illegal, but no one got in trouble for it," Barg said.

But Barg's perspective changed quickly that Thursday in March, when she called student legal services and found out the e-mail was no joke and that she had a pricey decision to make.

Barg is one of 61 students at UNL and hundreds at more than 60 college campuses across the country who have received letters from the recording industry group, threatening a lawsuit if they don't settle out of court.

"Any student on any campus in the country who is illegally downloading music may receive one of these letters in the coming months," said Jenni Engebretsen, an RIAA spokeswoman.

Barg's parents paid the $3,000 settlement. Without their help, "I don't know what I would have done. I'm only 20 years old," she said.

At least 500 university students nationwide have paid settlements to avoid being sued, Engebretsen said. Students who don't take the offer face lawsuits — and minimum damages of $750 for each copyrighted recording shared if they lose.

UNL officials have been told 32 more letters are on the way. At least 17 UNL students who did not take the settlement offer have been sued, according to the RIAA, although the university has been asked to forward only five subpoenas.

But the students coughing up the cash question why they're the ones getting in trouble.

"They're targeting the worst people," UNL freshman Andrew Johnson, who also settled for $3,000. "Legally, it probably makes sense, because we don't have the money to fight."

Johnson got his e-mail in February, with the recording industry group's first wave of letters targeting college students. He had downloaded 100 songs on a program called LimeWire using the university network.

The money to settle came from the 18-year-old's college fund. He'll work three jobs this summer to pay back the money.

Johnson compares what he did to people driving 5 miles per hour over the speed limit.

"It's not like I downloaded millions of songs and sold them to people," Johnson said.

But just one song can bring a lawsuit, Engebretsen said.

"It is important to send the message that this is illegal, you can be caught, and there are consequences," she said.

The industry realizes attitudes need changing, and money from the settlements is reinvested in educational programs schools and other groups can use to spread the word that song sharing can have severe consequences.

Some of the programs are tailored to start with third-graders.

"We do recognize that by the time students reach college, many of their music habits are already formed," Engebretsen said.

Earlier this month, members of Congress sent a letter to officials from 19 universities, including UNL, asking for information about schools' anti-piracy policies.

According to the letter, more than half of college students download copyrighted music and movies. The information requested is intended to help assess whether Congress needs to advance legislation to ensure illegal downloading "is no longer commonly associated with student life on some U.S. campuses," the letter says.

Barg is still angry about her letter from the recording industry group, which she calls bullying. But she agrees sharing music is common, and that other students don't understand the consequences.

"Technically, I'm guilty. I just think it's ridiculous, the way they're going about it," Barg said. "We have to find a way to adjust our legal policy to take into account this new technology, and so far, they're not doing a very good job."

Barg thinks the university should send an e-mail to all students, warning them that the recording industry won't look the other way.

As campus clears out for the summer, UNL officials are considering launching a new educational campaign in the fall.

"If we can do anything to help educate students about what illegal file-sharing is, we're willing and interested in doing that," said Kelly Bartling, a university spokeswoman.

Bartling said no one wants students to have to worry about how to pay tuition because of an expensive settlement. "It is a hugely expensive lesson," Bartling said.

Johnson, the UNL freshman, doesn't think the threats from the recording industry group are going to solve the problem. Friends who know he got in trouble still share music online.

"People are still going to do it until they get caught, and they can't catch everyone," Johnson said.

Paris Hilton going to jail for 45 days

LOS ANGELES - A judge sentenced Paris Hilton to 45 days in county jail Friday for violating her probation, putting the brakes on the hotel heiress' famous high life.

Hilton, who parlayed her name and relentless partying into worldwide notoriety, must go to jail by June 5 and she will not be allowed any work release, furloughs, use of an alternative jail or electronic monitoring in lieu of jail, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer ruled after a hearing.

The judge, saying "there's no doubt she knew her license had been suspended," ruled that she was in violation of the terms of her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

"I'm very sorry and from now on I'm going to pay complete attention to everything. I'm sorry and I did not do it on purpose at all," she told the judge before he announced the sentence.

She was then ordered to report to a women's jail in suburban Lynwood by the set date or face 90 days behind bars. The judge's ruling excluded her from paying to serve time in a jail of her choice, as some are allowed.

Hilton was among a series of witnesses who took the stand during the hearing. She testified she believed her license was initially suspended for 30 days and that she was allowed to drive for work purposes during the next 90 days.

She said that when an officer who stopped her in January made her sign a document stating her license was suspended, she thought he was mistaken and did not actually look at the document.

Also called to the stand was Hilton's spokesman, Elliot Mintz. Hilton and her attorneys characterized Mintz as a liaison between Hilton and her lawyers.

Mintz testified that to his knowledge Hilton did not drive during the 30-day period. He said he then advised her that he believed her license was no longer suspended.

The judge called Mintz's testimony worthless and expressed disbelief at Hilton's lawyers.

"I can't believe that either attorney did not tell her that the suspension had been upheld," the judge said. "She wanted to disregard everything that was said and continue to drive no matter what."

As a city prosecutor said during closing arguments that Hilton deserved jail time, Hilton's mother, Kathy, laughed. When the judge ruled, Kathy Hilton then blurted out: "May I have your autograph?"

Paris Hilton looked forward and didn't speak to news media as she left court. Her mother looked upset.

When a reporter asked what she thought of the judge's decision, a visibly angry Kathy Hilton responded: "What do you think? This is pathetic and disgusting, a waste of taxpayer money with all this nonsense. This is a joke."

Defense attorney Howard Weitzman said he would appeal.

"I'm shocked, I'm surprised and really disheartened in the system that I've worked in for close to 40 years," Weitzman said.

He said the sentence was "uncalled for, inappropriate and bordered on the ludicrous."

"I think she's singled out because of who she is," Weitzman said.

Hilton had arrived at the Metropolitan Courthouse 10 minutes late and ignored screams of photographers as she swept in with her attorneys, mother and father, Rick Hilton. Wearing a gray jacket and white shirt over black slacks and with a black headband on, she said nothing and appeared serious.

The celebrity case brought an unusual scene to the austere courthouse south of downtown in a commercial area. As if at a red carpet event, dozens of photographers and reporters lined up at the rear entrance. Yellow police tape substituted for velvet ropes.

Hilton, 26, pleaded no contest in January to reckless driving stemming from a Sept. 7 arrest in Hollywood. Police said she appeared intoxicated and failed a field sobriety test. She had a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent, the level at which an adult driver is in violation of the law.

She was sentenced to 36 months probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines.

Two other traffic stops and failure to enroll in a mandated alcohol education program, are what landed the socialite back in court.

On Jan. 15, Hilton was pulled over by California Highway Patrol. Officers informed her that she was driving on a suspended license and she signed a document acknowledging that she was not to drive, according to papers filed in Superior Court.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies stopped Hilton on Feb. 27 and charged her with violating her probation. Police said she was pulled over at about 11 p.m. after authorities saw the car speeding with its headlights off.

Mintz said at the time Hilton wasn't aware her license was suspended. A copy of the document Hilton signed on Jan. 15 was found in the car's glove compartment, court papers say.

Hilton was also required to enroll in an alcohol education program by Feb. 12. As of April 17, she had not enrolled, prosecutors said.

Hilton, heiress to the Hilton Hotel fortune, first gained notoriety for her hard partying as a teen. She attracted worldwide attention when a sex tape she made with a boyfriend was released on the Internet.

She stars in the reality-TV series, "The Simple Life," now in its fifth season, with Nicole Richie. She appeared in the 2005 film, "House of Wax" and recently finished filming "The Hottie and the Nottie." She also is a handbag designer and has a namesake perfume.

What Paris can expect behind bars

LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton better like chicken. The hotel heiress was sentenced Friday to 45 days at the Century Regional Detention Center, Los Angeles County's jailhouse for women just south of downtown in Lynwood.

Inmates get three low-sodium meals a day, with dinner the only hot meal. Beef and pork aren't permitted — "it's all poultry-based," said Capt. Alice Scott, who oversees the 2,200-inmate facility she describes as "a very nice place."

Like other high-profile Los Angeles County inmates — O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, Robert Mitchum, Sirhan Sirhan and Charles Manson — Hilton will be segregated from the general population for her own safety, living in a one- or two-person cell.

Her cell will be Spartan: 12-by-8 feet with a toilet, sink and a window 6 inches wide. She'll comb her blonde locks in a mirror made of polished metal.

Breakfast is served between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., hours when Hilton sometimes gets in after a night of partying.

Inmates in segregation are allowed outside their cells for at least an hour each day to shower, watch television in the day room, participate in outdoor recreation or talk on the telephone, Scott said. There are a bank of phones that use prepaid phone cards — cellular telephones and Blackberries aren't allowed.

There have been other celebrities at the women's jail. Actress Daryl Hannah, arrested last year for failing to leave a 14-acre inner-city garden where farmers were being evicted, spent a few hours there.

A year ago, former "Lost" actress Michelle Rodriguez showed up to serve a 60-day jail sentence for violating probation terms after her drunken driving arrest in Hawaii. She was released in hours because of overcrowding.

Sometimes stars are allowed to do their time in a jail of their choosing. In such cases celebrities pay a daily room-and-board fee to the smaller jails, which afford them more privacy and comfort.

Sean Penn found a jail in Bridgeport, a remote town on the eastern flank of the Sierra, to serve a 60-day sentence in 1987 for fighting with a photographer in violation of his probation for a barroom brawl.

Cop-slapping actress Zsa Zsa Gabor served three days behind bars in 1990 at the El Segundo jail near the Los Angeles International Airport. She paid $85 a day.

But the judge in Hilton's case wouldn't allow such an arrangement, so she'll head to Lynwood on June 5.

Former Smith boyfriend father of infant

NASSAU, Bahamas - Anna Nicole Smith's former boyfriend Larry Birkhead said Tuesday that DNA tests have proven he is the father of her infant daughter.

Birkhead emerged from a closed court hearing to announce the results. Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, has been caring for the girl, Dannielynn, who could inherit a fortune in the wake of her mother's February death.

After the hearing, Stern said he would not fight for custody.

An expert in genetic evidence said the DNA analysis has proven Birkhead is Dannielynn's father. Dr. Michael Baird, who analyzed the results of a March 21 DNA test, announced the results outside the court. "Essentially, he's the biological father," Baird said.

A jubilant Birkhead said "My baby's going to be coming home pretty soon."

Phil Spector readies defence

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The defence in Phil Spector's murder trial will portray gunshot victim Lana Clarkson as despondent about her finances and acting career and possibly contemplating suicide just before she met the record producer, documents filed Monday showed.

Defence lawyers submitted motions arguing Clarkson's mental state and use of drugs before her death at Spector's mansion are central to the trial and should not be excluded as evidence.

The motions were submitted in advance of a hearing set for Tuesday. Jury selection resumes April 16.

Clarkson was shot Feb. 3, 2003, in the foyer of Spector's suburban Alhambra, Calif., home. Best known for her role in the 1980s cult film "Barbarian Queen," she was a nightclub hostess at the time of her death.

Prosecutors allege Spector - creator of the "Wall of Sound" that revolutionized the recording of rock music - shot Clarkson dead. The coroner's office called it a homicide but also noted Clarkson had gunshot residue on both of her hands and may have pulled the trigger.

Spector has pleaded not guilty and has suggested the shooting was an accident.

Defence lawyers quoted from e-mails written by the actress in the months before her death.

"I am truly at the end of this whole deal. I am going to tidy my affairs and chuck it...," she wrote in an e-mail to an unidentified friend, accepting an offer to borrow US$200 on Dec. 8, 2002, the motion said.

The message said she would probably lose the cottage she had been renting in Los Angeles's Venice area and explained she was e-mailing rather than using the telephone because "this way you cannot hear my tears."

Shortly after that, Clarkson's mood brightened when she won a role in a play to portray Marilyn Monroe.

She called it "one of the best parts I've ever been offered," the documents show.

The motion says that between Jan. 10, 2003 and the date of her death she was fired from the play.

Lawyer Robert Blasier, who authored the 18-page motion, said the prosecution wants to "eliminate the core issue" of the defence by asking to exclude evidence regarding Clarkson's character and state of mind.

Deputy district attorney Alan Jackson filed a motion last week to stop the defence from launching character attacks on Clarkson. He also sought to exclude an unfinished memoir found in Clarkson's computer, as well as film clips that show her handling guns.

"We can certainly understand why the prosecution would want to litigate away one of the central issues in this case under the guise that the people just want to protect the memory of Lana Clarkson," Blasier said.

He said there should have been a "psychological autopsy" of Clarkson by the coroner's office.

Oscar-losing decision for Academy Awards

The organization that presents the Academy Awards has lost a court battle against an Italian broadcaster over the use of the word Oscar.

A judge in Los Angeles has turned down a suit by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) against RAI International for broadcasting several awards programs, including Oscar del Vino (Wine Oscars) and La Kore — Oscar della Moda (Fashion Oscars ).

The programs are seen in the U.S. through the satellite company EchoStar Communications Corp.

"EchoStar presents evidence that the meaning of Oscar in the Italian-language programs is quite different than the meaning of Oscar in English," wrote Judge Audrey Collins.

"The use of Oscar to describe an award or awards program is arbitrary or fanciful and deserves maximum protection. However, EchoStar has presented evidence showing that the word Oscar could be considered generic in Italy and in the Italian language."

David Quinto, the attorney for AMPAS, argued that the shows are seen by non-Italians in the U.S. and for them Oscar is connected to the Academy Awards.

But in her decision, Collins also noted that the shows highlighted achievement in Italian sectors other than entertainment.

The Academy is still pursuing the case. Quinto told the Hollywood Reporter that AMPAS has requested that EchoStar produce its entire customer list so the Academy can hire experts to gauge whether there is actual confusion over the case.

"The court has simply said on the record before it [that] the evidence was insufficient to grant the motion," said Quinto.

Winslet awarded damages over diet story

LONDON - Kate Winslet was awarded substantial libel damages Friday after a British magazine wrongly stated that she had visited a diet doctor.

The 31-year-old actress, known for her criticism of excessive dieting, wasn't at London's High Court for the hearing on an article published last month by women's magazine Grazia.

Winslet's lawyer, Rachel Atkins, said the story wrongly stated that Winslet had sought the help of California-based Chinese herbalist Yi Pan for her weight, despite vowing not to bow to Hollywood pressure on actresses to be skinny.

Atkins said Winslet had visited Pan for a neck injury.

Grazia printed an apology in its March 5 issue, saying it was "very happy to set the record straight."

Winslet, a five-time Oscar nominee, said in a statement that she was delighted by the outcome, adding that the magazine had apologized to her in full.

"I am not a hypocrite," she said. "I have always been, and shall continue to be, honest when it comes to body/weight issues. I feel very strongly that `curves' are natural, womanly and real."

Lawyers for Winslet said she would be donating the unspecified but "substantial" damages payment to charity.

Winslet has received Oscar nominations for her roles in "Little Children," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Iris," "Titanic" and "Sense and Sensibility."

Goldman family subpoenas Simpson records

LOS ANGELES - In a new attempt to get some of the estimated $40 million O.J. Simpson owes it, the family of Ron Goldman subpoenaed several Hollywood groups Monday for information on payments he may have received for "The Towering Inferno" and other past film and TV appearances.

The subpoenas demand records kept by the Screen Actors Guild, the Producers Guild of America and the American Federation of Television Radio Artists.

Lawyers for Goldman's father, Fred, say they believe the records will show how much in residual payments Simpson has received for appearing TV shows and films, including the "Naked Gun" series. They said records could also show where the money has gone.

"We've all seen 'Naked Gun' repeatedly on cable. Each time it's shown again, his residuals add up," said Goldman's attorney, David J. Cook. "This is a matter of turning every stone."

Representatives for SAG and AFTRA said they haven't received the subpoenas and couldn't comment. A call to a Producer's Guild spokesman was not returned Monday.

The Goldman family has been in a decade-long battle to get the money following a 1997 civil judgment that held Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted at trial.

Fred Goldman alleges Simpson is trying to avoid paying the $33.5 million judgment, which has ballooned to about $40 million with interest.

A state judge last month issued a restraining order barring Simpson from spending or moving any earnings from past deals, including books, films, and sports memorabilia.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg's ruling later applied to the advance Simpson may have received for his unpublished book, "If I Did It."

The order will remain in effect until a Feb. 20 hearing.

Simpson's book reportedly described how he theoretically would have killed his ex-wife and Goldman. It was canceled by publisher HarperCollins in November amid widespread public outrage.

Apple and Beatles settle trademark squabble

LONDON (Reuters) - Apple Inc. has settled its long-running trademark dispute with The Beatles' company, Apple Corps Ltd, in a deal that could finally pave the way for the Fab Four's songs to be sold on the iTunes music store.

The two companies said Apple Inc. would now own all the trademarks related to "Apple" and would license certain trademarks back to Apple Corps for continued use.

"We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.

Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps, said it was great to put the dispute behind them and move on. "The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us. We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful cooperation with them."

The dispute centers around a 1991 trademark agreement between the two sides regarding the use of their respective apple-shaped logos. The music firm said that the computer company had violated the agreement by moving into the music business through its market-leading iTunes online store.

In May 2006 a judge at the High Court in London sided with Apple Inc. Apple Corps, owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and the estate of George Harrison, said it would appeal.

Apple, which has sold over a billion downloads, had argued that iTunes was primarily a data transmission service and that it was permitted by the agreement.

ONLINE SPECULATION

The statement said the trademark lawsuit between the two companies would now end, with each party bearing its own legal costs.

The Beatles are high-profile holdouts from Internet music services such as iTunes, but it also emerged during the trial that Apple Corps was preparing the band's catalog to be sold online for the first time.

A spokeswoman for Apple Corps said the agreement announced on Monday did not change anything regarding the group's online plans, but speculation has been rife the Beatles' music will be sold online in the future.

At the recent high-profile launch of the new Apple iPhone, Jobs raised hopes that the band could be about to go digital when it played one of their songs and used a Beatles' album cover to grace its giant monitor.

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters at the time that it was "safe to assume that something sooner rather than later will happen."

Jupiter research analyst Mark Mulligan said the trademark settlement would certainly help in the move to sell the Beatles' music online via services such as iTunes.

"Put it this way, Beatles music could not be sold on iTunes until that happened, so it was an important step," he told Reuters.

Asked if there were any immediate plans for the Beatles' music to be sold online, a spokeswoman for EMI, the band's record label, declined to comment.

Man arrested in Boston marketing ploy

BOSTON - Several illuminated electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. Most if not all of the devices depict a character giving the finger.

Peter Berdovsky, 29, of Arlington, was arrested on one felony charge of placing a hoax device and one charge of disorderly conduct, state Attorney General Martha Coakley said later Wednesday. He had been hired to place the devices, she said.

Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless.

Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc. and parent of Cartoon Network, later said the devices were part of a promotion for the TV show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball.

Authorities are investigating whether Turner and any other companies should be criminally charged, Coakley said. It wasn't immediately clear Wednesday who might have hired Berdovsky.

"We're not going to let this go without looking at the further roots of how this happened to cause the panic in this city," Coakley said at a news conference.

Those conducting the campaign should have known the devices could cause panic because they were placed in sensitive areas, she said. Turner did not notify officials of the publicity campaign until around 5 p.m., nearly four hours after the first calls came in about the devices, she and others said.

At least 14 of the devices were found, Coakley said.

"The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger," Turner said in a statement.

It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Philadelphia.

"We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger," the company said. As soon as the company realized the problem, it said, law enforcement officials were told of their locations in all 10 cities.

The marketing firm that put them up, Interference Inc., has been ordered to remove them immediately, said Phil Kent, Turner chairman.

"We apologize to the citizens of Boston that part of a marketing campaign was mistaken for a public danger," Kent said. "We appreciate the gravity of this situation and, like any responsible company would, are putting all necessary resources toward understanding the facts surrounding it as quickly as possible."

Interference Inc. had no immediate comment. A woman who answered the phone at the New York-based firm's offices Wednesday afternoon said the firm's CEO was out of town and would not be able to comment until Thursday.

There were no reports from police Wednesday of residents in the other nine cities spotting similar devices.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke praised Boston authorities for sharing their knowledge quickly with Washington officials and the public.

"Hoaxes are a tremendous burden on local law enforcement and counter-terrorism resources and there's absolutely no place for them in a post-9/11 world," Knocke said.

Authorities said some of the objects looked like circuit boards or had wires hanging from them.

The first device was found at a subway and bus station underneath Interstate 93, forcing the shutdown of the station and the highway.

Later, police said four calls, all around 1 p.m., reported devices at the Boston University Bridge and the Longfellow Bridge, both of which span the Charles River, at a Boston street corner and at the Tufts-New England Medical Center.

The package near the Boston University bridge was found attached to a structure beneath the span, authorities said.

Subway service across the Longfellow Bridge between Boston and Cambridge was briefly suspended, and Storrow Drive was closed as well. A similar device was found Wednesday evening just north of Fenway Park, police spokesman Eddy Chrispin said.

Wanda Higgins, a 47-year-old Weymouth resident and a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, heard about the threat as she watched television news coverage while preparing to leave work at 4 p.m.

"I saw the bomb squad guys carrying a paper bag with their bare hands," Higgins said. "I knew it couldn't be too serious."

Messages seeking additional comment from the Atlanta-based Cartoon Network were left with several publicists.

"Aqua Teen Hunger Force" is a cartoon with a cultish following that airs as part of the Adult Swim late-night block of programs for adults on the Cartoon Network. A feature length film based on the show is slated for release March 23.

The cartoon also includes two trouble-making, 1980s-graphic-like characters called "mooninites," named Ignignokt and Err — who were pictured on the suspicious devices. They are known for making the obscene hand gesture depicted on the devices.

Hobbit Hostilities Escalate

Los Angeles (E! Online) - One ring might rule them all, but one lawsuit's threatening the future of one of Hollywood's biggest franchises.

New Line Cinema cohead Bob Shaye has lashed out at The Lord of the Rings ringmaster Peter Jackson, calling the Oscar winner greedy for suing the studio over disputed profits from the first film in the trilogy. He also left little doubt that New Line considers the director persona non grata when it comes to future projects, including the highly anticipated big-screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

"I do not want to make a movie with somebody who is suing me," the studio chief told Sci Fi Wire while making the publicity rounds for his own directing effort, the family-friendly fantasy film The Last Mimzy. "It will never happen during my watch."

Shaye, who made the gutsy decision to greenlight simultaneous production on all three Lord of the Rings films, took particular offense at what he said was the New Zealander's "arrogance" and ungrateful attitude in the wake of his success.

"Not that I don't think Peter is a good filmmaker and that he hasn't contributed significantly to filmography and made three very good movies. And I don't even expect him to say 'thank you' for having me make it happen and having New Line make it happen," continued Shaye, who was an executive producer on the trilogy. "But to think that I, as a functionary in a company that has been around for a long time, but is now owned by a very big conglomerate, would care one bit about trying to cheat the guy...he's either had very poor counsel or is completely misinformed."

The executive was also irked when many of the LOTR stars declined to participate in a video celebrating New Line's 40th anniversary—mainly, he believed, because of their affection for Jackson.

"I don't care about Peter Jackson anymore," Shaye said. "He wants to have another $100 million or $50 million, whatever he's suing us for. He doesn't want to sit down and talk about it. He thinks that we owe him something after we've paid him over a quarter of a billion dollars...Cheers, Peter."

Such remarks would seem to put the kibosh on Frodo fanatics' dreams of Jackson returning to Middle Earth and helming The Hobbit and possibly another prequel.

Of course, it's possible both sides are simply engaged in high-stakes brinksmanship to get what they want.

In Shaye's case, by cutting Jackson out of the franchise that made his career and won him a trio of Oscars, the executive might be able to leverage a settlement to his liking. On the other hand, he could simply be reacting to Jackson, who, in a preemptive move, tried to force New Line's hand in late November by sending an open letter to theonering.net, voicing his issues with New Line.

In it, Jackson informed Tolkien devotees that the studio planned to move forward on The Hobbit without him, because New Line wanted to get the prequel in production before resolving his lawsuit.

The news prompted peeved fans to launch a letter-writing campaign urging the studio not to cut ties with the 45-year-old filmmaker or else face a boycott. In one hopeful sign, MGM—which owns the distribution rights to The Hobbit—told E! Online the "game is not over" and Jackson was still a possibility to direct.

Meanwhile, in response to Shaye's remarks this week, Jackson's company fired back with a statement Thursday, calling his former boss' comments "regrettable" and restating his case.

"Fundamentally, our legal action is about holding New Line to its contractual obligations and promises," the filmmaker said. "It is regrettable that Bob has chosen to make it personal. I have always had the highest respect and affection for Bob and other senior management at New Line and continue to do so.

"But the studio was and continues to be completely uncooperative [regarding an open audit of the films' books]," Jackson continued. "This has compelled us to file a lawsuit to pursue our contractual rights under the law. Nobody likes legal action, but the studio left us with no alternative."

Jackson also balked at Shaye's assertion that LOTR actors dissed the studio because of the bad blood between the filmmaker and the suits.

"I have never discussed this video with any of the cast of the LOTR. The issues that Bob Shaye has with the cast predate this lawsuit by many years," Jackson said.

An unnamed person Jackson's camp was quoted in Variety saying Shaye's disparaging remarks were an attempt to put the focus on the millions of dollars Jackson made instead of any book-cooking on the studio's part. The trade paper also reported that both parties appear to far from a settlement in the lawsuit.

Until that happens, Jackson has plenty to keep him busy. His next directorial effort, Alice Sebold's ghost story The Lovely Bones, is due out later this year. He has also optioned Temeraire, a set of fantasy novels about dragons in the Napoleonic Wars, and is producing Dambusters, an effects-heavy remake of the World War II aerial battle drama.

One movie that's temporarily off the drawing board is the Jackson-produced Halo. The videogame adaptation project was indefinitely shelved after Universal and 20th Century Fox pulled their financing, citing rising production costs and Jackson's unwillingness to take a pay cut.

Procol Harum organist wins court case

LONDON - A judge awarded a 40 percent share in the copyright of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," one of the most famous pop songs of all time, to a former organist for Procol Harum.

Lead singer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid always claimed credit for the hit, which became part of the soundtrack for the hippy "summer of love" of 1967.

But in his ruling, the judge decided that organist Matthew Fisher was entitled to both credit and royalties.

"I have come to the view that Mr. Fisher's interest in the work should be reflected by according him a 40 percent share of the musical copyright," the written judgment said. "His contribution to the overall work was on any view substantial but not, in my judgment, as substantial as that of Mr. Brooker."

The judge said the song's organ solo "is a distinctive and significant contribution to the overall composition and quite obviously the product of skill and labor on the part of the person who created it."

The judge said Fisher, 60, was entitled to royalties from May 2005, when he began court proceedings.

"A Whiter Shade of Pale," famous for its cryptic lyrics — "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor" — topped the British charts for five weeks in 1967 and was a Top 5 hit in the U.S.

Rolling Stone magazine has ranked it 57th in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Brooker says he and Reid wrote the song before Fisher joined the band in March 1967. It was released in May.

Fisher, now a computer programmer living in south London, left the band in 1969. Brooker, 61, still tours with Procol Harum.

In a statement, Brooker and Reid said Fisher's court victory created a dangerous precedent because it meant any musician who had played on any recording in the past 40 years could claim joint authorship.

"It is effectively open season on the songwriter," they said. "It will mean that unless all musicians' parts are written for them, no publisher or songwriter will be able to risk making a recording for fear of a possible claim of songwriting credit."

They intend to file an appeal.

Goldman sues O.J. for book-deal bucks

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ronald Goldman's father sued O.J. Simpson on Tuesday, seeking any money the former NFL star received for a canceled book deal and TV interview that told a hypothetical tale of how he would have killed his ex-wife and Goldman.

The federal lawsuit filed in California by Fred Goldman's Indianapolis-based attorney accuses Simpson of "fraudulent conveyance" and alleges that he created a shell corporation that received at least $1.1 million as part of the TV interview and book, titled If I Did It.

Attorney Jonathan Polak said Lorraine Brooke Associates was created in March using the middle name of Simpson's two children. The lawsuit calls it a "sham entity" formed to defraud Ron Goldman's relatives by preventing them from claiming any of more than $38 million Simpson owes the family from a judgment against him in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Goldman's lawsuit seeks about $1.1 million plus punitive damages, although Polak said he believed Simpson has already spent the money he received from News Corp., the owner of Fox Broadcasting and publisher HarperCollins.

Polak said the lawsuit's true aim is to determine how the book and TV interview deals were reached.

"The question in this lawsuit is not about what's in their bank account right now," he said. "The issue is, can we unwind this series of transactions and hold those we believe truly are responsible accountable financially?"

Polak said he believes Judith Regan — who was fired last week as a publisher by HarperCollins — and Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp., need "to come clean" on their knowledge of how Simpson was reimbursed for the deal.

Andrew Butcher, a spokesman for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., said he could not comment on the possibility of Murdoch being deposed.

He said News Corp. has been working with Goldman's family to answer questions about the book deal.

"From the very start, we'd offered every assistance to the family of Ron Goldman. Any information they have asked for regarding the contracts for the Simpson book, we have given them," Butcher said.

Polak said he has asked News Corp. to destroy all copies of the book, as well as copies of the interview with Fox that was to have aired. He also wants News Corp. to assign all rights to those books and interviews to the Goldman family.

Butcher said News Corp. has destroyed all copies of If I Did It but objected to the request to assign the rights to the Goldmans.

"You don't own the rights to someone's book in perpetuity," he said. "It doesn't work that way. It's more complicated."

Simpson told The Associated Press last month that he took part in the project solely for personal profit and acknowledged that any financial gain was "blood money."

Simpson would not say how much he was paid in advance, only that it was less than the $3.5 million reported. He said the money already has been spent, some of it on tax obligations.

Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday with Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter.

Simpson was acquitted of criminal charges in the 1994 killings.

In 1997, a civil court jury, using a lesser standard of proof than is required at a criminal trial, found Simpson liable for Nicole Brown Simpson's and Goldman's stabbing deaths. The jury ordered him to pay about $19.7 million to Goldman's family — an amount Polak said has grown to more than $38 million with interest.

Fred Goldman said in a statement that he was eager to learn who worked with Simpson on the deal.

"We will not stop until we are able to shine the light of truth on those that acted in concert with him," he said.

Evel Knievel sues rapper Kanye West over music video

Retired motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel has filed a lawsuit against Kanye West over a music video featuring the hit rapper as a character named Evel Kanyevel who attempts to jump over a canyon while riding a rocket-powered motorcycle.

Knievel, 68, filed the lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, alleging the more than five-minute music video for Touch the Sky infringes on his trademark name and likeness.

The daredevil icon, whose real name is Robert Craig Knievel Jr., called the video "vulgar and offensive," and said the rapper "uses my image to catapult himself on the public."

The lawsuit seeks damages and a halt to further distribution of the video, which had its debut in February.

In the video, which also stars Canadian actress Pamela Anderson, West is dressed in a star-studded jumpsuit — reminiscent of the one Knievel wore during his stunt motorcycle jumps — and attempts a jump across a canyon.

The lawsuit alleges that even the vehicle used in the video is "visually indistinguishable" from the one Knievel used in his Snake River Canyon jump in 1974.

Knievel, who has been in poor health in the last few years, rose to fame in the late 1960s as a touring motorcycle stunt rider. The former salesman and fervent self-promoter was as renowned for his daring jumps as for his spectacular crashes and broken bones.

Famous attempts included the New Year's Day 1968 jump across the fountains in front of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas — a stunt that left Knievel in a coma for a month — and a jump over 13 buses at London's Wembley Stadium in 1975, when he broke his pelvis.

During the Snake River Canyon jump, Knievel's parachute deployed before he cleared the launch ramp. Although the chute carried the daredevil into the canyon, he was left with only minor injuries.

West had no comment about the lawsuit, which also names Roc-A-Fella Records, AOL and the video's director, Chris Milk. Milk's previous work includes directing West's videos for Jesus Walks and All Falls Down.

No stranger to attention-getting outbursts himself, West made a scene last month at the MTV Europe Awards when Touch the Sky lost in the best video category.

"Best video should have been mine. I should have won," West said after storming the stage in protest.

"It cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons."

Judge rejects injunction against 'Borat'

LOS ANGELES - A judge rejected a request by two fraternity brothers to halt the DVD release of the hit spoof movie "Borat." West Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph S. Biderman also refused to order the removal of a scene that includes the two men, who claim they had been duped into misbehaving on camera.

Biderman issued his two-page decision on Friday after hearing arguments the previous day.

The South Carolina fraternity brothers filed a lawsuit Nov. 9 claiming they were tricked into making racist and sexist remarks to British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

In one scene of the mockumentary, Cohen as rowdy Kazakh journalist Borat hangs out with the men in a motor home and watches the Pamela Anderson- Tommy Lee sex tape.

The fraternity brothers claim the filmmakers got them drunk before getting them to sign release forms agreeing to appear in the film. Their names do not appear in the lawsuit.

The film "made plaintiffs the objects of ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and physical distress," the lawsuit claims.

A trial date for the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, has not been set.

Louis Petrich, an attorney for 20th Century Fox and One America Productions, said he was pleased about the judge's decision.

Calls to the plaintiffs' attorney, Olivier Taillieu, were not immediately returned.

Judge to review 'Borat' fraternity suit

LOS ANGELES - A judge weighing whether to halt the DVD release of "Borat" viewed a scene from the hit film in which a group of South Carolina fraternity brothers converse with the raucous Kazakh journalist played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Biderman, after reviewing the scene Thursday, said he would review the case but did not indicate when he might issue a ruling.

Two fraternity members filed a lawsuit Nov. 9, alleging they were tricked into making racist and sexist remarks in the spoof documentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

The men, who were not named in the lawsuit, alleged the film's producers took them to a bar and, after a bout of heavy drinking, they signed release forms agreeing to appear in what they were told would be a documentary shown outside the United States.

The lawsuit claimed the film brought them "ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress, loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community."

Attorney Olivier Taillieu, who represents the fraternity brothers, said the DVD should not be released because "further dissemination of the film is going to cause some injury to my clients."

He said one of the plaintiffs was forced to resign from his prominent position at the University of South Carolina chapter of Chi Psi. Along with barring the DVD release, the plaintiffs were seeking unspecified monetary damages.

An attorney representing 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp., questioned the plaintiffs' claim they were too drunk to understand the release forms.

"We're confident that we're going to prevail," attorney Louis Petrich said following court. "We don't think the lawsuit has any merit. We don't even agree with them on the facts."

Newton-John sues over `Grease' album

LOS ANGELES - Lawsuit is the word: Olivia Newton-John is suing Universal Music Group Inc. for allegedly failing to pay more than $1 million in royalties on sales of the "Grease" soundtrack album.

Newton-John starred with John Travolta in the 1978 movie version of the Broadway hit.

The breach-of-contract suit was filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior court. It contends that while Universal did pay some royalties on the album, it failed to make a range of other contractual payments, said John Mason, an attorney for Newton-John.

According to the suit, a recent audit showed Universal owes more than $1 million to Newton-John's company, ON-J Productions, Ltd.

"The lawsuit is without merit and, at the appropriate time, we expect that the court will dismiss it," Universal said in a statement Tuesday.

'Whiter Shade of Pale' now a court case

LONDON - Two former '60s rock stars appeared before a music-loving judge on Monday for a showdown over authorship of one of the decade's most iconic songs.

The organ strains of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" sounded through Court 56 of Britain's High Court as the band's former organ player, Matthew Fisher, sued an ex-bandmate for a share of copyright in the multimillion-selling song.

Fisher's lawyer, Iain Purvis, said the song "defined what is sometimes called the Summer of Love in 1967" and had achieved cult status.

He said Fisher had composed the organ melody, and particularly the eight-bar Hammond organ solo, which gives the song its distinctive baroque flavor.

Purvis said the solo "is a brilliant piece of work and it is crucial to the success of the song."

"Our case, in essence, is that Mr. Fisher wrote the entirety of the organ tune," he said.

Fisher is suing Procol Harum singer Gary Brooker and publisher Onward Music Ltd. for a co-author credit and a share of the song's copyright and royalties.

Brooker, who is credited as the song's author with lyricist Keith Reid, says the pair wrote the song before Fisher joined the band in March 1967.

Brooker has said the melody was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's "Air on a G-string" and "Sleepers Awake."

Defense lawyers said the fact Fisher had waited almost four decades to bring his claim was "bizarre and obviously prejudicial."

"Mr. Fisher's claim should fail on that ground alone," they said in court papers.

The song, renowned for its mystifying lyrics — beginning "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor" — topped the British singles chart for five weeks and was a top 10 hit in the United States. Rolling Stone magazine has ranked it 57th in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Purvis said a Web site compiled by a fan lists 771 recorded cover versions, "most of them, sad to say, disastrous."

Fisher, now a computer programmer, left the band in 1969. Brooker, 61, still tours with Procol Harum. The two sat facing the judge and did not look at one another on the first day of the five-day hearing.

A Yamaha electric keyboard sat near the witness box, where Fisher is due to appear later in the case.

The case is being heard by judge William Blackburne, who studied both music and law at Cambridge University.

The judge requested access to the keyboard and sheet music of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" so he could run through the song after court hours.

Judges are not always familiar with popular music, and Purvis noted that "one always risks in these cases a 'what are The Beatles' moment" — a reference to a famous but possibly apocryphal story of a judge who purportedly asked that question during a case in the 1960s.

"But I'll hazard that your lordship is familiar," with "A Whiter Shade of Pale," Purvis said.

"I am of an age, yes," said the judge, 62.

Humiliated frat boys sue 'Borat'

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Two fraternity boys want to make lawsuit against "Borat" over their drunken appearance in the hit movie.

The legal action filed Thursday on their behalf claims they were duped into appearing in the spoof documentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," in which they made racist and sexist comments on camera.

The young men "engaged in behavior that they otherwise would not have engaged in," the lawsuit says.

"Borat" follows the adventures of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakh journalist character in a blend of fiction and improvised comic encounters as he travels across the United States and mocks Americans.

The plaintiffs were not named in the lawsuit "to protect themselves from any additional and unnecessary embarrassment." They were identified in the movie as fraternity members from a South Carolina university, and appeared drunk as they made insulting comments about women and minorities to Cohen's character.

The lawsuit claims that in October 2005, a production crew took the students to a bar to drink and "loosen up" before participating in what they were told would be a documentary to be shown outside of the United States.

"They were induced to agree to participate and were told the name of the fraternity and the name of their school wouldn't be used," said the plaintiffs' attorney, Olivier Taillieu. "They were put into an RV and were made to believe they were picking up Borat the hitchhiker."

After a bout of heavy drinking, the plaintiffs signed a release form they were told "had something to do with reliability issues with being in the RV," Taillieu said.

The film "made plaintiffs the object of ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress, loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community," the lawsuit said.

It names 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp., and three production companies as defendants.

Studio spokesman Gregg Brilliant said the lawsuit "has no merit."

The plaintiffs were seeking an injunction to stop the studio from displaying their image and likeness, along with unspecified monetary damages.

"Borat" debuted as the top movie last weekend with $26.5 million.

Quebec investigating lack of French on DVDs

MONTREAL (CP) - The Quebec agency that enforces the province's language law is investigating whether the packaging on some DVDs violates the Charter of the French Language.

Steve Gagne, a Quebec City resident, filed a complaint with l'Office de la language francaise last week along with a list of more than 900 DVDs he had found in area stores which had a French soundtrack but unilingual English packaging.

He sent a copy of his complaint to Line Beauchamp, the minister responsible for the language law, and the Parti Quebecois spokesman on language issues.

Gerald Paquette, a spokesman for l'Office, said the matter is being investigated and retailers and distributors will be informed of any transgressions.

Paquette said that under the law, a DVD with a French soundtrack should have a portion of the text on the sleeve in French as well.

He also noted that 85 per cent of the DVDs available in Quebec have French soundtracks, indicating that American distributors are increasingly respectful of the requests by the government to supply French-language content for French-speaking consumers in Quebec.

Beauchamp's department studied the availability of French in films earlier this spring and found that 89 per cent of the 1,071 films shown in Quebec since 2002 and later released on DVD had French-language content.

However, only about half of 37 U.S. TV series released on DVD had a French soundtrack and 16 per cent had French subtitles.

Beauchamp recently wrote to the president of the Canadian association of film distributors asking that the organization's members offer Quebec consumers more products in French.

Some stations want cursing out of '9/11'

NEW YORK - Broadcasters say the hesitancy of some CBS affiliates to air a powerful Sept. 11 documentary next week proves there's been a chilling effect on the First Amendment since federal regulators boosted penalties for television obscenities after Janet Jackson's breast was exposed at a Super Bowl halftime show.

"This is example No. 1," said Martin Franks, executive vice president of CBS Corp., of the decision by two dozen CBS affiliates to replace or delay "9/11" — which has already aired twice without controversy — over concerns about some of the language used by the firefighters in it.

"We don't think it's appropriate to sanitize the reality of the hell of Sept. 11th," Franks said. "It shows the incredible stress that these heroes were under. To sanitize it in some way robs it of the horror they faced."

Actor Robert De Niro hosts the award-winning documentary, which began as a quest to follow a rookie firefighter on an ordinary day but resulted in the only known video of the first plane striking the World Trade Center and horrific and inspiring scenes of rescue, escape and death. CBS will show it on Sept. 10 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT, profanity intact.

Carter G. Phillips, a lawyer for Fox Television Stations Inc., cited the decision by several CBS affiliates to replace the documentary or show it after 10 p.m., the time at which the Federal Communications Commission loosens restrictions, when he spoke last week to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

Phillips addressed the court as part of a hearing on whether the FCC rushed to judgment in concluding that "NYPD Blue" and three other programs violated decency rules.

Saying the FCC was chilling free speech rights, Phillips mentioned the documentary to show the court how timid broadcast companies had become since the FCC toughened its position toward profanities after the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show on CBS, in which Jackson's breast was briefly bared.

Congress recently boosted the maximum fines the FCC can impose for indecency from $32,500 to $325,000.

So far, about a dozen CBS affiliates have indicated they won't show the documentary, another dozen say they will delay it until later at night and two dozen others are considering what to do.

On Friday, Sinclair Broadcasting became the latest company to say it was delaying the broadcast until after 10 p.m. on its stations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Portland, Maine, saying it was concerned it could face fines.

The announcement came as the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association readied its 3 million members to flood the FCC and CBS with complaints after the documentary airs.

"This isn't an issue of censorship. It's an issue of responsibility to the public," said Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the group, which describes itself as a 29-year-old organization that promotes the biblical ethic of decency.

The documentary first aired on the six-month and one-year anniversaries of the Sept. 11 attacks on the trade center and the Pentagon. This latest showing, on the eve of the five-year anniversary, includes new interviews with many of the firefighters featured in the original, describing how their lives have changed.

Franks said it was an easy decision not to edit the language in the documentary, especially since it has won a George Foster Peabody Award, among others. "It was a much more difficult decision five years ago when the emotions were much more raw and fresh," he said.

Franks said it seemed "dishonest somehow" for the network to cover up the real language five years later because of the current regulatory environment.

However, he said he understood the difficulties of small stations that fear the huge FCC fines. "We're not twisting arms," he said.

FCC spokeswoman Tamara Lipper said the commission routinely takes context into account in any decency analysis.

"We don't police the airwaves. We respond to viewer complaints," Lipper said. "We haven't seen the broadcast in question. It's up to individual stations to decide what they should air or not air."

She noted that "the historical context of 9/11 is important to the context of the broadcast" but said she could not predict how the commission might view the show if it receives complaints.

Sharp promised on Friday that his organization would flood the FCC with complaints, saying nearly 198,000 people already had told the FCC they want the agency to "enforce the law should CBS decide to break it."

CBS is feeling the heat. "Even if all 206 stations decide between now and the 10th to air the program live, what we have gone through for the past two or three weeks is overwhelming evidence of the chill facing broadcasters," Franks said.

Ottawa man may sue Air Canada after viola smashed

A 20-year-old Ottawa man says he might sue Air Canada for damages after his $14,000 viola arrived in pieces.

Paul Casey, a music student at University of Ottawa, was returning from performing with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas in Europe when Air Canada insisted he check his viola as baggage.

He was told the airline has a strict policy against taking carry-on items weighing more than 10 kilogram.

Although the instrument case bore fragile stickers, it arrived with a snapped neck, a broken back and about 12 cracks on its front.

"We just figured it would last. We figured we would have it forever," he said of the custom-made instrument.

Air Canada sent him a cheque for $1,600 compensation. That's not nearly enough to replace it, he said.

Casey returned the cheque because he's thinking about getting lawyers involved.

Guy Hamilton, the Ottawa violin maker who made Casey's instrument, says it can't be repaired.

It has sentimental value for Hamilton, because it's the first instrument he made in Canada.

"It's the first instrument that I know of that's been destroyed," he said in an interview with CBC Television.

Casey wonders why he was allowed to take the instrument on board in the past, but cannot now.

But the Air Transport Association of Canada warns musicians they shouldn't expect any special treatment and says the new rules about cabin baggage will be more consistently enforced.

Other Ottawa area musicians say they fear they will have the same experience when they travel.

Joan Harrison, an NAC cellist, said she buys a separate ticket for her cello, so it can sit on a seat beside her, but now the airline is preventing that.

"Air Canada three times this year has not let me take my cello on board even though I've had a ticket," she said, "because you don't know what kind of airplane you're getting and they happen to be small flights." .

Instruments such her cello are very valuable, as well as a means of making a living, she said.

"I could sell my instruments and could buy another house. You spend years saving up. You have mortgages on your instruments."

David Goldblatt, a performer with the NAC and representative of the American Federation of Musicians, said performers are worried. Many won't check their instruments and that may mean they can't travel.

"We have a tour coming up in November and, honestly, I don't know what we're going to do. I believe it's a charter flight, but the same rules apply to charter flights as far as I know," he said.

Scots eye Keith Richards smoking onstage

GLASGOW, Scotland - Keith Richards may have violated Scotland's smoking ban by lighting up during a Rolling Stones concert.

The Glasgow City Council said Sunday it heard from journalists that the 62-year-old guitarist was smoking during a Friday night performance.

"It's been brought to our attention that he was smoking, and we'll be looking into it," a council spokesman said on condition of anonymity, in keeping with city policy. "We do take our responsibilities for enforcement very seriously."

Scotland's ban on smoking in enclosed public places, including theaters and sports venues, took effect in March. Violators can be fined up to $95.

The spokesman did not know whether the journalists who spoke to the council had been at the concert, part of the band's "A Bigger Bang" tour.

No one answered the phone Sunday at the offices of Richards' publicists, LD Communications in London.

In the Scottish capital, officials warned during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival earlier this month that they would close down a theater if actor Mel Smith lit a cigar during his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the play "Allegiance." Smith eventually agreed to keep the cigar unlit.

Mel Gibson pleads no contest in DUI case

MALIBU, Calif. - Mel Gibson ended his legal hangover Thursday, pleading no contest to a single misdemeanor charge of drunken driving in a deal that put him on probation for three years, fined him and sent him to alcohol rehabilitation classes.

His lawyers arranged to move his scheduled court appearance up by over a month, allowing Gibson to avoid creating a media frenzy with his plea. But he still faces the fallout from the anti-Semitic tirade he unleashed on a sheriff's deputy the night of his arrest.

Gibson did not have to appear in the misdemeanor case and he did not, allowing attorney Blair Berk to handle the plea before Malibu Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira.

The abrupt advancement of the proceeding was announced to the news media by the district attorney's office with no time for most reporters to reach the distant courthouse before the plea was over.

"Media requests (for photo access) received after proceedings already completed," the case file noted.

Court documents showed that Gibson signed the plea agreement and waived his right to a jury trial on Monday but the paperwork was filed just before Thursday's proceeding.

Gibson was stopped around 2:30 a.m. on July 28 while driving on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and made anti-Semitic remarks to the arresting deputy, plunging Gibson into a scandal that led him to later apologize for what he called "belligerent behavior" and "despicable" remarks.

Gibson pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor of driving while having a 0.08 percent or higher blood-alcohol level. A second misdemeanor count, driving under the influence of alcohol, and the infraction of driving with an open container of alcohol, were dismissed.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is equivalent to a guilty plea for determining sentencing.

"This was an appropriate outcome which addresses all the public safety concerns of drinking and driving," Deputy District Attorney Gina Satriano said in a statement.

Authorities continued to refuse to release video and audio tapes of Gibson's arrest despite the disposition of the case. Media organizations including The Associated Press have asked Sheriff Lee Baca for the tapes but have been denied on grounds they are part of an "investigatory file" and exempt from the California Public Records Act.

The celebrity news Web site TMZ has argued that the tapes should be heard and seen by the public to assess whether the Sheriff's Department gave Gibson preferential treatment. The issue arose because a sheriff's spokesman initially said the arrest occurred "without incident" and made no mention of the anti-Semitic remarks.

Court documents said Gibson has already voluntarily begun rehabilitation.

The documents show the judge placed Gibson on three years' probation and ordered him to attend "self-help meetings" five times a week for 4 1/2 months and three meetings per week for another 7 1/2 months. Satriano said these would be Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, according to Jane Robison, a district attorney's spokeswoman.

In addition, Gibson was ordered to enroll in and complete a "three-month, licensed first-offender alcohol and other drug education and counseling program."

The judge also levied fines and fees totaling $1,608. Gibson's driver license was restricted by the state Department of Motor Vehicles for 90 days, the district attorney's office said. Robison did not know the terms of the restriction.

Gibson volunteered to make a public-service announcement about the hazards of drinking and driving, but the judge did not make that a condition of his sentencing.

"The court acknowledges that defendant has volunteered to make a public service announcement. This will not be a term of probation, however," the court documents stated.

Gibson was ordered to appear Jan. 17 in court for a progress report.

Gibson's spokesman, Alan Nierob, would not elaborate about the plea arrangement or offer any hints about when to expect Gibson's public-service announcement.

The case file also showed that the original judge assigned to hear the case, Terry Adamson, recused herself because Gibson is one of her neighbors.

Hollywood split over Mel Gibson's future

LOS ANGELES - A stunned Hollywood debated the future of one of its biggest stars Sunday as a sheriff's watchdog launched an investigation into a possible cover up of a leaked report that quoted Mel Gibson unleashing a tirade of anti-Semitic remarks during a drunken driving arrest.

One media expert said Gibson irreparably damaged his career with his "crazy" behavior following his arrest by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies in Malibu early Friday. Charges of anti-Semitism were also leveled against the actor-director with the release of his 2004 blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ."

"It's a nuclear disaster for him," said publicist Michael Levine, who has represented Michael Jackson and Charlton Heston, among others. "I don't see how he can restore himself."

The entertainment Web site TMZ posted what it said were four pages from the original arrest report, which quoted Gibson as launching an expletive-laden "barrage of anti-Semitic remarks" after he was stopped on Pacific Coast Highway.

According to the report, in addition to threatening the arresting deputy and trying to escape, Gibson said, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and asked the officer, James Mee, "Are you a Jew?"

The report has not been made public, but the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that it had independently verified its authenticity.

Gibson's publicist, Alan Nierob, would not elaborate beyond a nonspecific apology Gibson issued Saturday. Sheriff's sources also declined to comment on Gibson's alleged remarks.

Studio executives, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, were divided on how Gibson's behavior would affect his career. One noted that people have short memories, including filmmakers who might want to profit from Gibson's star power.

Filmgoers, too, could overlook much if the film is perceived as worthwhile.

"Usually it comes down to the marketing of the movie and does the average person want to see the film," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

The Office of Independent Review, a department watchdog panel, has opened an investigation into whether authorities gave Gibson preferential treatment by covering up his alleged inflammatory comments, said its chief attorney, Mike Gennaco.

"Assuming that the report was excised, then the question is was it done for a good reason within regulations," he said.

Gibson has filmed public service announcements for Sheriff Lee Baca's relief committee dressed in a sheriff's uniform.

"There is no cover-up," Baca told the Los Angeles Times. "Our job is not to (focus) on what he said. It's to establish his blood-alcohol level when he was driving and proceed with the case. Trying someone on rumor and innuendo is no way to run an investigation, at least one with integrity."

Gibson said in his apology that he said "despicable" things to deputies during his arrest.

"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable," Gibson said.

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, called Gibson's apology "unremorseful and insufficient."

"It's not a proper apology because it does not go to the essence of his bigotry and his anti-Semitism," he said in a statement on the organization's Web site. "We would hope that Hollywood now would realize the bigot in their midst and that they will distance themselves from this anti-Semite."

This is not the first time Gibson has faced accusations of anti-Semitism. Gibson produced, directed and financed "Passion," which some Jewish leaders said cast Jews as the killers of Jesus.

In a 2004 interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Gibson said he was not anti-Semitic.

"To be anti-Semitic is a sin," he said. "It's been condemned by one Papal Council after another. To be anti-Semitic is to be un-Christian, and I'm not."

Days before "Passion" was released, Gibson's father Hutton Gibson was quoted saying the Holocaust was mostly "fiction." The younger Gibson has said that he will not speak against his father.

Gibson, 50, was arrested after deputies stopped his 2006 Lexus LS 430 for speeding at 2:36 a.m. Friday. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said deputies clocked him doing 87 mph in a 45 mph zone.

A breath test indicated Gibson's blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, Whitmore said. The legal limit in California is 0.08 percent.

Gibson posted $5,000 bail and was released hours later.

In his statement, Gibson also said he has struggled with alcoholism and had taken steps "to ensure my return to health."

He won a best-director Oscar for 1995's "Braveheart." He also starred in the "Lethal Weapon" and "Mad Max" films, "What Women Want" and "The Man Without a Face," among other films.

Mel Gibson arrested on suspicion of DUI

MALIBU, Calif. - Mel Gibson was arrested early Friday for suspicion of driving under the influence, a Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

Gibson's vehicle was speeding eastbound on the Pacific Coast Highway when officers stopped him at 2:36 a.m., Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

Gibson, 50, was booked at the Lost Hills Sheriff's station at 4:06 a.m., according to department records. The actor-director was cited and released, Whitmore said. Bail was set at $5,000.

"The investigation is ongoing," Whitmore said. "As we would do with anyone, we don't want to release any more since the information is fragmentary."

Gibson's spokesman, Alan Nierob, said he was looking into the matter.

Gibson won a best-director Oscar for 1995's "Braveheart."

Like his 2004 religious blockbuster, "The Passion of the Christ," which was shot in Aramaic and Latin, his new film, "Apocalypto," was done in an ancient tongue, Yucatec Maya.

Gibson has starred in the "Lethal Weapon" and "Mad Max" films, "What Women Want" and "The Man Without a Face," among other movies.

You, Me, Dupree & Steely Dan's Wrath

Something "kind of uncool" has come to Steely Dan's attention.

Band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen are requesting an in-person apology from Owen Wilson for playing the annoying titular character in You, Me and Dupree, which, the musicians point out, happens to share the name found in the Steely Dan song "Cousin Dupree." The duo won a Grammy with that tune in 2001 for Best Pop Performance.

In a profanity-laced mock-angry letter posted on the band's Website, Becker and Fagen suggest that the film character of Dupree rips off their song, which tells the tale of a slacker--named Dupree, of course--who is staying on his aunt's couch and starts lusting after his cousin.

"When it came time to change the character's name or whatever so people wouldn't know what a rip the whole thing was, THEY DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO THINK UP A NEW F---ING NAME FOR THE GUY!" the rockers wrote.

The pair offered Wilson a chance to redeem himself--show up at their July 19 concert in Irvine, California, and "apologize to our fans for this travesty." (Apparently no such thing went down Wednesday night.)

The letter, dated July 17, was typed on hotel stationery from the Residential Suites at Longworth in Corpus Christi, Texas--where they were obviously extremely bored on their day off between shows--and addressed to Wilson's brother, Luke, whose new film My Super Ex-Girlfriend opened Friday.

Becker and Fagen at first gave kudos to Luke for his work with his older brother in Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket, but then proceeded to get down to business, which for the most part consisted of bashing You, Me and Dupree and warning Owen Wilson that he's thisclose to losing his coolness factor for appearing in such tripe.

The film, starring Wilson as a slacker who shacks up with his best buddy, played by Matt Dillon, and his buddy's new bride (Kate Hudson, looking pretty disgusted), made a respectable $21.5 million at the box office last weekend to come in at number three (behind the juggernaut that is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and the Wayans brothers comedy Little Man).

But we'll see how the film that the Washington Post called a "formulaic, shockingly sloppy and virtually laugh-free star vehicle for Wilson" does in its second week out.

Anyway, the Steely ones went on to say that while they meant Wilson no harm, "there are some pretty heavy people who are upset about this whole thing and we can't guarantee what kind of heat little Owen may be bringing down on himself."

Despite their purported rage, the Two Against Nature rockers seemed to lose themselves here and there when it came to separating fact from fiction.

"We realize what a drag it is for you [Luke] to have people coming to you about [Owen's] lameness all the time and we're really sorry to be doing the same thing," they lamented, but "you don't owe him anything, after the way he and Gwynnie Paltrow double-timed you in The Royal Tenenbaums."

Yes, we certainly hope Luke isn't still nursing that grudge.

While we don't see Wilson up in arms over Steely Dan's comments, the Wedding Crashers star has been known to not take criticism sitting down.

In February 2005 Wilson took New Yorker critic David Denby to task for his unfavorable synopsis of pal Ben Stiller's career.

"I've acted in two hundred and thirty-seven buddy movies and, with that experience, I've developed an almost preternatural feel for the beats that any good buddy movie must have," Wilson wrote in a letter to the venerable publication. "And maybe the most crucial audience-rewarding beat is where one buddy comes to the aid of other guy to help defeat a villain. Or bully. Or jerk."

But Steely Dan isn't playing the part of the bully. No, the guys just want to help, and in doing so offered this advice:

"Let's just help Owen do what's right, let's play past this particular screwup, and then he can get back to his life and his family and his beautiful moviestar-style pad or whatever, none the worse for wear and with some groovy new tee's and hoodies and maybe a keyring or a coffee mug in the process. Alright? Well, alright!"

McCready Beats DUI Rap

Mindy McCready won't be staying the night in jail--and she's got some new song fodder to boot.

The oft-troubled country singer was found not guilty Wednesday of a DUI charge stemming from a May 2005 arrest, although a Nashville jury did convict her of driving with a suspended license.

McCready, 30, was pulled over last spring for speeding and refused to take a breath test after police smelled alcohol. Kenneth Dixon, the arresting officer, testified Monday that the "If I Don't Stay the Night" artist had been wobbly on her feet and that her eyes were watery and bloodshot that night.

Attorney Lee Dryer had argued that his client, who was driving a friend's car when she was arrested, had actually been performing a good deed, giving a friend who was too drunk to drive a ride home from the nightclub the two had been at. Dryer also said that the sobriety test McCready was forced to take wasn't given properly and that the songstress had removed her shoes and found it hard to walk steadily in her supposedly too-long pants.

Jurors were apparently swayed by police video of the arrest, which was screened during the three-day trial.

In addition to avoiding the most serious charge against her, McCready escaped a contempt charge she was threatened with after arriving in court 10 minutes late Monday for the start of the trial.

Outside court McCready told reporters that she might use her personal troubles as the basis for new music in an attempt to jumpstart her stalled career. "This is one step in getting past a lot things," she added.

Those "things" include two suicide attempts in 2005--with one occurring while she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's child--and a pending $3 million lawsuit against said ex, aspiring country singer Billy McKnight, who beat her up two days after her arrest on suspicion of drunk driving. He has since pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

On a happier note, McCready gave birth to their son, Zander Ryan McCready, on Mar. 25.

McCready is also supposed to attend a hearing later this year to determine whether she violated her probation by leaving Tennessee without permission. She was on probation in the first place after pleading guilty in August 2004 to using a fake prescription to buy OxyContin.

McCready: Cops Give Me "Hard Time"

It took a while, but Mindy McCready finally showed up for the start of her DUI trial on Monday. On Tuesday, she took the stand and blamed her arrest on some overzealous cops.

McCready, whose once promising career has been derailed by a series of personal crises, is on trial in Nashville for drunken driving and driving with a suspended license stemming from an arrest in May 2005. The singer has pleaded not guilty to the charges that resulted in her spending a night in jail.

Per local reports, she testified Tuesday that she believed she was pulled over so cops could "give me a hard time."

"Way back when--when I used to have hit records 10 years ago--I would get pulled over a lot and had officers ask me to do the strangest things. Once an officer asked me to dance for his camera," she told the jury.

It will be day or so before we learn whether McCready swayed the jurors, but she's already on the judge's bad side.

The arrest-prone country singer was found in "willful contempt of the court" Monday, when she arrived 10 minutes late to for the start of her trial.

Judge Seth Norman blasted the songbird for her tardiness, but said he would not dole out a punishment until after her trial was complete.

While Norman gave no clues as to what penalty McCready could face, typical sentences range from a verbal warning up to 10 days in jail.

The 30-year-old gave no reason for her lack of punctuality, but the single mom did arrive in court toting her infant son.

McCready was pulled over by Nashville's finest around 3 a.m. May 6, 2005 after she was clocked doing 58 in a 40 mph zone, per the police report.

"Her eyes were bloodshot and watery," arresting officer Kenneth Dixon said on the stand Monday. "And there was a very strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle."

Dixon also said McCready had performed poorly on the administered field sobriety test, saying "she was a little unsteady on her feet and I believe she did not follow instructions a few times." After refusing to take a Breathalyzer, she was arrested and charged with the DUI.

While Assistant District Attorney Ben Winters claims the altercation is a simple case of "someone who broke the law and refuses to take responsibility for her actions," McCready yesterday took issue with the circumstances leading up to her arrest.

The singer claimed she was not drunk and that she was simply doing a favor by driving a "highly intoxicated" friend home, claiming the car's alcoholic smell was emanating from her passenger, not herself.

According to her lawyer, Lee Dryer, she was simply the victim of a "good deed."

Dryer further argued that the field sobriety test was improperly issued and that the officers on the scene failed to follow procedure by not ensuring the street was clear of debris or otherwise distracting materials and that no lights were shining in McCready's eyes during the exam.

"So if there were [any of those factors], there would be doubts about your conclusions, yes?" Dryer asked Dixon.

"That's correct."

Luckily, it shouldn't take too long to sort the stories out.

The sobriety test was recorded and the video is expected to be shown in court during the trial, which resumed Tuesday morning with the defense's case.

The DUI arrest is latest woe for the onetime rising star.

In 2004, she was rung up on charges of prescription drug fraud after faking a doctor's signature to obtain the painkiller OxyContin. While McCready initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, she eventually copped to it, was fined and sentenced to three years' probation, which she was under at the time of her arrest last spring. Once the current trial is over, she will face a probation-violation hearing.

It's been a trying year for McCready, who admitted to two suicide attempts and also gave birth to a child with her ex-boyfriend, aspiring country singer William McKnight.

Just two days after her DUI arrest, McCready was hospitalized after being severely beaten by her former beau. Last month, she filed a $3 million lawsuit against him, claiming his vicious attack sent her career into a downward spiral and irreparably damaged her career.

McCartney's wife in sex scandal

It's been a hard couple of nights for Heather Mills, but Paul McCartney's estranged wife is frantically denying she ever worked like a dog.

U.K. paper News of the World alleges Mills hid a sordid past from her husband that included working as a $10,000-a-night prostitute and engaging in lesbian and group sex with wealthy Arabs.

Mills, 38, garnered headlines in another U.K. newspaper, The Sun, just last week after the paper published steamy photos of the former model engaging in explicit sex acts.

The photos are from the 1988 book Freuden der Liebe (Joys of Love), available to order from orion.de, a German website selling sexual material.

Though the paper called the photos "obscene and pornographic," Mills explained that pictures of her posing intimately with a curly-haired male model were meant to be an instructional "lover's guide."

As for allegations she was a high-class prostitute, lawyers issued a statement over the weekend trying feverishly to refute the shocking stories, saying "the sources clearly are a variety of unreliable persons who have been paid."

"The timing of the article is clearly designed to cause maximum hurt to Heather, her husband and family at this sensitive time," the statement read.

News of the World devoted a four-page spread to the explosive story on Sunday, claiming they obtained sworn affidavits from the private secretary who paid Mills for "pleasuring his billionaire master" -- an international arms dealer.

In a detailed interview with the secretary, the paper reveals lewd details of her sexual exploits that spanned Spain's poshest resort towns and London hotels.

"She has lied through her teeth," the secretary said in response to her denials.

High-profile ex-prostitutes also corroborate claims Mills was a sought-after escort while in her 20s.

One woman described how she and Mills -- who she said wore stockings and stilettos for the romp -- engaged in a foursome with a Saudi prince. Each woman earned about $2,000.

"The prince was really excited, especially when Heather performed a sex act on me. Then he had unprotected sex with her," the woman told The Sun.

Another former prostitute who claims she too was intimate with Mills said, "Heather was a familiar face in our business."

"I worked with her when we were both hired for a party thrown by an Arab prince...," she said, adding that Mills "was bubbling over with enthusiasm."

According to Mills' lawyer, the tabloid that broke the story held on to the allegations for four years under threat of legal action from McCartney's lawyers.

But Mills is no longer under his protection since the couple, who have a 2-year-old daughter, announced last month they were filing for divorce.

Singer Mindy McCready sues former boyfriend for $3M over alleged beating

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Mindy McCready has sued her former boyfriend for $3 million, claiming he beat her last year and that the incident hurt her music career.

McCready, who had a No. 1 hit in 1996, Guys Do It All the Time, sued last month in Davidson County circuit court, the Tennessean newspaper reported Thursday. The lawsuit claims the alleged assault hindered the 30-year-old country singer's ability to book performances and other work.

William McKnight is facing charges of attempted murder and breaking into McCready's home and beating her severely in May 2005.

"One of the problems is that, literally, venues worried about whether ... McKnight would show up and someone would get hurt," McCready spokesman Paul Berg said. "It's been very interesting to see how difficult it's been to even put her someplace to do a free show to raise money."

McKnight is employed, his lawyer John Norris said Thursday, but doesn't have the amount of money that McCready is asking for. The lawsuit says McKnight is living in Brandon, Fla.

"The $3 million is out of proportion to any actual damages she actually sustained," Norris said.

Berg said McCready is "not expecting to get anything out of this. Many people have to file civil litigation to set the record straight, whether or not they collect."

Norris said McKnight was disappointed by the lawsuit. "Based on the circumstances of this relationship, it's hard to understand where she came up with that figure," he said.

Berg said the $3 million was derived from both lost potential income and the emotional trauma McCready endured.

McCready's legal problems began before the alleged attack.

In 2004, she pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining OxyContin at a Brentwood pharmacy. She was also arrested and charged with drunken driving and still faces that charge and another for violating probation.

Last July, McCready learned she was wanted in Arizona for her involvement with an alleged con man, but the charges were dropped in November.

McCready is raising her two-month-old son, Zander. She claims McKnight is the father.

If the singer wins her lawsuit, any money collected will go into a trust fund for her son, Berg said.

Pitt-Jolie go public, celeb mags to court

LONDON - People and Hello! magazines launched legal action Wednesday against two Web sites that published a picture of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt with their newborn daughter.

Pitt and Jolie sold rights to the images of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, born May 27 in Namibia, through Getty Images photo agency. The couple said all proceeds would be donated to a charity, not yet named.

People magazine paid a reported $4 million for the right to release the pictures in North America, while Hello! obtained British rights.

The embargo on the images was broken when two gossip Web sites posted an apparent image of the front cover of Hello!

Hello! denies leaking the photo, saying its cover was kept strictly under wraps. The magazine said it and People "have taken immediate legal action to prevent publication of its cover prior to it going on sale" Thursday in Britain.

On Wednesday, Pitt and Jolie made their first public appearance since the birth of their daughter, thanking Namibia for the privacy and peace they enjoyed.

"We have been able to have a very special, peaceful time for our family here, exploring your country and more importantly helping with the delivery of our daughter Shiloh," Pitt told a news conference for local journalists at a hotel in the coastal town of Swakopmund. "So for that we are eternally grateful."

Jolie, 30, gave birth to Shiloh Nouvel at a private clinic in Walvis Bay. Delivered by Caesarean section, the baby weighed 7 pounds and was said to be in good health.

Pitt, 42, and Jolie retreated to the southwest African country with their children for government-assisted privacy in the weeks leading up to the birth. They plan to leave in the coming days.

Jolie has two adopted children: 16-month-old Zahara, from Ethiopia, and 4-year-old Maddox, from Cambodia. Both had their surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt after Pitt announced his intention to adopt the children as well.

Meat Loaf claims 'Bat Out of Hell' rights

LOS ANGELES - Someone else might have written the "Bat Out of Hell" song, but Meat Loaf claims he should be the only one to use the phrase in connection with music.

In a federal lawsuit dated May 26, the rocker, whose name is listed in the action as Michael Aday, said the expression had been publicly associated with him since the 1977 release of his "Bat Out of Hell" album.

The lawsuit claims defendant Jim Steinman, who wrote the original song of the same name, wrongly claims ownership of the phrase.

The album and its 1993 follow-up, "Bat Out of Hell II," sold 48 million copies worldwide, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $50 million.

Steinman and co-defendant David Sonenberg, listed in the action as having been Meat Loaf's manager, have been trying to disrupt the October release of the third "Bat Out of Hell" album by telling the singer's distributors that Aday had no right to use the phrase, according to the lawsuit.

"This contention is blackmail and a holdup," said the complaint, which claimed Steinman and Sonenberg have infringed Aday's trademark rights in the phrase and are interfering with distribution contracts.

Steinman wrote and produced the second album, and would have produced the third, but he and Aday had a falling out, according the lawsuit.

Attempts to reach Steinman and Sonenberg for comment after business hours Monday were unsuccessful.

Record labels sue XM over portable device

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The recording industry on Tuesday sued XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., alleging its Inno device that can store music infringes on copyrights and transforms a passive radio experience into the equivalent of a digital download service like iTunes.

A spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America, comprising major labels such as Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group Corp., EMI Group Plc and Sony BMG, said the suit was filed on Tuesday in New York federal court.

The suit accuses XM Satellite of "massive wholesale infringement," and seeks $150,000 in damages for every song copied by XM customers using the devices, which went on sale earlier this month. XM, with more than 6.5 million subscribers, said it plays 160,000 different songs every month.

"...Because XM makes available vast catalogues of music in every genre, XM subscribers will have little need ever again to buy legitimate copies of plaintiffs' sound recordings," the lawsuit says referring to the hand held "Inno" device.

The suit says that XM has touted its service's advantages over the iPod and cites XM's advertising literature that says "It's not a Pod. It's the mothership."

XM said the Inno, which is manufactured by Pioneer Corp., are legal devices that allow consumers to listen to and record radio just as the law has allowed for decades.

While the labels are asserting the device has transformed radio broadcasts into a download service, XM said the device does not allow consumers to transfer recorded content. XM also said that content recorded from radio broadcasts like XM's is not on demand, in contrast to the content people buy from online music stores like Apple Computer Inc.'s popular iTunes service.

XM said it will vigorously defend this lawsuit on behalf of consumers and also called the lawsuit a bargaining tactic.

The company's shares, which rose 4 percent to close at $17.63 on Nasdaq, were down 1.3 percent at $17.40 in after hours trading.

The labels are currently in talks with XM and its rival Sirius Satellite Radio, to renegotiate digital royalty contracts for broadcasts.

XM and the labels had also been in talks about the licensing of content for the digital portable player, but failed to reach agreement, according to sources familiar with the matter. The labels had pressed for licenses similar to those required for services like iTunes, the sources said.

Sirius earlier this spring came to an agreement with music labels over the ability to save songs to its S50 portable satellite receivers that double as MP3 players.

"XM Radio is the largest single payer of digital music broadcast royalties, and royalties paid by XM go to the music industry and benefit artists directly," the satellite radio company said.

"The music labels are trying to stifle innovation, limit consumer choice and roll back consumers' rights to record content for their personal use," XM added.

"It's a question of economic impact. Will these devices substitute for the purchase of a record? Everything is changing and the industry is petrified," said Jay Cooper, an entertainment lawyer.

Apple Computer wins trademark dispute vs Beatles

LONDON (Reuters) - Apple Computer has won its trademark dispute with the Beatles, part of a long and winding road of legal battles which may lead the band's famous songs to the door of Apple's market-leading iTunes Music Store.

In the case decided on Monday, Apple Corps -- which represents the band's interests and has a green Granny Smith trademark -- had argued that the Apple Computer had violated the companies' former trademark settlement by using its logo to sell music.

Apple Computer, which has sold millions of iPods and more than a billion song downloads, held that iTunes was primarily a data transmission service and was permitted by the agreement.

"I find no breach of the trademark agreement has been demonstrated," Justice Edward Mann said in his judgment, issued in London's High Court. "The action therefore fails."

Apple Corps had battled Apple Computer over its own stylized fruit logo twice before and the latest case related to an out-of-court settlement in 1991.

The ruling, which Apple Corps said it will appeal, means that Apple Computer will be able to continue using its fruit logo on the iTunes Music Store and in ads for the service.

Apple shares climbed about 1 percent to $72.59 on the Nasdaq exchange by 1354 GMT (9:54 EDT).

CAN'T BUY ME BEATLES...ONLINE

The Beatles are high-profile holdouts from Internet music services such as iTunes, but it emerged during the trial that Apple Corps is preparing the band's catalog to be sold online for the first time, according to a submission by Neil Aspinall, managing director of Apple Corps and a former Beatles road manager.

"We are glad to put this disagreement behind us," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said. "We have always loved the Beatles, and hopefully we can now work together to get them on the iTunes Music Store."

A spokeswoman for Apple Corps said that no decision had been made on when the Beatles' songs would be available to purchase online.

Apple Corps -- owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and the estate of George Harrison -- agreed to a 1991 out-of-court settlement, which included a $26 million payment by Apple Computer and set out areas in which each party would have exclusive use of their respective logos.

The Beatles' company argued that Apple Computer's move into the music business violated that deal, but Justice Mann ruled that no breaches had occurred.

"I think the use of the apple logo is a fair and reasonable use of the mark in connection with the service," Mann said, referring to the Apple Computer logo within the iTunes Music Store.

The trial in the High Court's usually staid courtrooms was marked by the incongruous playing of the disco hit "Le Freak" by the Apple Corps legal team, who were demonstrating the iTunes software for the judge.

'Lost' star chooses jail over service

HONOLULU (AP) - Lost actress Michelle Rodriguez pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of driving under the influence, choosing to pay a $500 fine and spend five days in jail, rather than do 240 hours of community service.

Rodriguez, who portrays police officer Ana Lucia, and cast member Cynthia Watros were both charged with drunken driving after they were pulled over Dec. 1 in separate cars within 15 minutes of each other. On Tuesday, a judge gave Rodriguez the option of jail time or community service. She surrendered to authorities at Kaneohe District Court later in the day.

Choosing jail over community service was a "personal choice," said her lawyer, Steve Barta.

"I would suspect that because she has a hard time even going out for a meal without being intruded upon for an autograph or photograph, it's really difficult for her to do community service," he said.

Watros, who plays Libby on the ABC castaway drama, pleaded guilty to drunken driving in January and was fined $312, ordered to have an alcohol assessment and 14 hours of counselling. She also had her licence suspended for 90 days.

Both Rodriguez and Watros were spotted weaving on a road in Kailua, on the island Oahu, where Lost is filmed. Both failed field sobriety tests.

Rodriguez recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit of .08. Watros had a blood-alcohol level of 0.10.

Soon after, Rodriguez spent two weeks in a rehab clinic, her lawyer said.

"She did recognize there was an issue to be dealt with. She on her own took care of it," he said.

In 2004, Rodriguez pleaded no-contest in Los Angeles to three traffic violations, including drunken driving. She completed a three-month alcohol program and is serving a three-year probation term.

It's Apple Vs. Apple in British Court

LONDON - Two legendary companies in the music industry are to meet Wednesday in a London courtroom to fight it out over what might be the world's most recognizable logo: A simple piece of fruit.

Apple Corps Ltd., the Beatles' record company and guardian of the band's musical heritage and business interests, is suing Apple Computer Inc., claiming the company violated a 1991 agreement by entering the music business with its iTunes online music store.

The case will be heard by Judge Martin Mann, who said during pretrial hearings that he was the owner of an iPod digital music player, which is used with the iTunes music store.

At issue is a 1991 pact that ended a long-running trademark fight between the two Apples in which each agreed not to tread on the other's toes by entering into a "field of use" agreement over the trademark.

Apple Computer said in a statement that "unfortunately, Apple and Apple Corps now have differing interpretations of this agreement and will need to ask a court to resolve this dispute."

Apple Corps — founded in 1968 and owned by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the widow of John Lennon and the estate of George Harrison — is seeking both an injunction to enforce the 1991 agreement and monetary damages for the alleged contract breach.

The computer company's logo is a cartoonish apple with a neat bite out of the side; the record company is represented by a perfect, shiny green Granny Smith apple.

Apple Computer had asked to have the case heard in California, where it is based, but Mann rejected that application in 2004 and ordered the case be heard at the stately Royal Courts of Justice in central London.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Computer was formed in 1976, when two college dropouts — Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak — filed partnership papers on April Fools' Day. Their goal was to build and sell personal computers, and their first product was a build-it-yourself computer kit. In 1984, the Apple Macintosh was introduced. Their ubiquitous iPods first came out in October 2001.

The iTunes music store first opened for business in the United States in April 2003; it is now available across Europe, in Australia, Japan, and Canada. About 3 million songs are downloaded every day from the service. In the United States, a song costs 99 cents; in the U.K, they fetch 79 pence ($1.38). Not available on the service are Beatles' songs, which haven't been licensed for downloading.

Judge Halts Notorious B.I.G. Album Sales

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A judge halted sales of Notorious B.I.G.'s breakthrough 1994 album "Ready to Die" after a jury decided the title song used part of an Ohio Players tune without permission.

The jury Friday awarded $4.2 million in punitive and direct damages to the two music companies that own rights to Ohio Players recordings.

The sales ban imposed by U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell affects the album and the title song in any form, including Internet downloads and radio play.

It was unclear when or how the ban would take effect. By Saturday evening, a search of BestBuy.com and Amazon.com showed "Ready to Die" was still available for purchase online.

The jury decided that Bad Boy Entertainment and executive producer Sean "Diddy" Combs illegally used a part of the Ohio Players' 1992 song "Singing In The Morning."

Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records, which owned the song rights, have filed hundreds of lawsuits over "sampling," the practice of lifting parts of old music for new recordings. Most were settled out of court.

The companies get most of their income from song royalties by their artists, which include funk legend George Clinton, the Funkadelics and the Ohio Players.

"We've just been battling this for such a long time," Armen Boladian, owner of Westbound and Bridgeport said. "So many have been settled because companies didn't want anything to do with it, and we knew we were right."

The defendants, Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy LLC, Justin Combs Publishing and Universal Records, plan to appeal. "We think (the verdict) is without merit," defense lawyer Jay Bowen said.

The estate of Notorious B.I.G. was originally sued but was dropped later as a defendant. The artist, born Christopher Wallace, was 24 in 1997 when he was killed in a shooting that remains unsolved.

The rotund New York rapper, also known as Biggie Smalls, was one of the most influential hip-hop artists of the 1990s. His albums "Ready To Die" and the posthumously released "Life After Death" together sold nearly 8 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

French Draft Law Threatens iPod's Future

PARIS - Apple Computer Inc. faces a serious challenge in France as lawmakers move to sever the umbilical cord between its iPod music player and iTunes online store — threatening its lucrative hold on both markets.

Amendments to an online copyright bill, adopted early Friday, would give rivals access to the hitherto-exclusive file formats at the heart of Apple's music business model as well as Sony Corp.'s Walkman players and Connect store.

Thanks to the massive success of the iPod models, which account for two out of every three music players sold worldwide, iTunes has become the global leader in online music sales. The iPod is currently designed not to play music from rival services.

According to the latest amendments, however, copy-protection technologies like Apple's FairPlay format and Sony's ATRAC3 must work with competing services and players. Companies that refuse to share all essential information with any rival that requests it would be ordered to do so by a judge, under threat of fines.

The draft law could force Apple to let French iPod users buy their music from download sites other than iTunes. Owners of other music players would also be allowed to buy songs from iTunes France.

"Without guaranteed interoperability, we run a major risk of captive client bases and an anti-competitive situation, with the consumer held hostage as a result," read the explanatory note accompanying one of the key amendments.

Lawmakers in the lower house voted to approve the amended text early Friday and will hold a further formal vote on Tuesday before sending the bill to the Senate for its final reading.

Although the draft law would also apply to Sony, "the implication is most serious for Apple" because of the phenomenal market penetration of the iPod and iTunes, said Roger Kay of U.S.-based research firm Endpoint Technologies Associates.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment on the law or say whether it could force the company to withdraw the iPod or iTunes from the French market. Sony also refused to comment.

Although iTunes was initially driven by iPod sales, some analysts say the two offerings now reinforce each other. Apple's large online music catalog, the result of its superior bargaining power, also boosts the iPod's appeal. Breaking the exclusive link removes both advantages.

Critics of the draft law say legislators have no business forcing Apple to share its proprietary format, arguing that most customers know about its limitations when they choose to buy an iPod. But consumer groups argue that the only way to give customers real choice is to end the restrictions.

"It's an essential condition for consumers and for the market itself," said Julien Dourgnon, a spokesman for UFC-Que Choisir, France's main consumer organization.

UFC has already filed a lawsuit in French courts, attacking Apple's exclusive music format as a form of anticompetitive behavior.

"It's only by resisting interoperability that Apple is able to keep this dominant position," Dourgnon said. "Once there's interoperability, it's over."

If the draft law goes through in its current form, experts say, Apple could have three broad courses of action from which to choose.

The company could look for technical solutions to comply with the new law in France while maintaining its format exclusivity elsewhere. Sales from iTunes sites are already restricted to local markets using credit card details. But preventing newly interoperable iPods from being used outside the "walled garden" would be much harder — although shipping them with French-only software could help.

Alternatively, Apple could follow the example set by Microsoft Corp. in its standoff with EU antitrust authorities: Drag its feet over compliance and wait to be sued. Court proceedings are long, damages relatively light and class actions impossible in France. Apple might calculate that its iPod and iTunes profits dwarf any potential penalties.

Finally, Apple could be forced to withdraw from Europe's third-largest music download market — or threaten to do so while seeking a change in the law.

"They may have to bluff initially by pulling product off the market and making everybody uncomfortable," Endpoint's Kay said.

But Apple's transformation into a major force in digital entertainment may ultimately lead to antitrust challenges elsewhere, including the United States, Kay said.

In that case, the French move will turn out to have been just the start of something bigger, he added. "Creating an open version of the iPod ecosystem is what everybody in the world except Apple would like."

"X-Files" Creator Sues Fox

The cash is out there, and Chris Carter wants to find it.

The X-Files mastermind's latest conspiracy theory, put forth in a recent lawsuit, accuses 20th Century Fox Television of screwing him out of millions of dollars in residuals related to the show's profitable syndication agreement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The suit, filed in December in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Fox's TV production arm breached a 1998 contract with Carter--signed when the company's corporate sibling, Fox Broadcasting, brought back The X-Files for a sixth and seventh season--because the financial terms turned out to be "too favorable" to the creator at the expense of the studio.

Carter says his deal called for him to be paid a "profit guarantee" when the studio licensed reruns of the paranormal drama to a domestic cable network. However, the suit accuses 20th Century TV of cutting a sweetheart deal with in-house cable net FX. The bargain-bin price, Carter says, effectively cheated him out of a substantial windfall if The X-Files had been put up for bid on the open market.

Carter says when he was negotiating for a ninth season of The X-Files, he pushed the studio to scrap its licensing deal with FX and go after a bigger payday with another network.

Further, Carter claims he was supposed to be paid a "cable advance" that could have totaled $300,000 per episode.

Carter says the studio approached him in 2001 and requested he voluntarily agree to a lower advance because, as he writes in his complaint, it "would result, in their view, in too large a benefit to plaintiff, and too small a benefit to Fox Television." He declined.

Ultimately, 20th Century TV ended its agreement with FX and struck a subsequent syndication deal with USA Network and TNT. Carter says he was again shortchanged.

Neither Carter's lawyer, Larry Stein, nor Fox reps returned phone calls seeking comment.

Not so coincidentally, Stein represented X-Files star David Duchovny in a similar suit the actor brought against Fox, claiming he was cheated out of $25 million when the reruns were sold to--you guessed it--FX and other Fox outlets. Duchovny also accused Carter of conspiring to aid Fox in exchange for millions of dollars in "hush" money and a new TV development deal. The suit was eventually settled out of court for nearly $20 million.

The X-Files ended its run in 2002 after nine seasons. There's been no word whether Carter will ever move forward with his long-rumored sequel to 1998's X-Files movie. The current lawsuit might be a ploy to jumpstart a movie deal--or just the final nail in the franchise's coffin.

Paul, Ringo sue EMI over royalties

LONDON (AP) -- Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and relatives of their Beatles' bandmates are suing EMI to recover what they claim is more than $53 million in unpaid royalties, their company said Friday.

McCartney, Starr and relatives of John Lennon and George Harrison are pursuing the case both in New York and London.

"We have tried to reach a settlement through good faith negotiations and regret that our efforts have been in vain," said Neil Aspinall, who heads Apple Corps Ltd.

"Despite very clear provisions in our contracts, EMI persists in ignoring their obligations and duty to account fairly and with transparency," Aspinall said.

EMI declined to comment on the case.

Ex-"Idol" Star Busted

Former American Idol contestant Julia DeMato has hit a low note in her post-reality TV existence.

DeMato, who was a top 10 finalist in season two of the talent competition, was arrested early Saturday in Brookfield, Connecticut, and charged with possessing marijuana and cocaine, as well as driving under the influence of alcohol, according to police reports.

Members of the Brookfield police force became suspicious after seeing DeMato's SUV pull into the parking lot of a local Mexican restaurant around 2 a.m., more than an hour after the restaurant had closed.

After approaching the would-be crooner, the officers determined DeMato had been drinking and administered a series of field sobriety tests, which she failed.

DeMato, 26, was subsequently arrested and police went on to search her car, turning up two marijuana pipes, a small quantity of marijuana and a small plastic bag that tested positive for cocaine.

The erstwhile Idol competitor was charged with possession of narcotics, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana.

She was released on $10,000 bail and ordered to appear in court on Dec. 16.

Speaking from her home Saturday night, DeMato claimed that her arrest was a mistake and denied that she was a drug user.

"I am not a drug user," DeMato told the News-Times of Danbury, Connecticut. "This was just a misunderstanding. It's going to be taken care of in court and that's that."

DeMato, who worked as a hair stylist before appearing on Idol, gave birth to her first child in July, a baby boy she named James Peter.

She and her fiancé, electrician Jim Polches, were said to be planning to marry next year.

DeMato's arrest adds her to a lengthy list of Idol alumni who have run into problems with the law, including, but not limited to: Bo Bice, Corey Clark, Scott Savol, Jaered Andrews and Trenyce.

The next season of the talent contest kicks off on Fox in January.

Crowe slams media over phone toss

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe slammed the media on Thursday for blowing his phone throwing incident out of proportion.

Crowe pleaded guilty earlier this month to third-degree assault, admitting to a judge that he threw a phone that hit a Manhattan hotel concierge in June. A Manhattan criminal court sentenced the actor to a conditional discharge, which means he must not get arrested for one year.

The judge also instructed Crowe to pay a $160 US court surcharge.

"I think it brings things back into perspective," Crowe told reporters in Melbourne when asked if he was happy with the outcome.

"Travelling businessmen get touchy or testy with hotel staff in every major city all around the world," Crowe told reporters in Melbourne. "That doesn't excuse the fact that I lost my temper ... What I did was stupid. I admitted that straight away."

But, he added: "I got a $160 court cost fine for something that would have had more news print about it than some very horrific and specific things that we should know about in our community," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"That is what I mean by getting it into perspective."

Had Crowe been convicted of the more serious charges initially filed against him - assault and criminal possession of a weapon, the telephone - he could have lost his right to work in the United States and might have faced seven years of prison time.

Crowe, 41, who won the Academy Award for best actor in 2001 for Gladiator, has also starred in such films as A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man.

The actor said he was planning to make a film next year with Australian director Baz Luhrmann - who made Moulin Rouge! and Strictly Ballroom - and fellow Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman, but would not provide any details.

Hollywood, BitTorrent software creator Bram Cohen reach agreement

LOS ANGELES (AP) - In a deal aimed at reducing illegal Internet traffic in pirated films, Hollywood reached an agreement Tuesday with the creator of the popular file-sharing software BitTorrent.

The agreement requires 30-year-old software designer Bram Cohen to prevent his website, bittorrent.com, from locating pirated versions of popular movies, effectively frustrating people who search for illegal copies of films.

BitTorrent must remove web links leading to illegal content owned by the seven studios that are members of the Motion Picture Association of America.

"BitTorrent Inc. discourages the use of its technology for distributing films without a licence to do so," Cohen said in the statement. "As such, we are pleased to work with the film industry to remove unauthorized content from bittorrent.com's search engine."

MPAA chief executive Dan Glickman declared, "They're leading the way for other companies by their example."

The agreement represents the latest effort by the entertainment industry to discourage illegal Internet downloads. It also demonstrates Cohen's sensitivity toward Hollywood's piracy problems, making him potentially more attractive to studios for future deals related to movie downloads.

Cohen disclosed in September his company had raised $8.75 million US in venture funding to develop commercial distribution tools for media companies.

The BitTorrent technology pioneered by Cohen - and used by an estimated 45 million people - assembles digital movies and other computer files from separate bits of data downloaded from other computer users across the Internet. Its decentralized nature makes downloading more efficient but also frustrates the entertainment industry's efforts to find and identify movie pirates.

The agreement with Cohen would not prevent determined Internet users from finding movies or other materials using tools or websites other than Cohen's, but it removes one of the most convenient methods people have used.

'Wyrd Sisters' cannot stop Harry Potter

An Ontario judge has dismissed a motion by a Winnipeg band that would have blocked the release of the new Harry Potter movie in Canada.

Winnipeg folk group the Wyrd Sisters was in court Friday asking for an injunction to block the Nov. 18 release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The group argued in court that they've owned the trademark to the name in Canada since 1990, and that release of the movie with a band purporting to have the same name will ruin their reputation.

In the J.K. Rowling book, there is a band called the Weird Sisters, a term taken from Shakespeare. A band also appears in the movie, played by members of Radiohead and Pulp; however, references to the band's name have been removed.

That doesn't matter, argued Kimberly Townley Smith who represents the Winnipeg group. She said the fact that people could confuse the two groups is damaging to the group's founder.

"The problem is, she's first. She has the right to use it. She's the Wyrd Sisters and now, when she goes out, people are going to think that she's them and worse, who is this person ripping off Harry Potter?"

Harry Potter-related merchandise is using the group's name and could create still more confusion, she said.

But Justice Colin Campbell ruled the public wouldn't confuse three characters from the film with the real-life band.

The injunction application is part of a $40-million US lawsuit the band filed in September against Warner Brothers — the studio distributing the film — and the three famous British musicians acting in the movie: Pulp's frontman Jarvis Cocker and Radiohead's guitarist Jonny Greenwood and drummer Phil Selway.

Warner says it tried to reach a deal with the Juno-nominated group to use the name, but they were unable to come to an agreement.

Websites for Radiohead and Potter fans are calling the court case nothing more than a publicity stunt. But Wyrd Sister Kim Baryluk says it is about protecting her life's work.

"We're Canadian citizens. We have a business. We have a right to use that business name how we see fit. And the way WB approached us was to effectively say we don't have that right and they've made life very difficult for me," she said.

Baryluk said she would be satisfied if Warner Bros. added a line in the credits of the movie saying: the real Wyrd Sisters live in Canada.

McCready Gets Some Good News

Mindy McCready has one less problem to worry about.

Prosecutors in Arizona dismissed two criminal charges against the singer Friday that stem from a June incident involving an allegedly stolen pickup truck. McCready had been slapped with charges of hindering prosecution and unlawful use of means of transportation.

Although few details of the case have publicly released, police had said McCready and a man had taken a pickup truck from a woman without permission. The case also involved an attempt to purchase two speedboats worth more than $1 million.

All along, McCready blamed the incident on a con man, claiming she was actually trying to help police catch him.

Though she no longer has to contend with those charges, McCready still has plenty of issues to resolve.

The "Guys Do it All the Time" singer is due back in court on Nov. 14 for a probation violation hearing.

McCready was jailed in Florida in August after a warrant was issued for her arrest following her second violation.

The singer was previously busted on a DUI charge in May and was convicted of fraudulently obtaining prescription painkillers in November 2004.

On top of her legal problems, McCready has attempted suicide twice in the past several months by overdosing on a mixture of pills and wine.

The singer revealed that she initially tried to kill herself after learning that she was pregnant with her on-again, off-again boyfriend William McKnight's baby.

McKnight was charged with attempted murder after he beat and almost choked McCready to death after ambushing her in her home, just days after her drunken driving arrest.

Despite the violent attack that almost ended her life, McCready claims she still loves McKnight and is unwilling to give up on their relationship.

During an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show Thursday, she admitted to spending time with him on several occasions since learning she was carrying his child, though they are technically not supposed to see each other.

McCready attributed McKnight's violence to drug use, but said she did not expect him to hit her again. However, she said she was bothered by his lack of remorse over the attack.

"I wanted him to take responsibility for it," she said. "I wanted him to be extremely sorry for it."

But because McKnight, in McCready's words, "doesn't think that he's done very much wrong," she said that she has had trouble recovering emotionally from the incident.

"As long as I live, I will never get over it," she told Winfrey. "I will never forget it. And I will forever be haunted by it."

Beach Boys Feud Feud Feud

So much for good vibrations.

Beach Boys member Mike Love has filed a lawsuit against former band mate Brian Wilson over Smile--the famously unfinished Beach Boys opus that Wilson completed and released on his own last year to much acclaim, and at Love's expense.

The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that the promotional blitz by Wilson "shamelessly misappropriated Mike Love's songs, likeness, and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the Smile album itself," per court papers obtained by City News Service.

Wilson, the Beach Boys' principal songwriter and general mastermind, scrapped Smile at the height of the seminal surf band's popularity in 1967, a few weeks before the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The lost sessions became the stuff of music legend; based on the surviving songs and snippets, some music aficionados argued Smile would have rivaled Sgt. Pepper's in the pop pantheon. Per rock history, it was Love who fought against the release of Smile because it differed dramatically from the Beach Boys' standard surf sound.

Love, who cowrote and sang lead on many early Beach Boys classics, alleges that the publicity campaign for Wilson's solo Smile negatively affected sales of Beach Boys albums. Particularly aggrieving Love was Wilson's decision to give away more than 2.6 million copies of a Beach Boys' compilation disc in an edition of Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper.

Love's suit seeks damages amounting to "millions of dollars in illicit profits," claiming the campaign diluted the Beach Boys' brand name, and addition $1 million-plus for international advertising "designed to correct the effects of its unfair competition and infringing uses." Other defendants include the Mail on Sunday and Sanctuary Records Group.

Reps for Wilson and Love could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Smile, which features the classic "Good Vibrations," was among the most critically hailed albums of 2004. It also earned Wilson his first competitive Grammy.

Love, who cofounded the band with cousins Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, and friend Al Jardine, is the only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame quintet to continue using the Beach Boys moniker.

As Brian Wilson, the most talented and reclusive of the bunch, managed to overcome decades-long depression and launched a successful solo career, both his brothers have died. Dennis Wilson drowned in 1983, while Carl Wilson succumbed to cancer in 1998.

The three surviving members--Love, Wilson and Jardine--each own a share of the Beach Boys corporation, Brother Records. However, due to legal wrangling through the years, Love is the only member allowed to use Beach Boys name for touring purposes.

Wouldn't it be nice if they all just got along? Jardine tried touring under the name "Beach Boys Family and Friends" with Brian Wilson's daughters Wendy and Carnie, but an appeals court barred him from doing so.

Despite the infighting, the Beach Boys are in synch on one legal matter.

Brother Records notified London auctioneer CooperOwen last week that 28 memorabilia items about to be put up for bid, including original sheet music by Brian Wilson and Love, were actually stolen, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

No suspect has been publicly named in the theft of the mementos, but Brother Records says it will file a civil suit on behalf of the Beach Boys against CooperOwen and the individual seller of the memorabilia, as well as anyone who purchases the items.

Grandpa Is Sued Over Grandson's Downloads

MILWAUKEE - A 67-year-old man who says he doesn't even like watching movies has been sued by the film industry for copyright infringement after a grandson of his downloaded four movies on their home computer.

The Motion Picture Association of America filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Fred Lawrence of Racine, seeking as much as $600,000 in damages for downloading four movies over the Internet file-sharing service iMesh.

The suit was filed after Lawrence refused a March offer to settle the matter by paying $4,000.

"First of all, like I say, I guess I'd have to plead being naive about the whole thing," he said.

"I personally didn't do it, and I wouldn't do it. But I don't think it was anything but an innocent mistake my grandson made."

Lawrence said his grandson, who was then 12, downloaded "The Incredibles," "I, Robot," "The Grudge," and "The Forgotten" in December, without knowing it was illegal to do so.

The Racine man said his grandson downloaded the movies out of curiosity, and deleted the computer files immediately. The family already owned three of the four titles on DVD, he said.

"I can see where they wouldn't want this to happen, but when you get up around $4,000 ... I don't have that kind of money," Lawrence said. "I never was and never will be a wealthy person."

Kori Bernards, vice president of corporate communications for MPAA, said the movie industry wants people to understand the consequences of Internet piracy. She said the problem is the movies that were downloaded were then available to thousands of other users on the iMesh network.

"Basically what you are doing when you use peer-to-peer software is you are offering someone else's product that they own to thousands of other people for free, and it's not fair," Bernards said.

Illegal downloading costs the movie industry an estimated $5.4 billion a year, she said.

"Harry," Pulp & Radiohead's Wyrd World

Pulp's Jarvis Cocker is a Harry Potter fan. Canadian folk band the Wyrd Sisters--not so much.

The Winnipeg-based group has conjured up a $40 million lawsuit seeking to block the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in North America all because the film features a performance with a same-named band fronted by Cocker and backed by members of Radiohead.

The suit was filed late last month in both the U.S. and Canada and touched off a firestorm in the blogosphere as fans of Potter, Radiohead and Pulp threatened to go Dark Arts on the Canadian group.

In the original book, Potter scribe J.K. Rowling christened the band the Weird Sisters, but Warner Bros. changed the spelling to Wyrd for the movie. In both the book and film, the magical group plays a party attended by Harry and pals. The film's band consists of Cocker along with Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood and drummer Phil Selway (reportedly subbing for Franz Ferdinand, which turned down the gig).

According to the lawyer for the Wyrd Sisters, the band was tipped off that Goblet used the moniker back in June, when Warners offered the trio $5,000 for name rights. The band, which has been together for 15 years, refused. Warners reportedly upped the offer to $50,000. No dice.

The group then launched their lawsuit, seeking $40 million in damages from Warner Bros., as well as Cocker, Greenwood and Selway. The real Wyrds are also asking that the film be blocked from release on Nov. 18.

Now, Warners says it has removed any reference to the band, Weird or Wyrd, from the film and soundtrack.

"The name the Weird Sisters is not being used either in the film or on its soundtrack and we've submitted sworn affidavits to the court stating that fact," the studio said in a statement Tuesday. "Last week, we even showed plaintiff's counsel the film in its entirety to prove that point."

The statemenet may, or may not, be good enough for the Wyrd camp.

"Until recently Warner had them credited and the official word was that the name of the band was 'The Wyrd Sisters'," the group's lawyer, Kimberly Townley-Smith, said in a posting on the band's Website. "They've already created an association between the name and the band and that's all you need."

Or, as the band's singer and cofounder Kim Baryluk told the music site ChartAttack.com: "They are so much more huge than us in their reach that we'll go out on tour a month after the movie comes out--and we'll go all over to Australia, to New Zealand--and people will wonder who are these strange people stealing the Harry Potter name."

As the Wyrd dispute winds its way through the legal system, it's proving difficult for Warner Music's marketing group to hype the soundtrack, which is eagerly anticipated by alt-rock fans.

In a press release announcing the album, due Nov. 15, Warners simply says there are three original tunes performed by the now unnamed band: "Do the Hippogriff," "This Is the Night" and "Magic Works."

Cocker, who wrote two of the Goblet tracks, told E! Online Monday that he was proud of the project.

He was making an L.A. appearance at the small Los Angeles club Tangier, where he tried out a new song that may well end up on his forthcoming solo debut, titled "C--ts Are Still Running the World," with a little help on stage from former Beck drummer Joey Waronker and Donnie Darko composer Michael Andrews on guitar.

However, he did seem a bit taken aback by the Wyrd folkie attack.

"I didn't know they had lawyers in Canada," the singer deadpanned before playing the pick-up gig Monday night.

"I thought Canadians were supposed to be polite."

Eminem Files Suit Over Cellular Ring Tones

DETROIT - Grammy-winning rapper Eminem's publishing companies filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop his songs from being used as cell phone ring tones.

In the suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Michigan-based Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated are seeking a court order to prohibit five companies from selling Eminem song ring tones on the Internet.

Lawyers for the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, said they also plan to sue karaoke companies that sell Eminem songs without getting the proper licenses.

"This is a big business. We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars a year," said Howard Hertz, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.

The companies named in the suit are Colorado-based Cellus USA, Georgia-based FanMobile, New York-based Nextones.com, New Jersey-based MyPhoneFiles and New Jersey-based MatrixM LLC.

Winnipeg folk group sues to block the latest Harry Potter film from being shown in Canada

A Winnipeg folk group is suing Warner Brothers, British rock groups Radiohead and Pulp for 40 million dollars and trying to block the latest Harry Potter movie from being shown in Canada.

The group called the Wyrd Sisters alleges the Harry Potter movie due out next month contains a fictional band called the Wyrd Sisters who are actually members of Radiohead and Pulp.

In their statement of claim the Winnipeg group says the movie infringes on their trademark rights and will damage their reputation. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Neither Warner Brothers nor the musicians involved have filed statements of defence. However, Radiohead fans are fighting back and have posted dozens of messages on the Internet, calling the lawsuit a desperate attempt to get money and fame.

Record industry sues hundreds for file-sharing

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A trade group representing the U.S. music industry said on Thursday it filed lawsuits against 757 people it claims used online file-sharing networks to illegally trade in copyrighted songs.

The latest round brings the total copyright infringement lawsuits filed against individuals to 14,800 filed by the U.S. music industry.

Of the 757 filed on Thursday, about 64 were filed against individuals using college networks, said the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents labels like Sony/BMg and Vivendi Universal's Universal.

Senators turning up heat on P2P pirates

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - Lawmakers pushed federal authorities Wednesday to crack down on peer-to-peer services that pirate copyrighted works, while one P2P operator told them pressure from the recording industry was forcing him to change his ways.

Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told officials with the Justice Department and the U.S. Copyright Office that they wanted recommendations for government action on the issue.

They spoke at a Capitol Hill hearing on the services following the Supreme Court's June decision in MGM v. Grokster that file sharing networks could be liable when their users copy music, movies and other protected works without permission.

Feinstein, in particular, was upset over what she views as inaction by the Justice Department.

"We have a unanimous Supreme Court decision, and peer-to-peer use is increasing," she said. "To me, that's a signal we need a strong law to protect copyright companies."

Debra Wong Yang, the U.S. attorney for California's central district, defended the department's actions, pointing out several investigations DOJ has undertaken that have led to arrests and convictions.

"Our mind-set is to go after those who are distributing the bulk of the material," said Yang, who chairs the new Subcommittee on Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property of the department's Advisory Committee.

That failed to mollify Specter or Feinstein, who appeared to want her department to be much more active.

"Why not go after both levels?" Specter asked. "Why not get tough? That's what Sen. Feinstein wants to do, and I think it's a good idea."

Yang told the lawmakers that the department is concentrating on netting the big fish because it does not have the resources to go after every infringer.

"It's got to either be made legal or shut down," Feinstein said. "What bothers me is the information we're being given that the activity is increasing."

Despite the fact that some lawmakers view it as a lack of action, the Grokster decision claimed at least one victim as the developer of the eDonkey P2P application said he is planning to call it quits.

"I'm not an anarchist," said Sam Yagan, president of MetaMachine Inc., which created eDonkey and Overnet. "I'm throwing in the towel."

EDonkey was one of several that received "cease and desist" letters from the RIAA this month. Yagan said his company planned to convert to a "closed" P2P environment once it reaches a settlement deal with the Rceording Industry Assn. of America, the trade group that represents the major U.S. labels.

The decision to remake eDonkey was prompted by the cost it would take to litigate in the post-Grokster world, not that the company would fail on the merits. Yagan told the committee he thought the litigation after the Grokster case was misguided because "off-shore, underground, rogue P2P operators" will benefit the most because they have lost "a handful of their most legitimate competitors."

Colleges offer legit downloads

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - More than half a million students at nearly 70 colleges and universities now have access to legitimate music download services, according to a report given to Congress on Wednesday by a joint entertainment industry-university task force.

While the report's authors say there has been "considerable progress" in the attempts by universities and copyright holders to reign in copyright piracy on campuses nationwide, it also shows how far the higher education institutions have to go.

According to the report by the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, 670,000 students can get access to legitimate services through their universities and colleges. By contrast, the Chronicle of Higher Education estimates that there are more than 17 million college students enrolled across the nation.

Despite the relatively few students who have access to legitimate file-sharing services, the report's underwriters said the number of students who now have a legitimate alternative is impressive because there were no alternatives just a few years ago.

"Universities have made impressive progress in combating piracy of music and movies through educational efforts, technical controls, and the adoption of legitimate online services," said Pennsylvania State University president Graham Spanier, the committee's co-chairman. "At the same time, we in higher education must expand the reach of our efforts and must continue to be vigilant."

The committee, composed of entertainment and higher education leaders, was formed in 2002 as a way to help combat copyright piracy on campuses nationwide. University students, who have access to their institutions' high-speed Internet networks, are often the most likely to illegally download music and movies.

The committee admitted that it was unable to determine how many of the students who now have access to legal services actually use them. Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said 30,000 of the university's 81,000 students had signed up for the service.

Recording Industry Assn. of America president Cary Sherman, the committee's other co-chairman, said the recording industry was encouraged by the progress.

"We are thrilled to see the number of schools offering legitimate services more than triple in the last year, and (we) remain hopeful that these partnerships will continue to flourish," said Sherman, whose group represents the major U.S. record labels. "At the same time, complacency looms as a constant threat to the tremendous progress we have made. As the landscape changes, so must the anti-piracy programs within the university community. There is much promise in the coming years, but our work is far from done."

The report also identified a number of problems that need to be addressed, including student-run file-sharing systems on schools' local area networks as well as the increased use of unauthorized hacks of the legitimate online service iTunes, both of which are emerging as significant problems.

The release of the report comes a day before entertainment industry officials and university leaders are scheduled to testify before Congress on campus file-sharing problems.

CRIA wants tougher internet piracy law in Canada

The Canadian Recording Industry Association said Canada has become a music piracy haven.

The CRIA -- representing companies that produce more than 95 per cent of all recorded music sold in Canada -- wants the federal government to toughen internet piracy laws.

This follows a federal court decision in Australia on Monday that found six defendants guilty of copyright infringement and ordered them to pay back 90 per cent of the recording industry's costs in the case.

The defendants included Kazaa's owner, Sharman Networks Ltd., and its Sydney-based chief executive officer, Nikki Hemming, as well as Altnet, a company that provided some of the software for the Kazaa website.

Software for Kazaa, which until recently was the largest unauthorized file-sharing service with a peak of 4.7 million users worldwide, will no longer be available to download in Australia.

CRIA President Graham Henderson said: "The law that is currently on the books -- that's enforced -- is so antiquated that the net result has been, despite all of our best efforts, Canada's become a piracy haven."

According to a June report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada has the highest per capita rate of unauthorized file-swapping in the world.

It has also been reported to have the second highest level of broadband penetration, making it vulnerable to piracy.

Kazaa's lawyers had argued that the software was no different from a tape recorder or photocopier, and that Kazaa could therefore not control copyright infringement by users of the network.

It's an argument that CRIA lawyer Richard Pfohl said could be interpreted in the wording of Canada's existing draft legislation, and one that may protect internet pirates.

Henderson said: "Kazaa might well take a good look up here and (say) 'Canada looks pretty good.' And we can't have that."

The CRIA president said he hopes the government will make the amendments necessary to give Canada a robust copyright law when the legislation is debated in September, so that the record industry can get its fair share of the digital marketplace.

"The opportunity is here. The world -- legislators, courts, people around the world -- are speaking very clearly about what the new social norm is. And it's not free copyright," he said.

The Australian judgment comes 10 weeks after an unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the file-swapping operator Grokster, and three years after the shutdown of the original Napster.

Court rules against Kazaa

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian court ruled on Monday that users of the popular Internet file-sharing network Kazaa were breaching copyright, and ordered its owners to modify the software to prevent online music piracy.

Federal Court Judge Murray Wilcox ruled that Kazaa's Australian owner and developer, Sharman Networks, had not itself breached copyright but had encouraged millions of Kazaa users worldwide to do so.

"The respondents have long known that the Kazaa system is widely used for the sharing of copyright files," said Wilcox in his ruling in a Sydney court.

The decision follows a similar judgment in June in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that file-sharing networks such as Grokster can be held liable if their intent is to promote copyright infringement of music or movies.

"The message is very clear for P2P services: It's time to go legal," said John Malcolm, chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). "Today's judgment shows that Kazaa -- one of the biggest engines of copyright theft and the biggest brand name in music piracy worldwide -- is illegal."

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks distribute data between users instead of relying on a central server.

Sharman Networks said it was disappointed with the judge's decision, and that it planned to appeal.

The consequences of the Kazaa ruling on illicit file-sharing are uncertain. Previous legal crackdowns on P2P services have usually only served to send users to other networks.

"Inevitably, when you have successes it drives people elsewhere," IFPI boss Malcolm said. "We know we're never going to completely eradicate this kind of piracy, but the progress has been remarkable."

VICTORY FOR MUSIC INDUSTRY

Australian record companies -- including units of Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group, Warner Music, and several independents -- will now seek damages for hundreds of millions of illicit music downloads at a later hearing.

"The court has ruled the current Kazaa system illegal," Michael Speck, a spokesman for the Australian music industry, told reporters outside the court. "It is a great day for artists, it is a great day for anyone who wants to make a living from music."

Sharman Networks had defended the use of the Internet to download music tracks, telling the court that file sharing represented a revolution in the way music was distributed and sold.

It said it could not control the actions of an estimated 100 million worldwide users.

Judge Wilcox said Kazaa failed to use available technology such as key word filters to prevent copyright infringement because it would have been against its financial interest.

He said that Kazaa's "Join the Revolution" Web site campaign did not directly advocate sharing copyright files, but criticized record companies for opposing file sharing.

"It seems that Kazaa users are predominately young people, the effect of this web page would be to encourage visitors to think it 'cool' to defy the record companies by ignoring constraints," Wilcox said.

Wilcox ordered Sharman Networks to modify the Kazaa software with filters to protect copyright.

"If Kazaa cleans up its act and does what the court has ordered it to do, stop its illegal business, then they have an opportunity to be part of the music industry," said music industry spokesman Speck.

A growing number of legal online music services such as Apple's iTunes, Napster, and RealNetworks' Rhapsody have grown in popularity over the past year. And a new generation of P2P services like Mashboxx are hoping to hoping to offer the advantages of file-sharing without infringing on copyright.

Recording industry sues more U.S. file-swappers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The recording industry on Wednesday filed its latest round of copyright infringement lawsuits, targeting 754 people it claims used online file-sharing networks to illegally trade in songs.

The lawsuits were filed in federal district courts across the country, including California, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The world's major record labels, represented by the Recording Industry Association of America, have filed more than 14,000 such lawsuits since September 2003.

Crowe Reaches Settlement With Hotel Worker

LOS ANGELES - Russell Crowe has reached a settlement with a Manhattan hotel employee who claimed the actor threw a phone at him, according to a statement released Thursday by the actor's publicist.

The Academy Award winner allegedly struck concierge Nestor Estrada in June while Crowe was in New York to promote his movie "Cinderella Man," in which he portrayed a boxer.

"Both sides expressed satisfaction at the resolution," the statement said.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

The 41-year-old Australian movie star publicly apologized on the "Late Show with David Letterman" shortly after the incident, saying it was "possibly the most shameful situation that I've ever gotten myself in in my life, and I've done some pretty dumb things in my life."

Crowe was angered by a malfunctioning phone at the Mercer Hotel and at 4 a.m. threw it and struck Estrada in the face.

Crowe is married to actress Danielle Spencer and they have a young son together. He was trying to call home to Australia and got mad because the phone wasn't working.

Prosecutors charged Crowe with second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon — the telephone. Crowe, who's free on his own recognizance, is scheduled to return to court Sept. 14.

2 jurors now say Jackson is guilty

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two of the jurors who voted to acquit singer Michael Jackson of child molestation and other charges say they regret their decisions.

Eleanor Cook and Ray Hultman, who both have pending book deals, said in a televised interview Monday night that they believed the singer's young accuser was sexually assaulted.

"No doubt in my mind whatsoever, that boy was molested, and I also think he enjoyed to some degree being Michael Jackson's toy," Cook said on Rita Cosby: Live and Direct.

Jackson defence lawyer Tom Mesereau dismissed the jurors' comments as "embarrassing and outrageous"during an interview with The Associated Press.

"The bottom line is it makes no difference what they're saying. It really is a non-event," he said. "Twelve people deliberated and out of that process justice is supposed to result. Now two months later these jurors are changing their tunes. They clearly like being on TV. I'm very suspicious."

The jurors' comments will have no bearing on the verdict, which prosecutors cannot appeal.

Cook and Hultman said they agreed to go along with the other jurors when it became apparent that they would never convict Jackson.

Cosby asked Cook if the other jurors will be angry with her.

"They can be as angry as they want to. They ought to be ashamed. They're the ones that let a pedophile go," responded Cook, 79.

Hultman, 62, told Cosby he was upset with the way other jurors approached the case: "The thing that really got me the most was the fact that people just wouldn't take those blinders off long enough to really look at all the evidence that was there."

The New York Daily News first reported Aug. 4 that Hultman and Cook planned books and believed Jackson was guilty.

A call Monday to jury foreman Paul Rodriguez was not immediately returned.

Hultman has said that when jurors took an anonymous poll early in their deliberations he was one of three jurors who voted for conviction.

On June 13, the jurors unanimously acquitted Jackson of all charges, which alleged that he molested a 13-year-old boy, plied the boy with wine and conspired to hold him and his family captive so they would make a video rebutting a damaging television documentary.

Cook told Cosby: "The air reeked of hatred and people were angry and I had never been in an atmosphere like that before."

In June, Hultman told The AP about the verdict: "That's not to say he's an innocent man. He's just not guilty of the crimes he's been charged with."

During an appearance on Good Morning America with five other jurors in June, Cook was one of three who raised their hands when asked if they thought Jackson may have molested other children but not the 13-year-old boy.

"We had our suspicions, but we couldn't judge on that because it wasn't what we were there to do," she said at the time.

Hultman's book will be called The Deliberator and Cook's is Guilty as Sin, Free as a Bird, said Larry Garrison, a producer who is working with both on their separate books and a combined television movie. Part of the profits from their book sales will go to charity, he said.

Legal Duel Over "Zorro" By Josh Grossberg

As if Zorro doesn't have enough to worry about while helping the peoples, now he's gotta contend with lawyers.

With just a couple of months to go before the studio unspools The Legend of Zorro, Sony Pictures and its TriStar Pictures division has found themselves the target of a lawsuit filed by a Hollywood film company contesting the rights to the swashbuckling swordsman.

Sobrini Films, a subsidiary of producer Mark Armin's Maroda Inc., sued Sony on Tuesday, accusing the distributor of squashing the shingle's attempts to get its own Zorro film off the ground.

In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Sobrini claims it alone owns the exclusive rights to the 1919 Johnston McCulley serial, The Curse of Capistrano, from which the classic Zorro character was born. Sony, the suit claims, controls the rights to later stories.

As result, the company says it is free to proceed in producing its own version of the masked avenger, a futuristic tale called Zorro 2110.

According to court documents, Sobrini initiated the legal action after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Sony that asserted the studio had the exclusive rights to all film and TV productions created from the Zorro property.

Sobrini's attorney, Bruce Isaacs, said the letter was an attempt to sabotage his client from making its own Zorro flick because it can't get the requisite insurance.

"We have a Zorro script that we're really excited about and we're planning to go forward with our movie, but Sony TriStar is under the impression that they have the exclusive rights to make Zorro movies and we think they're wrong, so we're going to the court asking them to agree with us," Isaacs told E! Online.

"So it's really a fight over whether they have the exclusive rights to Zorro."

The lawsuit also seeks a court ruling affirming that Zorro's Mexican bandito getup--the black mask, cape, hat and sword--is in the public domain and cannot be claimed for private use under copyright or trademark laws.

A Sony rep declined to comment on the suit, pending litigation.

Meanwhile, The Legend of Zorro, the long-awaited sequel to 1998's blockbuster, The Mask of Zorro reuniting smoldering stars Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones with director Martin Campbell, will be swinging into theaters Oct. 28—just in time for Halloween.

Sony's Mega Payola Pay Out

Not that it's surprising or anything, but apparently getting radio stations to play a Jennifer Lopez song is a crime in New York.

Sony BMG decided to get right with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, agreeing Monday to pay $10 million to the state in a blockbuster payola settlement that has rocked the music industry.

Among the revelations coming out of the settlement: Sony BMG routinely gave radio deejays and music directors cash or gifts to hype Sony BMG artists like Lopez.

In one email memo obtained in response to the lawsuit, a Sony radio promotions exec wrote: "Please be advised that in this week's Jennifer Lopez Top 40 Spin Increase of 236 we bought 63 spins at a cost of $3,600."

The "Get Right" singer's camp had no immediate comment on the label's pay-for-play practices involving her music. But Sony and its affiliated labels (including Arista, Columbia and Epic) did not limit their aggressive radio campaigns to Lopez.

Audioslave was linked to the scandal in a series of dispatches that showed VPs would do virtually anything to get an add for stations in large markets. "What do I have to do to get Audioslave on WKSS this week?" one missive read. "Whatever you can dream up, I can make it happen."

While outright pay-for-play was thought to be finished after strict legislation was enacted following scandals in the late 1950s, Spitzer characterized the practice as still "pervasive" in the music industry. He threatened to take on other labels in the wake of his success with Sony BMG.

While labels routinely hire independent record promotion companies to secure airplay for their artists in the increasingly competitive corporate-owned radio environment, outright gifts of laptops or trips tied to radio "adds" are prohibited under a 1960 federal law.

Still, Spitzer's suit against Sony BMG said the label was engaged in precisely that kind of payola scheme over the past few years--in a big way.

For its part, Sony BMG tried to move beyond the scandal, saying in a statement some of its employees had engaged in "wrong and improper" practices.

The label, whose market share dipped from 34 percent in the first half of 2004 to just 27 percent this year, also said it looked forward to "defining a new, higher standard in radio promotion" going forward.

One member of the FCC said that the email trail uncovered by Spitzer and his investigators was "a whole arsenal of smoking guns."

"This is a potentially massive scandal," Jonathan Adelstein, a Democratic member of the FCC, told the Associated Press. Spitzer has handed over his evidence against Sony to the commission, which could penalize any stations found to have been willing partners in payola.

Meanwhile, the $10 million penalty will go to nonprofit music-education programs, Spitzer said.

Canada cracks down on online pirates

WASHINGTON (AP) - In an investigation that covers 11 countries, including Canada, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday a crackdown on large-scale Internet pirates who illegally distribute first-run movies, video games and other copyrighted materials.

FBI agents and investigators in the other countries conducted 90 searches starting Wednesday, arresting four people and shutting down at least eight major online distribution servers for pirated works, a Justice official said.

Authorities also seized hundreds of computers in raids in the United States, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal and Britain.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales planned a news conference Thursday afternoon to announce the arrests and other measures that law enforcement officials are taking as part of Operation site Down.

Among those arrested was Chirayu Patel of Fremont, Calif., on charges of violating U.S. federal copyright protection laws, said a law enforcement official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt the official announcement.

Patel is alleged to be a member of a "warez" group, a kind of underground Internet co-op that is set up to trade in copyrighted materials. Warez (pronounced "wares") groups are extraordinarily difficult to infiltrate because users talk only in encrypted chat rooms, their computer servers require passwords and many are located overseas, the FBI has said.

Warez groups differ from popular file-swapping networks, where millions of files are shared without such precautions.

Last month, authorities shut down a popular website that facilitated the downloading of movies and other materials. Investigators said many of the copyright movies were available through the Elite Torrents site even before their commercial release. No arrests were announced at the time.

President George W. Bush signed a new law last month setting tough penalties of up to 10 years in prison for anyone caught distributing a movie or song prior to its commercial release.

File-sharing decision quashed by U.S. Supreme Court

Internet file-sharing services can be held accountable for billions in lost revenue if they intend their software to be used to swap songs and movies illegally, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The ruling could open the door for lawsuits from the entertainment industry against file-sharing services for copyright infringement.

The Supreme Court decision sends the case back to the lower court, which had favoured Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc., companies that operate file-sharing services, by saying they could not be sued by entertainment conglomerate MGM.

The lower courts based their judgments on a 1984 Supreme Court decision that Sony could not be sued because consumers used its VCRs to make illegal copies of movies. As well, they said the file-sharing services were not legally responsible because they don't have central servers pointing users to copyrighted material.

Monday's ruling directs the lower courts to re-examine the Grokster/StreamCast case. The high court says there is enough evidence of "unlawful intent" for the case to go to trial. It means the services may have to pay out billions to music and movie artists if they are found to have promoted illegal downloading. It will become a test case for the issue of file-sharing.

"We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright ... is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties," Justice David Souter wrote for the court.

Souter directed the lower courts to examine certain factors such as how companies marketed the product or whether they took steps to reduce the use of their software for illegal purposes.

Monday's judgment gives the entertainment industry an alternative to going after individual online file-swappers. Recording companies have already sued thousands of users, settling about 600 cases for roughly $3,000 each.

However, the problem of piracy is unlikely to go away as software programs created abroad aren't subject to U.S. copyright laws.

Music and production companies claim as much as 90 per cent of songs and movies copied on the file-sharing networks are downloaded illegally.

Grokster and other similar services contend they do not have direct control over what online users are doing with the software they provide for free.

Canadian music biz loses Net appeal

TORONTO (CP) - The music industry lost its quest Thursday to curb online file-sharing when an attempt to smoke out the identities of 29 alleged uploaders was quashed by the Federal Court of Appeal.

Despite losing the case, music makers greeted the ruling with smiles because the court offered them key guidelines for next time. The 27-page decision gives the Canadian Recording Industry Association a roadmap of how to present file-sharing evidence in future attempts to stop rampant music swapping. It also rejected the lower court's ruling on copyright law, saying the judge was premature in his statements that file-sharing is permissible.

Richard Pfohl, the music industry's lawyer, went as far as to call Thursday's decision "a complete success" even though the organization cannot proceed with lawsuits against these 29 people at this time.

"It provides us with a blueprint to proceed," he said. "We know exactly what we need to do."

For over a year CRIA has been trying to figure out who's behind pseudonyms such as Geekboy(at)KaZaA and Jordana(at)KaZaA.

The two are among 29 individuals suspected of collectively making 43,541 songs available to any web surfer for free.

Finding out the identities from Internet service providers, such as Shaw, Rogers and Bell, is a necessary step in order to launch lawsuits against people who use services like Kazaa and IMesh.

Writing on behalf of the three-judge panel, Justice Edgar Sexton said much of the evidence was hearsay posing a risk that "innocent persons might have their privacy invaded and also be named as defendant where it is not warranted."

The evidence was gathered by workers at New York-based MediaSentry and presented by the company's president who had only second-hand knowledge of how it was collected. Dating back to late 2003, it was based on screen grabs showing a list of songs placed in a shared folder.

Those representing the public's interest in the case also called the ruling a victory.

"The decision recognizes and affirms the right of privacy for individual Canadians," said Howard Knopf, a copyright lawyer with Macera and Jarzyna in Ottawa who represented the public's interest during the case.

However, Knopf cautioned that a portion of the decision "opens the door to the kind of shock and awe campaign that we've seen in the U.S." because it gives CRIA a chance to come back with better evidence.

Thursday's decision included several strong statements about the importance of protecting copyright in the online world so that music makers are not "robbed of the fruits of their efforts," suggesting CRIA should return to court when it has met all the necessary criteria.

Sexton went a step further saying that with proper evidence, musicians "have a right to have the identity revealed for the purpose of bringing action."

He tempered the statement, saying the courts will still need to make sure "privacy rights are invaded in the most minimal way."

The decision also refrained from making grand conclusions on copyright laws - specifically about the legality of downloading or uploading music via file-sharing.

At the time of the original ruling, headlines around the world called Canada a haven for pirates because courts couldn't prosecute due to outdated copyright laws.

Thursday's ruling strongly stated that the lower court should never have broached the subject of copyright infringement. At the time, Justice Konrad von Finckenstein said that uploading songs to shared folders on a home computer was permissible under law because the songs weren't actively being distributed to others.

"Conclusions . . . should not have been made in the very preliminary stage of this action," Sexton said in Thursday's written decision. "They would require a consideration of the evidence as well as the law applicable to such evidence after it has been properly adduced."

The industry interpreted the comment as vindication in its battle to thwart online cheaters.

"It makes it harder for people to say 'Canada is a piracy haven so steal whatever you want to.' It ought to be a warning sign for people on peer-to-peer services that you can, and will, be held accountable," said CRIA's Pfohl.

How soon remains to be seen as the court system is notoriously slow. As well, government legislation by the Liberals to amend copyright laws in favour of the music industry has been slowly working its way through Parliament.

This case has been closely watched by the TV, film and book publishing industries, which have also been negatively affected by the popularity of peer-to-peer sharing systems.

Linkin Park protests Warner Music's scheduled IPO

Sex, drugs and IPOs? Initial public offerings are hardly on the short list of things rock 'n' roll bands concern themselves with. That changed Monday after the popular band Linkin Park all but threatened to stop making music for its label, Warner Music, in protest of the company's IPO next week.

Upset that just $7 million of the IPO's $600 million in estimated proceeds will go to the company and its artists, Linkin Park demanded in a statement to be released from its contract to deliver seven albums to Warner. The band, popular for albums that meld rock, rap and electronica, declined comment.

Linkin Park's move is potentially significant because it is an embarrassing public airing of unhappiness by a Warner artist, says Melanie Hase, analyst at IPO tracker Renaissance Capital. Linkin Park said that it accounts for 10% of Warner's revenue and that it was scheduled to release its newest album next year. Nielsen SoundScan data, though, show the band accounted for less than 3% of shipments so far this year and since 2000.

Revenue questions aside, Hase says the band's displeasure is understandable. A vast majority of the IPO proceeds are being used to pay back debt incurred when management, including music industry vet Edgar Bronfman Jr., bought the unit from Time Warner in March 2004. By the time of the IPO, company insiders and executives will have received more than $800 million in bonuses and dividends, while the company will still have $2.2 billion in debt, Hase says.

Still, unless other artists join in, it's questionable whether Linkin Park will have enough clout to make Warner rethink its strategy or for investors to reconsider the IPO, says Brian Garrity, business editor at Billboard magazine. "The track record of bands going up against labels like this isn't very favorable," he says.

Garrity says Linkin Park is renegotiating its contract with Warner, and he figures the band is using the IPO as a bargaining chip. "This is a nice piece of leverage for them to try to get a better deal with Warner," he says.

Warner says Linkin Park has been paid fairly. "They have always been compensated generously for their outstanding worldwide success," spokesman Will Tanous said in an e-mailed comment.

If anything sours investors, though, it will be the IPO's questionable terms, not Linkin Park, says Francis Gaskins, president of IPOdesktop.com. Gaskins says Warner is just the latest in a flurry of IPOs in which investors, having bought a company by using heavy debt, look to cash in and pay down the debt. Investors have been lukewarm on such deals. "This is a serious bailout, and that's why people don't like it," he says.

Music labels tell appeal court Kazaa users can't hide behind anonymity of Web

TORONTO (CP) - The fight to curb file-swapping by music fans moved to the Federal Court of Appeal on Wednesday with record labels arguing song pirates can't hide behind the veil of their Internet service providers.

The Canadian Recording Industry Association is seeking the identities of 29 Jane and John Does, who are currently only known by pseudonyms like Geekboy and Jordana.

The group wants the court to force Internet providers, including Shaw, Bell and Rogers, to hand over alleged infringers' real names based on an IP address that made hundreds of music files available on peer-to-peer networks Kazaa and IMesh.

A ruling in favour of the music industry could mean the beginning of U.S.-style downloading lawsuits in Canada.

The first of two days in front of a three-judge panel had lawyers for the music industry debating the fine points of privacy and disclosure law.

Harry Radomski, a lawyer for the association, said evidence presented during the original hearing showed someone at each of the 29 IP addresses moved a large number of songs into shared directories to "make them available to an unbelievable number of people."

At issue is whether the surfers are entitled to keep their anonymity using existing privacy laws. Internet companies must keep their customer files sealed unless ordered otherwise by a court.

Radomski also argued that when consumers sign up with an ISP they sign contracts "agreeing not to receive or transmit copyrighted material."

When contracts are broken, consumers no longer expect to be protected by privacy laws, he told the court.

Four Internet service providers are arguing against revealing the identities.

"Our participation in this appeal is to ensure that the rights of our customers are respected and that any order that's issued is granted on the basis of a solid case," said Jay Thomson, the lawyer representing Telus.

Quebec's Videotron has backed the record industry.

The case generated plenty of buzz last year after the lower court judge dismissed the motion to reveal the names, saying the record industry didn't have enough evidence proving they were doing anything illegal.

The ruling stated that placing a song in a shared directory wasn't a strong enough action to constitute copyright infringement.

That meant using peer-to-peer networks to nab music for free wasn't illegal in the eyes of the court, despite the music industry shouting otherwise.

A major spike in the amount of music piracy followed last year's ruling, admitted Graham Henderson, president of CRIA, outside court during a break Wednesday.

While he's risking another spike should CRIA lose this appeal, Henderson says establishing clarity in the law is more important.

"We have to try to get clear laws so that Canadians know what's right and what's wrong," he said, adding that an estimated 134 million songs are illegally acquired each month in Canada compared to one million paid ones via online stores like ITunes.

Last year's ruling prompted Prime Minister Paul Martin to take note of the issue and push forward copyright reform, added Henderson.

The bill - which would add a "making available" clause to the current rules - is working its way through government although a June election would kill it from the queue.

That makes winning this appeal all the more vital, says Henderson.

"We can't necessarily stand around and wait for that bill to become law because it's already taken us seven years to come this far," he said. "If the government calls a snap election it would set us back by several months."

The case is being watched closely by the film and television sectors who claim people are illegally accessing their products using newer and faster peer-to-peer services like BitTorrent.

Representatives from the film industry asked to speak at this appeal but were denied because the group hadn't been part of the original case.

A ruling is expected later in the summer.

Online Music Case Outcome Rests on VCR Technology

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Internet file-sharing services and the entertainment industry square off in the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the outcome will likely rest on a nearly obsolete technology -- the videocassette recorder.

Backers of "peer to peer" networks like Grokster will argue that the software makers deserve the same protections as VCR manufacturers, because both can be used for good or ill.

Record labels and movie studios will argue that Grokster should be held responsible when its millions of users illegally copy movies and music directly from each others' computers.

Both sides will agree one one thing -- the court could harm their ability to produce innovative new products if it doesn't rule in their favor.

"If nothing is changed and these services continue to operate, it will have an impact on the creative process. For the movie industry, it will mean less risk will be taken in terms of the creation of new material," said Dan Glickman, president of the Motion Picture Association of America.

"The way new technology is created and funded is it's a high-risk affair. It's not going to get funded if there's a sword of litigation hanging over it," said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, which supports Grokster.

The Supreme Court in 1984 ruled that Sony Corp. couldn't be held responsible if users of its Betamax VCR copied television shows without permission, because it also could be used for legitimate purposes such as taping a show to watch later.

Lower courts have said that ruling applies to Grokster as well.

The Betamax ruling has allowed consumer-electronics makers to develop products without getting permission from Hollywood first -- a key to the industry's success that could be upset if the court rules against Grokster, backers say.

"Every technology from the CD burner to the personal computer to the iPod has emerged in part because of the clarity of the (Betamax) rule," said Fred von Lohmann, a senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation who is representing Morpheus.

Grokster backers point out that the entertainment industry has a long history of initially opposing new technology, from the player piano to the VCR, that has ultimately benefited it in the long run.

But that doesn't change the fact that Grokster makes its money almost entirely by encouraging people to illegally copy music and movies, the entertainment industry argues.

Using that logic, a single instance of "legitimate" use can justify millions of illegal transactions, they say.

"Nobody would suggest that the iPod is a business based on infringement," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America. "Grokster, on the other hand, was conceived for the very purpose of encouraging and profiting from infringement."

Though the vast majority of traffic over peer-to-peer networks involves copyrighted material, legitimate uses have begun to emerge in recent years.

Independent artists like Steve Winwood have released their music over peer-to-peer networks, while scientists and government bureaucrats have used peer-to-peer technology to distribute information cheaply without central server computers.

Record labels have begun to licensing their music to a new breed of peer-to-peer networks like Mashboxx that will let copyright owners exert some control over their material.

The court will also hear arguments about whether cable companies should have to allow rival Internet service providers to use their high-speed pipeline.

'Doctor Who' Culprit Fired

A Canadian TV worker has been sacked after a brand new episode of sci-fi series Doctor Who was leaked onto the internet.

The 45-minute episode, entitled "Rose," appeared on the web on March 7, three weeks before the series was due to premiere on British TV channel BBC One.

BBC Worldwide claim its broadcast partner in Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), harbored the culprit who had access to an preview copy of the eagerly awaited first episode.

BBC bosses remain tightlipped about the identity of the individual to blame, but revealed that the person worked for a "third-party company in Canada". BBC Worldwide, which is taking legal action, released the following statement: "After a thorough investigation by BBC Worldwide's Canadian broadcast partner, the source of the leak of episode one of the new Doctor Who series has been traced to a third party company in Canada which had an early preview copy for legitimate purposes.

The individual responsible for the leak has had their employment terminated by that company as a result. BBC Worldwide is considering further legal remedies and takes extremely seriously any unlawful copying or misuse of its copyright material."

Harry Situation

In court affidavits filed last week, a Teton County prosecutor swore that Kelly Frank confessed to the FBI that he had plotted to kidnap David Letterman's toddler Harry from the Late Show host's Montana ranch. Nonetheless, the Associated Press reports, Frank pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to felony charges surrounding the alleged plot to kidnap 16-month-old Harry and his nanny and ransom them for $5 million. He was ordered to remain jailed pending bail of $600,000, with his next court date scheduled for April 5.

Frank, who's on probation for a felony conviction for intimidating a woman, was fingered by erstwhile friend and coworker Robert Gondeiro and arrested last Monday. Gondeiro told investigators that Frank, a handyman and painter who had worked at the Letterman ranch, tried to enlist him in the kidnap plot. Frank was charged with felony solicitation, felony theft (authorities said he confessed to overcharging Letterman between $1,000 and $1,500), and misdemeanor obstruction (for his initial denial to investigators).

Frank's attorney, Jim Hunt, acknowledged to AP that his client had discussed the kidnap scheme, ''but with no purpose of carrying it out.'' He called the discussion a ''lighthearted conversation.'' His explanation echoed that of Frank's fiancée, Laurie Johnson, who told reporters over the weekend that Frank's remarks had been taken out of context, and that Gondeiro turned him in because of a grudge he'd been carrying against Frank ever since a squabble they'd had at work.

Letterman, who'd issued a statement of gratitude to the police and FBI investigators on Friday, spoke for the first time about the plot on Monday's Late Show, his first broadcast since reports of Frank's arrest surfaced last Thursday.

''Last week, my family and I were involved in a little legal activity, and fortunately everything turned out fine, but I want to just take a second here to thank some people,'' Letterman told his audience. He specifically thanked four of the lawmen involved, as well as "the great people of Choteau, Montana.'' Curiously unmentioned was Gondeiro.

UK Courts Crack Down On File Sharing

The UK courts are cracking down on illegal online file sharing and ordering ISPs to give names and addresses of sharers.

The names and addresses of 31 accused people will be given to The British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The BPI will then write to the individuals and offer them a a chance to settle before taking them to court.

According to a CNET article, the ISPs involved in the case now have 14 days to provide the names sought by the BPI. The individuals named will then be invited to settle the charges, probably by paying a fine of around $3,820 (2,000 pounds).

The BPI hopes that the amount of publicity generated by last week's court success will deter Internet users from uploading copyright material to file-swapping networks.

"We're reluctant to say, 'OK, the job's done. Let's spend money on making records,'" the BPI spokesman said. "I suspect that the problem won't go away just because we've launched two rounds of litigation."

Lord of the Rings director sues over claims his company shortchanged

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Peter Jackson's production company has sued New Line Cinema, claiming it was shortchanged on profits from the first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Wingnut Films alleges in a federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles that New Line and subsidiary Katja Motion Pictures failed to properly calculate revenue, including revenue from DVD sales, from 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The lawsuit doesn't specify an amount sought in damages but claims the movie grossed more than $314 million US in box office receipts in the United States and more than $556 million overseas, plus revenue from video and merchandise sales.

The lawsuit accuses the studio of giving affiliates favourable licensing deals. It seeks a court injunction against New Line from reaching deals related to the film with affiliates "without first seeking the most competitive and beneficial deals from unaffiliated third parties in a free and open market."

Record Industry Sues 753 for Song Swaps

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A recording industry trade group on Monday said it has filed another wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against 753 people it suspects of distributing songs over the Internet without permission.

To date, the Recording Industry Association of America has sued over 9,000 people for distributing songs over "peer to peer" networks like eDonkey and Kazaa, in an effort to discourage the online song copying that it believe has cut into CD sales.

The trade group represents big record labels like Warner Music, EMI Group Plc, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group.

Record companies sue 754 more computer users for swapping music

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Recording companies filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 754 computer users Thursday, the latest round of legal action in the industry's effort to squelch unauthorized swapping of music online.

Among the named defendants were 20 computer users suspected of swapping songs over university networks, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group for the largest music companies. Among the college and universities attended by students named in the lawsuits were University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in New York, Old Dominion University and State University of West Georgia.

The colleges and universities were not named as defendants.

As in previous cases, the new lawsuits were filed against "John Doe" defendants - identified only by their numeric Internet protocol addresses. Music company lawyers must obtain the identity of defendants by issuing subpoenas to Internet access providers.

In all, recording companies have sued 7,704 computer users since September 2003. To date, 1,475 defendants have settled their cases out of court, the RIAA said.

Settlements in previous cases have averaged $3,000 US each.

Hollywood targets downloading

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hollywood movie studios on Tuesday sued scores of operators of U.S.- and European-based computer servers that help relay digitized movie files across online file-sharing networks.

The copyright infringement suits expand on a new U.S. film industry initiative whose initial targets were individual file-swappers.

The defendants this time run servers that use BitTorrent, which has become the program of choice for online sharers of large files because of its immunity to industry attempts to confound file-swappers with bogus decoy files.

"Today's actions are aimed at individuals who deliberately set up and operate computer servers and websites that, by design, allow people to infringe copyrighted motion pictures," said John Malcolm, head of the Motion Picture Association of America's antipiracy unit.

Malcolm, speaking at a Washington news conference, declined to name defendants. He said the suits, filed in the United States and Britain, targeted more than 100 server operators.

"These actors are neither innovative nor innocent," Malcolm added. "These people are parasites, leeching off the creativity of others. Their illegal conduct is brazen and blatant."

The initial wave of lawsuits targets computer servers that index movies for BitTorrent users, but Malcolm said the trade group is eyeing similar action against servers that direct data for the DirectConnect and eDonkey file-swapping services.

Malcolm noted that neither the creator nor distributors of BitTorrent, whose architecture enables speedy downloads because users share received bits of a file as it is downloaded, were targeted in the suits.

"The target of our actions is not technology," Malcolm said. "There are many legal Torrent sites ... that are dedicated to the distribution of public domain work and we are taking no action against them whatsoever."

The three file-sharing aides work differently but enable computer users to share music, film, software and other files.

EDonkey and BitTorrent steadily gained in popularity after the recording industry began cracking down last year on users of Kazaa, Morpheus, Grokster and other established file-sharing software.

The MPAA is focusing its litigation on servers that link individuals who seek movie files to those who make them available.

The lawsuits follow the same logic employed when the recording industry successfully sued the original Napster file-sharing network. The creators of that software used a central computer server to keep and update an index of what music files were being made available by computer users on the network.

"By bringing these suits, the MPAA runs the risk of pushing the tens of millions of file sharers to more decentralized technologies that will be harder to police," said Fred von Lohmann, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco.

Mike Godwin, legal director for Washington-based Public Knowledge, a group that tracks copyright and technology policy, said the same legal arguments against Napster may not stick in this case.

"There may be a legal problem in that some Torrent sites don't really police what people use them for," Godwin said. "In those cases, I think it's hard to create traditional copyright infringement liability."

Another potential wrinkle is that many of the computer servers are offshore, outside the scope of U.S. copyright law.

"It adds a level of complexity that makes it more difficult for someone from the United States to go after a tracker site," Godwin said. "Tracker sites are often run by hobbyists. They go up, they go down. It's a moving target and not a particularly large one."

Hollywood movie studios contend that the unauthorized trading of films online has the potential to threaten their industry, particularly as increasing bandwidth makes the large movie files easier to download.

By comparison, music files are far smaller and swapped at greater volume.

Last month, the studios began suing computer users for swapping digitized films online for copyright infringement. The industry has also been a party to lawsuits against Kazaa, Morpheus and Grokster.

The industry has failed to persuade U.S. federal courts to shut down the services, and is awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

THE F BOMB STRIKES AGAIN

A Maryland man is suing Wal-Mart for selling his daughter an Evanescence CD that contains an obscenity. Wal-Mart has a policy of not carrying explicit music in its stores.

Investigators Search Jackson's Ranch

LOS OLIVOS, Calif. - Sheriff's investigators conducted a search of Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch on Friday, a department spokesman said.

Sgt. Chris Pappas confirmed that a warrant was served at the rural estate but he would not release any more information.

Jackson has already been charged with child molestation, and his Neverland ranch was searched previously in the case. He faces trial next year.

The search warrant was served at 9 a.m. and investigators remained there into the late morning, Pappas said.

Attorneys on both sides are barred from commenting on the case. A message seeking comment was left at the office of Jackson's spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain.

Neverland, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, was first searched on Nov. 18, 2003.

At least 60 investigators from the Sheriff's Department and district attorney's office conducted that raid on the multimillion-dollar property.

The theme park-like estate has a mansion, zoo and amusement park with bumper cars, a merry-go-round and Ferris wheel. Jackson hosted many children's parties there.

Jackson was originally charged in December 2003 on allegations of molesting a boy. Prosecutors then took the case to the grand jury, which issued a superseding indictment in April.

The pop star has pleaded not guilty to child molestation, conspiracy and administering an intoxicating agent, alcohol, to the alleged victim. Jackson's trial is scheduled to start Jan. 31.

Kazaa owners launch defence in file-swap copyright infringement case

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The owners of file-swapping giant Kazaa claimed Tuesday their software, which allows users to exchange copyrighted music and movies online, is no different from video recorders as they launched their defence in a landmark music piracy case in Australia.

Lawyer Tony Meagher was outlining his defence strategy on the second day of a civil case in which the Australian recording industry is suing Kazaa's owners for widespread copyright infringements by the global network's estimated 100 million members.

Kazaa members download three billion files each month, record industry lawyers said Monday. Those files can include songs, movies and other copyrighted material.

Meagher cited a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said electronics giant Sony wasn't liable when people used its Betamax videocassette recorder to copy movies illegally because the technology had significant uses that did not violate copyrights.

The same case was cited in August when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that two other leading file-swapping networks, Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc. were not legally liable for the songs, movies and other copyright works their users swapped online.

"It is plain (Kazaa) has lawful uses," Meagher told Federal Court judge Murray Wilcox.

In another key element of the defendants' defence in the three-week trial, Meagher said that even though the peer-to-peer software that underpins Kazaa allows users to breach copyright, the owners of Kazaa do not authorize piracy and cannot stop it.

"We are not in a position to control and we do not control use," Meagher said.

A licence agreement that all Kazaa users have to agree to before downloading the Kazaa software tells them they must not use the network to distribute copyrighted material, but the record industry says Kazaa makes no effort to enforce the agreement.

Mindy McCready pleads guilty to drug charge

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) -- Mindy McCready, who had a No. 1 hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time," pleaded guilty Monday to purchasing painkillers with a false prescription.

The country singer was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years of supervised probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

McCready, who turns 28 today (Tuesday), was accused of fraudulently obtaining OxyContin at a Brentwood pharmacy in February, using a friend's name on the prescription.

Her other hits include "Ten Thousand Angels" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)."

Hey, Teacher! We All Need Some Compensation

LONDON (Reuters) - A group of former London schoolchildren who sang on Pink Floyd's 1979 classic "Another Brick In The Wall" have lodged a claim for unpaid royalties.

Twenty three teenage pupils from Islington Green School secretly recorded vocals for the track, which became an anthem for children with the chorus "We don't need no education."

On hearing the song, the headmistress banned the pupils from appearing on television or video -- leaving them no evidence and making it harder for them to claim royalties -- and the local school authority described the lyrics as "scandalous."

The album sold over 12 million copies and the single became number one in Britain and America.

Royalties expert Peter Rowan told Reuters he was appealing to a music royalties society on behalf of one former pupil and was working with other members of the class. He said he was still trying to contact the majority of the group.

"They are owed their money and we lodged the first claim last week," Rowan told Reuters. "I've been working on it for almost two years."

Music teacher Alun Renshaw took the schoolchildren to a nearby recording studio without the permission of the headmistress after being approached by the band's management.

The lyrics "We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control, no dark sarcasm in the classroom -- teachers leave them kids alone" were described by the Inner London Education Authority as scandalous.

The school was paid 1,000 pounds ($1,860) and later given a platinum record of the song but the pupils were paid nothing.

Rowan said the money would come from a music royalties society and not Pink Floyd. He expected the 23 pupils to receive about 200 pounds each.

The application for royalties was initially hindered by the lack of evidence but Renshaw said Margaret Maden, then the school headmistress and now a university professor, had supported their application.

"We had to provide evidence to show they were part of the song and Mrs Maden helped us with that," he said.

Renshaw told the Evening Standard newspaper the band's offer had been "an interesting sociological thing and also a wonderful opportunity for the kids to work in a live recording studio.

"I sort of mentioned it to the headteacher, but didn't give her a piece of paper with the lyrics on it."

Willis Cries Foul over "Tears"

Bruce Willis, accused of being a "pain in the ass" on the set of Tears of the Sun, says its filmmakers were a pain, too. A pain in the head.

Willis has sued the studio behind the 2003 action-war movie over a combat sequence that the star alleges hurt his forehead and caused "extreme mental, physical and emotional pain and suffering."

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 20 in Los Angeles, was made public Monday by The Smoking Gun. Revolution Studios and Joe Pancake, a crew member identified on IMDb.com as the special-effects foreman of Tears of the Sun, are named as defendants.

Revolution said Monday it could not address the lawsuit. Pancake could not be located for comment.

At issue are the movie-making events of Oct. 21, 2002. In the complaint, Willis says he took "a projectile" to the forehead as he shot a scene simulating a spray of bullets. Willis blames the injury on a negligently placed and detonated squib, a special-effects explosive that substitutes for real, live gunfire.

Willis accuses Revolution and Pancake of negligence and of exposing him and others to "ultrahazardous activity." His lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Movie star injuries on set are not uncommon; lawsuits are. Halle Berry (broken arm on Gothika, debris to the eye on Die Another Day) and Nicole Kidman (cracked rib, bum knee on Moulin Rouge) are two banged-up actors who didn't limp off to court. (At least not yet.) Hollywood's most infamous on-the-set accident--the 1982 helicopter mishap on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie that killed Vic Morrow and two child actors--resulted in the most serious kind of legalese--a manslaughter trial.

Specifics on Willis' injury were not known, outside of the lawsuit noting that the Die Hard icon is still incurring medical expenses. A call to Willis' publicist was not returned Monday.

Tears of the Sun, shot mainly in Hawaii, was released in March 2003. It grossed an underwhelming $43.7 million domestically, and another $42.3 million overseas--the cumulative take still short of the $110 million spent on its producing and marketing, per BoxOfficeMojo.com.

In the film, Willis, "a universally known motion picture star and celebrity," per his lawsuit, played a Navy SEAL officer sent to war-torn Africa to rescue a doctor (Monica Bellucci).

Willis and director Antoine Fuqua clashed during production, with Fuqua telling BBC.com that Willis was the biggest "pain in the ass" he'd ever worked with.

"We just didn't get along," Fuqua said. "We got along off camera, but shooting, we just didn't get along."

Alleged forehead issues aside, the 49-year-old Willis has recovered from the box-office bruising he endured with Tears of the Sun. By IMBb.com's count, he has five films in production or post-production, including Alpha Dog, a true-crime drama costarring Justin Timberlake.

U.S. Court Upholds Beastie Boys' Musical Sampling

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has handed a victory to pioneering punk-rap group the Beastie Boys in a dispute over the growing musical practice of sampling, in which recording artists incorporate snippets of other songs into their own work.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined on Tuesday to reconsider its decision last year allowing the group to use a six-second segment of music from jazz flutist James Newton's 1978 composition "Choir."

A three-judge panel of the court held in 2003 that the band had abided by copyright protections by paying a license fee for a sample of Newton's recording and therefore did not have to pay an additional fee to license the underlying composition.

That finding upheld a lower-court dismissal of the case in favor of the Beastie Boys, and the 9th Circuit on Tuesday refused to reconsider its ruling before a larger 11-judge panel.

"We hold that Beastie Boys' use of a brief segment of that composition, consisting of three notes separated by a half-step over a background C note, is not sufficient to sustain a claim for infringement of Newton's copyright," Chief Judge Mary Schroeder wrote in her opinion.

The Beastie Boys used the sample in their song "Pass the Mic" on their 1992 album "Check Your Head."

Representatives for Newton and the Beastie Boys were not immediately available for comment.

The Beastie Boys helped spark the modern sampling trend in popular music with the 1989 album "Paul's Boutique," which incorporated bits of music from sources as diverse as Johnny Cash, Bob Marley and the Beatles to create new music. Sampling has since become a staple of many artists, especially in the rap and hip-hop genres.

The Beastie Boys have also emerged as leading advocates of a new approach to licensing known as the Creative Commons, in which artists record songs that listeners are invited to "rip, sample, mash and share" over file-sharing online networks like Kazaa or borrow to create their own compositions.

Classmates Sue Over 'Dazed and Confused'

SANTA FE, N.M. - Three former high school classmates of "Dazed and Confused" director Richard Linklater have filed a lawsuit claiming they have suffered embarrassment and ridicule because of characters based on them in the movie.

The men — Bobby Wooderson, Andy Slater and Richard "Pink" Floyd — say Linklater did not get their permission before creating three characters in the 1993 cult classic sharing their surnames and likenesses. The suit was filed Thursday in Santa Fe against Universal Studios, which released the film.

The movie follows the drug- and alcohol-fueled hijinks of teenagers on the last day of school in May 1976. The men said the negative characterizations in the film have made their lives miserable and caused their neighbors to think poorly of them.

"We had fun in high school, but there is nothing true about that movie. Yet, I am having to deal with it all the time," said Floyd, who works at a car dealership in Huntsville, Texas, where the men went to high school.

Ernest Freeman, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said Slater has also had problems because people make assumptions that he takes illegal drugs.

Slater runs a construction and remodeling company and Wooderson works in the technology sector. Both men also still live in Huntsville.

Linklater's agent did not immediately return a message Saturday seeking comment.

The suit was filed in New Mexico because it has a longer statute of limitations than other states for claims of defamation and false light, attorneys said.

FBI ordered to release Lennon files

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The FBI must turn over the remaining secret files on Beatle John Lennon to a professor who has waged a more than 20-year legal battle to get the documents, a judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge Robert Takasugi rejected government arguments Tuesday that releasing the last 10 pages would pose a national security risk because a foreign government secretly provided the information. The government was not publicly identified.

Jonathan Wiener, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, sued the U.S. government for the documents in 1983 under the Freedom of Information Act. He received 248 pages in 1997 as part of a settlement.

The previously released files, which were gathered from 1971 to 1972, include memos detailing Lennon's donations to a group planning to demonstrate at the 1972 Republican National Convention. But they contain no allegations Lennon was involved in planning or committing illegal acts.

Wiener, a historian, originally sought the files for his 1984 book, "Come Together: John Lennon in His Time." After the 1997 release, he wrote "Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files."

His battle with the government went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Actress Rosario Dawson Arrested at Anti-Bush March

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actress Rosario Dawson, arrested at an anti-Bush march has been charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and the obstruction of governmental administration, officials said on Monday.

Dawson, 25, and Vija Grosgalves, 28, were filming a scene for the independent film "Medium Cool" in Manhattan on Sunday, using protests by thousands of protesters marching past Madison Square Garden as a backdrop.

Police nabbed the pair, alleging that they were "both masked" and used handkerchiefs "with only the area around their eyes showing," according to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court.

City laws bar protesters from hiding their identity with masks.

When their director, Stephen Marshall, 36, showed officers that they had a legitimate film permit issued by the city, police handcuffed him, too, and hauled the three away to be processed. Police said Marshall did not have a valid permit.

The three were released early Monday after they were arraigned. They are due back in court in November. If convicted, they each face up to a year in jail at Rikers Island.

Dawson, a New York-born actress, appears alongside Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie in Oliver Stone's upcoming costume epic film "Alexander." Her other credits include "Shattered Glass," "Men in Black II" and "The Adventures of Pluto Nash."

Van Halen Slugs Orioles With $2M Suit

Van Halen is suing the Baltimore Orioles for at least $2 million in damages, charging that the Major League Baseball team reneged on an offer for the band to play a concert Sept. 2 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

The suit -- filed Aug. 10 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles -- states that Orioles director of entertainment Don Mark, under the instruction of Orioles owner Peter Angelos, first contacted Van Halen's reps at the William Morris Agency in mid-April about playing at the stadium. According to the suit, "Van Halen was ambivalent about playing at the time requested by the Orioles," because the band would be performing in the southern United States, and playing Baltimore would "necessitate changing the tour routing previously planned."

The suit also notes that Van Halen was at the time engaged in a tour of mostly arenas, but "the Orioles insisted that they could more than compensate Van Halen for the expense and inconvenience scheduling the concert would cause."

According to court papers, the Orioles around April 27 made an offer in writing for $1 million, which the band rejected. The Orioles came back with an offer of $1.5 million, plus 80% of ticket revenues and 80% of gross merchandise revenues. Also included was a budget for expenses and a non-compete provision that prohibited Van Halen from performing in other venues in the vicinity of Baltimore.

The papers say that after numerous communications between the parties, Van Halen accepted the offer in mid-June. The band began making preparations for a Sept. 2 concert at Oriole Park; Van Halen claims it terminated any efforts to book another venue in the area, changed the dates of other scheduled concerts and did not pursue other opportunities.

The suit says that the Orioles in mid-July "repudiated the agreement, first by refusing to communicate or cooperate with Van Halen, and then expressly in a letter dated July 26 ... refusing to perform its obligations thereunder."

Mark tells Billboard.biz he had "no comment whatsoever" on the Van Halen situation. Van Halen attorney Howard E. King of King, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner in L.A., also declined to comment.

Van Halen's North American tour continues. A DVD of the 1986 concert film "Live Without a Net" arrives Sept. 14 via Warner Strategic Marketing.

CRIA files appeal in song swap case

TORONTO -- The Canadian Recording Industry Association, which represents the country's major music producers, filed an appeal Monday hoping to overturn a decision last March which protected the identities of people who copy music online.

In arguments filed with the Federal Court of Appeal, the organization said Federal Court Judge Konrad von Finckenstein erred in his interpretation of the country's copyright laws.

Comparing the action to using photocopy machines in public libraries, von Finckenstein said in his March 31 decision that uploading songs to shared folders on a home computer was permissible under the law.

He dismissed CRIA's request to compel five Internet service providers -- Shaw Communications Inc., Rogers Cable Communications Inc., Bell Canada, Telus Communications Inc. and Videotron Ltd. -- to disclose the names of 29 people allegedly distributing music.

He said the music association had no legal entitlement to those identities, which are hidden by online aliases.

A Flap Over 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African lawyers are suing U.S. entertainment giant Walt Disney Co for infringement of copyright on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," the most popular song to emerge from Africa, the lawyers said on Friday.

If Disney loses, South African proceeds from its trademarks -- including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck -- could be seized by the courts, lawyers representing relatives of the song's composer said.

The lilting song, initially called "Mbube," earned an estimated $15 million in royalties since it was written by Zulu migrant worker Solomon Linda in 1939, and featured in Walt Disney's "Lion King" movies.

However, Linda's impoverished family have only received about $15,000, the lawyers said.

Disney executives in South Africa were not immediately available for comment.

Linda sold the worldwide copyright for "Mbube" to a local firm, but under British laws in effect at the time, those rights should have reverted to his heirs 25 years after his death in 1962, copyright lawyer Owen Dean said.

This means Linda's surviving three daughters and 10 grandchildren were entitled to a share of royalties from the song, which has since been recorded by at least 150 musicians.

"We are claiming ten million rand ($1.6 million) in damages from Disney at the moment," Dean told reporters. "The court attached use of Disney trademarks in South Africa to the case last week. We believe our legal position is very sound."

The court will issue a summons to Walt Disney in Los Angeles early next week.

If the case is successful, legal action may also be launched against Disney and other companies in the United Kingdom or Australia, where British copyright laws would have applied, Dean added.

It would also have widespread implications for other South African musicians, authors and artists who may have sold their rights without being aware of their entitlements. "The family are entitled to royalties. There has also been a misappropriation of South African culture -- the song is thought to be American," Dean said.

Linda's grandson Zathele Madonsela, 16, told reporters the case was very important for his family, who live in poverty in the Johannesburg township of Soweto.

"Life is difficult, we are really struggling," he said.

Executors of the family's estate are also seeking a further 6 million rand damages from three local companies who have benefited from income either from the "Lion King" films or the song.

The Mbube song was adapted by U.S. folk singer Pete Seeger, who called it "Wimoweh" as he misheard its Zulu lyrics. U.S. songwriter George David Weiss rewrote the song as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."

Jackson Paid $23 Million in 1990s Molest Case -Report

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Michael Jackson, who faces a trial on child molestation charges, paid more than $23 million to a boy and his family in the mid-1990s to settle similar accusations, Court TV reported on Tuesday.

Though it has long been reported that the 45-year-old singer paid millions of dollars to settle a civil lawsuit by the boy, Court TV said it had obtained a copy of the legal agreement and was making it public for the first time.

A spokeswoman for Jackson said she was trying to find out if the documents shown on camera by Court TV were "the actual agreement" in that case. She added the release of the information appeared aimed at influencing potential jurors against the entertainer.

"That settlement had a very strict confidentiality agreement that was negotiated by parties," spokeswoman Raymone Bain said. "We are going to abide by that and not comment."

She added: "Whoever released this agreement, whether it is the actual agreement or not, did it deliberately and willfully with the intent to influence potential jurors in the current case, which is outrageous and an act of desperation."

The papers, which were signed by Jackson and his then-attorneys, Johnnie Cochran and Howard Weitzman, in January of 1994, show that Jackson agreed to set up a $15.3 million trust fund for the boy, as well as pay him a seven-figure lump sum.

According to the court documents, Jackson also agreed to pay the boy's parents $1.5 million each and pay $5 million, plus expenses, to their attorney. Court TV said the moonwalking entertainer also had to pay his own lawyers an unspecified amount for their work on the case.

Jackson was indicted in April on a 10-count indictment that charges him with committing lewd acts on a boy under the age of 14 as well as child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment.

He has pleaded innocent and his attorney, Thomas Mesereau, has vowed to vindicate Jackson at trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin in September.

PUSHED BACK

The battery trial of Rush founder and guitarist Alex Lifeson and his son delayed three months until Sept. 13. The trial was supposed to start Monday. Defense attorneys told the judge they needed more time to prepare.

Warner Music Settles with Madonna's Maverick

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Warner Music has bought out Madonna's stake in her Maverick Record label as part of a settlement in their lengthy legal dispute over the future of the 12-year-old joint venture, the company said on Monday.

Warner Music said in a statement on Monday it had also purchased the share held by Maverick Chief Operating Officer Ronnie Dashev and signed a new multiyear contract with Maverick A&R chief Guy Oseary.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed but Warner Music said it would have a majority stake in the venture. Maverick will continue to operate as a stand-alone label and would place greater emphasis on signing and developing artists, the statement said.

In March, Maverick filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Warner Music seeking $200 million in damages and an end to the venture which is home to acts like Michelle Branch and Alanis Morissette.

Madonna and her two partners had tried to sell her 60-percent stake in the label to Time Warner for a reported $60 million but talks apparently broke down over the asking price. Industry sources said Warner had ultimately paid Madonna significantly less than $60 million.

The dispute predated last November's $2.6 billion purchase of Warner Music by a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman Jr.

Warner Music Group Chairman Lyor Cohen said the agreement was "clearly a win-win for both WMG and Maverick."

Oseary called Madonna and Ronnie Dashev "my family. and I thank them not only for having helped build Maverick but also for having defined who I am today."

Madonna releases her own records under a separate recording deal with Warner Bros. Records.

Singer Courtney Love Pleads Guilty to Drug Offense

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Closing one chapter in a troubled period in her life, rock star Courtney Love pleaded guilty on Tuesday to being under the influence of cocaine and agreed to enter drug treatment.

Under the plea deal reached in Los Angeles Superior Court, the 39-year-old former lead singer for Hole will be spared any jail time and have the conviction removed from her record if she completes the treatment program, prosecutors said.

In exchange for her guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of disorderly conduct stemming from her arrest last October.

If she fails to complete the program or violates the terms of her probation, the singer will be required to serve at least 90 days in jail, prosecutor Jerry Baik said.

The terms of her probation will be outlined at a July 16 sentencing hearing. The singer likely will be required to submit to random drug testing and to report regularly to drug counseling and to a county probation officer, Baik said.

"It's not an unbearable program. It's something that can do more benefit to her than hurt her," Baik said outside court.

Love, who came to court in a flowered dress and high-heeled shoes with her platinum blond hair tousled, had no comment about the case.

She spoke little during the 10-minute hearing, answering Judge Patricia Schnegg's questions in soft monosyllables. When asked for her plea, she replied: "Guilty."

The plea agreement resolves one of two criminal cases filed against Love in connection with her Oct. 2 arrest outside a boyfriend's Los Angeles home, where police found her breaking windows in the middle of the night.

Hours later, Love was treated at a local hospital for what police described as a "medical emergency" -- an incident that led to separate charges of illegal possession of the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

She also faces criminal charges in New York, where she was arrested in March after throwing a microphone stand into a nightclub audience and hitting a man in the head.

Love is the widow of late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide in 1994. She was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1997 for her role in "The People Vs. Larry Flynt."

Eminem suit against Apple, MTV a go

DETROIT (AP) -- A federal judge says rapper Eminem's copyright infringement claims over use of his song "Lose Yourself" in a commercial for Apple Computer Inc. can go forward.

Apple featured a 10-year-old boy singing the Oscar-winning theme song to the rapper's movie "8 Mile" in an ad on MTV for the computer company's iPod music player and iTunes music service.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled that the suit brought by Eminem's publishing company can proceed against several companies, including MTV parent company Viacom and advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day.

Taylor threw out two state law-based claims of unfair competition and unjust enrichment.

The television ad appeared many times during three months beginning in July 2003 and on Apple's Web site, despite the fact that the computer company had unsuccessfully sought Eminem's permission for the campaign.

Herschel Fink, a Detroit lawyer for the defendants, said no viewer would think Eminem was endorsing the iTunes service.

Eminem's lawyers say he has never nationally endorsed any product.

New Claim Against Michael Jackson Arises

LOS ANGELES - Detectives are investigating a new allegation of child abuse against pop star Michael Jackson involving a person who claims to have been victimized in the late 1980s, a police spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Jackson has pleaded innocent to child molestation charges involving another alleged victim in Santa Barbara County. Jackson attorney Benjamin Brafman said he was unaware of the Los Angeles Police Department investigation.

"We have never been informed by the LAPD of any investigation that they are conducting of Michael Jackson," he said. "I would point out that since I have been involved in this case I have addressed literally dozens of completely baseless rumors on a daily basis, and this appears to be just another one of them."

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office asked the LAPD to investigate the new allegation a month ago, said Mary Grady, commander of the department's public information office.

"The victim alleges the acts took place in the city of Los Angeles in the late 1980s," she said.

The allegations are being investigated by the Child Protective Section of the department's Juvenile Division. Grady declined to elaborate on such details as the age or sex of the alleged victim.

Los Angeles district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons declined comment.

"This is a matter under investigation by the LAPD," she said. "We are not the investigative agency."

Santa Barbara County prosecutors did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday evening.

Steve Cron, a defense attorney who has represented clients accused of molestation, said the new alleged abuse would be within the statute of limitations if it occurred after 1988. He said the accuser could also help prosecutors in the Santa Barbara case show a pattern of abuse, though the amount of time since the alleged acts could hurt the accuser's credibility.

"The questions are asked: Why didn't this allegation surface earlier? Why didn't he report it to someone a long time ago? How accurate is his recollection? How accurate is his ability to relay the events to someone else?" Cron said.

Also Tuesday, an appeals court rejected a request by several news agencies to lift a gag order placed on the parties by the judge in the Santa Barbara case.

An attorney representing news organizations, including The Associated Press, said in a filing last week before the state Court of Appeals that the order imposed unconstitutional "prior restraint" on attorneys and potential witnesses. He asked that it be immediately lifted.

Jackson and his attorneys also oppose the order on grounds that it blocks their ability to address false rumors and news reports.

At a hearing earlier this month, the judge made what he said was a final change to the policy: He said attorneys wishing to respond to news reports could submit to him in writing what they wanted to release, and that he would rule on whether the statements violated the gag order.

Jackson was charged by the Santa Barbara district attorney late last year with committing lewd or lascivious acts upon a child and administering an intoxicating agent to the child. Jackson has pleaded innocent. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 30.

The pop singer reportedly reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with a boy who accused him of molestation in 1993. No criminal charges were brought in that case.

Rush Guitarist Charged in Hotel Fight

NAPLES, Fla. - The lead guitarist for the rock band Rush was charged Monday with two counts of battery, more than three months after a New Year's Eve scuffle with sheriff's deputies at a Naples hotel.

Deputies said the fight started when the guitarist's son refused to get off the stage at The Ritz-Carlton, where the house band was performing.

Alex Zivojinovich, whose stage name is Alex Lifeson, tried to intervene when deputies escorted his son off the property, deputies said. They accused Rush's founding member of pushing a female deputy down a stairwell and spitting in another deputy's face.

Justin Zivojinovich, 33, was charged with one count of resisting with violence, and Alex Zivojinovich's wife was later charged with resisting arrest.

After his arrest that night, Alex Zivojinovich, 50, left jail with a bloodstained shirt and told reporters his nose was broken in the altercation. The two charges he faces are each punishable by up to five years in prison if he is convicted.

Zivojinovich's attorney declined to comment Monday.

California Judge Delays Courtney Love Drug Case Again

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - A hearing to determine whether Courtney Love will be tried on drug charges was postponed on Tuesday, but not before the singer-actress had disrupted the proceedings and was admonished by the judge to keep quiet.

It was the fourth time a Beverly Hills judge has put off hearing the felony case stemming from Love's Oct. 2 trip to a local hospital for what police called "a medical emergency."

Superior Court Judge Elden Fox reset the hearing for April 15 after Love's new lawyer said he needed more time to prepare his case and obtain evidence from investigators.

Love, 39, has pleaded innocent to illegally possessing prescription painkillers.

She faces two charges in a separate case stemming from her pre-dawn arrest earlier the same day outside a boyfriend's home, where police said she was breaking windows.

The frontwoman for the now-defunct rock band Hole arrived in court on Tuesday in a sheer pink-and-red dress and a turquoise sweater with her attorney Michael Rosenstein, who took over the case last month.

She called out: "Hello Judge Fox," and later blurted out when prosecutors objected to delaying the case: "I've got the bottles with me. I've got the prescriptions on me."

Fox admonished her not to interrupt, saying: "Ms. Love, you're not doing yourself any service."

At one point, Love handed a book, "A History of Women, Renaissance and Enlightenment Paradoxes," to a reporter seated behind her, pointing out that the table of contents listed female journalists, witches and prostitutes consecutively.

When asked whether she would be able to make the new court date, Love told the judge: "I'll be right here."

She is scheduled to appear Wednesday night on the CBS "Late Show with David Letterman" for an interview and to perform a song from her debut solo album, "America's Sweetheart," the first release from Love in six years, the network said.

Geffen Records Prevails Over Axl Rose Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday cleared the way for Geffen Records to release a greatest-hits album next week from the rock band Guns N' Roses over the objection of its lead singer, Axl Rose.

Rose sued Geffen, a unit of Universal Music Group under Vivendi Universal, seeking to prevent the best-of collection from being released, claiming he was not consulted on the choice or remixing of material for the album.

He was joined as a plaintiff in the suit, filed last Friday, by two band members from the original lineup -- guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan -- even though their rights to the Guns N' Roses name was signed over to Rose years ago when they left the group.

But U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer denied their request for a temporary restraining order, allowing Geffen to issue the album as planned next Tuesday. A hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction was set for next month.

"Their lawsuit is meritless," Universal Music spokesman Peter LoFrumento said. "Fortunately, since the court has denied their application for a temporary restraining order, the album will be released as scheduled on March 23."

According to the lawsuit, Rose objected to the selection of songs for the compilation album, the timing of its release, the album's artwork and the re-mastering of the original tapes.

The album features 14 tracks in all and eight of Guns N' Roses' hit singles, including "Welcome to the Jungle, "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O' Mine" from the mega-selling 1987 album "Appetite for Destruction."

The group's last studio album, "The Spaghetti Incident?," was issued in 1993. A 2002 MTV appearance by a reconstituted Guns N' Roses, with Rose as the lone member from the band's heyday, helped spark interest in the group's new lineup, but a subsequent U.S. tour was cut short.

The suit, which accuses Geffen of trademark infringement and breach of contract, says the label is barred under its contract with Guns N' Roses from altering its master recordings without the band's permission.

A statement from Rose's manager added that the greatest-hits set "will hinder the release of the band's long-awaited new studio album, 'Chinese Democracy."'

Geffen officials had no further comment on the dispute. But a source familiar with the situation said the label has been waiting seven years for Rose to deliver "Chinese Democracy" and has poured $13 million into production of that album after repeated promises that he was about to finish the project.

"Every year there's been a new reason why Axl is not done with the record," the source told Reuters, adding that Geffen went ahead with the greatest-hits package only because Rose failed to come through with "Chinese Democracy." "Had he delivered this record like he promised seven years ago, this would not be happening right now."

A representative for Rose was not immediately available for comment.

Singer James Brown Arrested on Violence Charge

MIAMI (Reuters) - The "Godfather of Soul," James Brown, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of committing domestic violence, South Carolina law enforcement officials said.

Brown, 70, who has had several run-ins with the law and spent time in prison, was due to appear at a bond hearing on Thursday, a spokesman for the Aiken County detention center said.

Neither the Aiken County Sheriff's office nor the detention center would comment further.

The soul singer, famous for hits including "I Feel Good," was previously accused of beating his wife, Adrienne, in 1995.

Brown served nearly three years in prison after he was arrested in 1988 for leading police on a car chase between South Carolina and Georgia.

He also received a two-year suspended sentence in 1998 and entered a drug treatment program after pleading no contest to firearms charges.

Despite his turbulent past, last month he was among five stars feted in Washington for his contributions to American culture.

Brown appeared at a White House reception before taking part in a gala performance attended by President Bush at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

The honor prompted Secretary of State Colin Powell to dub Brown the "Secretary of Soul and the Foreign Minister of Funk."

George Harrison's Estate Sues Doctor

NEW YORK - A doctor forced a weakened George Harrison to autograph a guitar for the physician's teenage son two weeks before the ex-Beatle died of cancer, a lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.

Filed by Harrison's estate, the suit alleges that the musician tried to resist the request by saying, "I do not even know if I know how to spell my name anymore."

The suit alleges that Dr. Gilbert Lederman responded by saying, "Come on, you can do this," and held Harrison's hand as the musician wrote his name on the guitar "with great effort and much obvious discomfort."

The estate seeks possession of the guitar and two cards it says Harrison signed as he was treated by Lederman, a Staten Island-based expert in treating large tumors with high doses of radiation. Harrison died in November 2001 after battling lung cancer and a brain tumor.

"This lawsuit is strictly allegations. Frankly, I think it's absurd," Lederman's attorney, Wayne Roth, said Tuesday. "He didn't coerce Mr. Harrison."

Harrison's wife and son believe a National Enquirer story about Harrison's death that featured Lederman's son holding the instrument was orchestrated by Lederman to raise the item's value, a lawyer for the Harrison estate said Tuesday.

"George was literally lying there dying and the doctor forced George to sign a guitar," Paul LiCalsi, an attorney for Harrison's estate, said Tuesday. "The doctor should not be permitted to profit from this behavior."

Roth said Lederman's son still plays the guitar and the family has no intention of selling it. The instrument, appraised in connection with a state investigation of Lederman's treatment of Harrison, is worth less than $10,000, Roth said.

The estate also accuses Lederman of violating Harrison's privacy by orchestrating invasive media coverage in the interest of promoting his medical practice.

Lederman conducted interviews about Harrison with several news outlets, many within hours of the ex-Beatle's death, the suit charges.

The state Health Department reprimanded Lederman for talking to the press about Harrison without his consent. Lederman accepted his censure, reprimand and a $5,000 fine, documents show.

Rush Guitarist in New Year's Eve Fight

NAPLES, Fla. - The lead guitarist for the rock band Rush faces criminal charges after a New Year's Eve fight with sheriff's deputies.
 
Alex Zivojinovich, better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, was arrested for what deputies described as drunken, violent behavior at the Naples Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Deputies said they used a stun gun on Zivojinovich, 50, who faces six charges that include aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and disorderly intoxication.

Also arrested were his 33-year-old son Justin Zivojinovich and wife Michelle Zivojinovich, 30.

Justin Zivojinovich said his father, who was still in Collier County jail late Thursday, had his nose broken by deputies.

He also said his father did not throw a female deputy down the stairs, as stated in arrest reports. She tumbled down the stairs as she pushed the guitarist down the stairwell, his son said.

The scuffle began when Justin Zivojinovich refused to leave a stage, according to the arrest report.

Rush's hits include "Tom Sawyer," from the 1981 album "Moving Pictures," "Limelight" and "Spirit of the Radio."

Michael Jackson Denies Sex Charges in TV Interview

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In his first interview since being charged with child molestation, pop star Michael Jackson vehemently denies the allegations but insists there is nothing wrong in sleeping with children, according to excerpts released on Friday by CBS News.

"Before I would hurt a child, I would slit my wrists," Jackson told correspondent Ed Bradley in an interview scheduled to be shown Sunday on "60 Minutes."

Bradley asked Jackson whether he thought that under the circumstances, it was still acceptable to sleep with children and Jackson answered, "Of course. Why not? If you're going to be a pedophile, if you're going to be Jack the Ripper, if you're going to be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That I am not."

Jackson also said the police search of his Neverland Valley Ranch in central California last month so violated his privacy that "I won't live there ever again. It's a house now. It's not a home anymore. I'll only visit."

During the 30-minute interview, conducted Thursday at a Los Angeles hotel, Jackson also discussed his brief time in police custody, including an injury he said he suffered from the handcuffs, and other details about his arrest, CBS said.

In addition to the "60 Minutes" interview, CBS said that an hourlong Jackson music special that was canceled the day after authorities raided his Neverland Ranch has been rescheduled for Friday, Jan. 2.

CBS spokesman Chris Ender said Jackson's "60 Minutes" interview cleared the way for the network to resurrect the music special. "The timing is better," Ender told Reuters. "We wouldn't have rescheduled the entertainment special if he hadn't addressed the situation in the Ed Bradley interview."

The reclusive entertainer was arrested on suspicion of child molestation in November and released on $3 million bail. He was formally charged Dec. 18 with seven counts of committing a lewd act on a minor and two counts of administering an "intoxicating agent" for the purposes of molesting a child.

The charges stem from allegations that he molested a boy under the age of 14 at his Neverland ranch earlier this year.

Jackson, who has three children of his own, has issued a statement through his publicist calling the allegations a "big lie," and his lawyer, Mark Geragos, has said the case is a "shakedown" motivated by greed and revenge. But Jackson's upcoming appearance on "60 Minutes" will mark his first interview since the case broke.

Jackson's last television interview was in a controversial documentary by British journalist Martin Bashir that ran on ABC and British television in February.

In it, the singer appeared on camera holding hands with a 12-year-old boy with whom Jackson admitted sharing his bedroom. Jackson said he had spent the night with numerous children but denied there was anything sexual about such sleepovers.

The documentary renewed questions about Jackson's relationship with children and sparked calls for an investigation by child welfare authorities.

White Stripes Singer Charged with Assault

DETROIT (Reuters) - Michigan prosecutors charged Grammy-nominated singer Jack White of the band The White Stripes with aggravated assault on Monday following a fight with another singer at a Detroit club.

White, 28, could face a prison charge of up to a year if convicted on the aggravated assault charge stemming from an unprovoked attack on Jason Stollsteimer, the singer from the local garage rock band the Von Bondies, the prosecutor for Wayne County, Michigan said.

White approached Stollsteimer, 25, at the Magic Stick club in Detroit on Dec. 13, spat on him, and punched him in the face, the prosecutor said. Stollsteimer fell to the floor and White continued to hit him until he was pulled off by onlookers, the prosecutor said.

Stollsteimer suffered injuries to his right eye, which swelled shut after the fight, and was bleeding from his nose.

"It seems that far too often celebrities think that the law does not apply to them," Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan told a news conference. "So many don't understand the impact they have as role models on young people, and this just can't be tolerated,"

The White Stripes, a duo of White on guitar and his former wife Meg White on drums, has been nominated for three Grammy awards. Its songs include "Seven Nation Army." "Elephant," the group's critically praised album, has been nominated for album of the year.

White has received a fourth nomination for his solo work.

White has been romantically linked to actress Renee Zellweger, and he contributed music to the movie "Cold Mountain," a U.S. Civil War drama starring Zellweger, Nicole Kidman and Jude Law.

Michael Jackson Charged with 'Lewd Acts' on Child

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (Reuters) - Michael Jackson was charged on Thursday with nine counts of molesting a young boy, including committing seven "lewd acts," but the pop star's lawyer called the case a "shakedown" motivated by greed and revenge.

The 45-year-old Jackson, a self-styled "Peter Pan," is also accused of giving the boy, who is not identified in court papers, an "intoxicating agent" in order to make it easier to molest him. If found guilty, he could face more than 20 years in prison and be forced to register as a sex offender under California law.

All of the charges stem from allegations that Jackson molested a boy under the age of 14 at his Neverland Valley Ranch, in the hills above Santa Barbara, earlier this year.

A police report has said that the boy in question was the youth who was shown holding hands with Jackson during a British documentary that was broadcast in February. The singer said that they both slept in his bedroom, as had other children.

Jackson, who describes himself as a Peter Pan, insisted that there was nothing sexual in those encounters, which he viewed as an innocent form of his professed affection for children.

The self-declared "King of Pop," who was arrested on suspicion of child molestation last month and released on $3 million bail, was not present when the charges were unsealed at a courthouse in the central California city of Santa Maria, near his Neverland Valley Ranch.

"Michael is innocent," Jackson's mother, Katherine, said in a written statement. "On behalf of the Jackson family we know these vicious lies are totally untrue, malicious and motivated by pure greed and revenge."

She added that the family would "fight with every ounce of our energy to reveal the truth behind these false allegations and the motivations behind those who have falsely accused Michael."

Jackson's attorney, Mark Geragos, suggested that he knew more about the case than prosecutors and vowed that his client would ultimately be proven innocent.

'ABSOLUTELY, UNEQUIVOCALLY INNOCENT'

"I can tell you categorically, based upon this complaint that has been filed, that Michael Jackson is absolutely, unequivocally innocent of these charges," Geragos said at a press conference outside his Los Angeles office at which he refused to take questions.

"What we have here is an intersection between a shakedown -- someone who is looking for money -- with somebody doing an investigation who has an ax to grind," he said. "Because otherwise there would be no way that any self-respecting prosecutor would be going forward on the basis of this patent ... shakedown."

Jackson was due in court on Jan. 16 for a formal reading of the charges.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, who announced the charges at a press conference, also dismissed a memo by a Los Angeles County child welfare agency clearing Jackson of similar charges, saying that it was based on a single interview and not expected to affect the Santa Barbara case.

"To call that an investigation is a misnomer," Sneddon said. "It was an interview, plain and simple, and we are not concerned about it."

The entertainer was expected to be at Neverland on Saturday night for a party with friends and family members who wanted to lend him support, Jackson spokesman Stuart Backerman said. Jackson then planned to travel to England, Backerman said, after his lawyers arranged with prosecutors for the return of his passport that was confiscated at his arrest.

Jackson, who survived a similar brush with the law 10 years ago by making a multimillion dollar out-of-court settlement with the family of a teenage boy, has protested his innocence.  

He set up a Web site in November calling the current allegations a "big lie," but he has remained out of the public eye. His lawyers have said the accuser and his family are trying to make money from Jackson.

Gun in Phil Spector's Hand After Shooting -Police

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Record producer Phil Spector emerged from his California mansion with a gun in his hand and said "I think I just shot her," his driver told police shortly after a B-movie actress was found dead in the foyer.

According to police reports unsealed late Tuesday, actress Lana Clarkson was sprawled on a chair, her teeth and blood spattered about the room from a gunshot wound to her mouth when police arrived at the faux castle outside Los Angeles at about 5 a.m. on Feb. 3.

The documents -- police affidavits, a catalog of evidence seized from the crime scene and search warrants -- provide the first public glimpse of the killing that last month led to a murder charge against the legendary music producer.

The police reports suggest an intimate evening of drinks by candlelight that ended tragically.

Clarkson, 40, was wearing a "black nylon slip/dress, black nylons and black shoes," according to an affidavit by Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Mark Lillienfeld that was made public at the request of crime author Carlson Smith.

"A leopard print purse, with a black strap, was slung over her right shoulder, with the purse hanging down on her right side by her right arm," Lillienfeld said. "Broken teeth from the victim were scattered about the foyer and an adjacent stairway."

Sheriff's Detective Danny Smith, in an affidavit, said Spector's driver, Adriano Desouza, told police that shortly after he heard a single gunshot at about 5.0 a.m., the record producer emerged from his Alhambra, California mansion with a gun in his hand and said, "I think I just shot her."

Lillienfeld's affidavit said, "Spector came out the back door holding a handgun, stating words to the effect of, 'I think I just killed someone."'

Spector, who created the lush, layered recording technique known as "The Wall of Sound," suggested in a magazine interview earlier this year that the statuesque blonde actress killed herself. Spector, 63, pleaded innocent to the charge and remains free on $1 million bail.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In his affidavit, Lillienfeld said that on the floor beneath Clarkson's left leg was a blue steel, .38-caliber Colt revolver with five live rounds and a spent cartridge under the hammer. The weapon was blood-spattered, the detective noted.

Investigators also found blood smears on the back door handle and on a wooden stairway railing near the death scene, he said. A blood-spattered man's jacket was recovered from an upstairs dressing room, and a blood-soaked cloth was found on the floor of a bathroom next to the foyer, Lillienfeld said.

In the adjacent living room, candles had been lit atop a fireplace mantel and a partially filled brandy glass and bottles of tequila and soda stood on the coffee table between two sofas, the report said. Desouza told police Spector and Clarkson had spent about an hour and a half in the mansion before the shooting, having arrived there at 3.30 a.m.

Police took nine guns, a bloody holster, fragments of Clarkson's teeth and fingernails, and false eyelashes from Spector's 12,000-square-foot home, according to court records.

Interviews with Desouza revealed that Spector had dined with a woman named Rommie Davis on the night of the shooting, and had drinks at two other Los Angeles night spots before meeting Clarkson at the House of Blues, where she worked as a hostess.

Police believed that the pair met for the first time on the night she died, Lillienfeld said. Clarkson starred in such films as "Amazon Women in the Moon" and "The Barbarian Queen."

Canada Songwriters Eye Royalties From ISPs

Canada's songwriters sought to require that Internet service providers pay for their users' music downloading habits in a case that could generate millions of dollars in music royalties.

In the case Canada's Supreme Court heard Wednesday, the 70,000-member Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada also wants to extend the nation's copyright law beyond its borders by applying it to offshore Web sites that serve Canadians.

"I believe that those who benefit from selling access to music should compensate the creators," said David Basskin, president of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, whose agency oversees royalties from CDs and includes many of SOCAN's members.

Analysts said the case could have far-reaching implications worth millions if not billions of dollars, especially as the music industry tries to rebound from declining sales in traditional stores.

The case could change how artists are compensated, how far a country can go to extract payment, what gets put on the Internet and how recording companies serve buyers, they said.

SOCAN argues that everyone is downloading music, so all ISPs should pay a blanket royalty fee.

Fighting the effort is the Canadian Association of Internet Providers, which includes Canadian subsidiaries of some of the tech world's heavy hitters: Bell, Sprint, AOL, MCI, IBM and Yahoo.

Jay Thomson, the service provider group's president, said artists should seek royalties directly from Web site operators, not from ISPs simply because they are a convenient target.

SOCAN's effort contrasts with the more litigious approach in the United States, where the recording industry has sued file-sharing services along with individuals who use them. The industry filed another round of lawsuits Wednesday.

The tariff model has been used for the past three years in Canada as a tax on blank cassettes and CDs, ostensibly to compensate for the loss of royalties on home-recorded music. To date the measure has collected $20.5 million.

Richard Owens, executive director of the Center for Innovation Law and Policy at the University of Toronto, questions whether such a model would work on the Internet.

"I'm not sure people using the Internet for perfectly legal reasons should have to pay for problems in the music industry," he said.

Casey Chisick, a copyright and entertainment lawyer in Toronto, said the case could open the door to whether Canadian ISPs are liable for any illegal content they may carry, such as music or pornography.

In the United States, service providers are generally exempted from liability, though they must take steps to remove or block materials upon request to preserve their immunity.

The Supreme Court heard arguments from both sides and is expected to rule in six to 12 months.

John Perry Barlow, a Harvard Law School fellow and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, told The Associated Press that SOCAN would be in a "unique, absurd and untenable" position if it won.

"I can't imagine SOCAN effectively policing every Web site on the planet," he said. "Nor can I imagine a Web site in Singapore paying much attention to what the Supreme Court of Canada says."

Nichols' brother sues Michael Moore

DETROIT (AP) -- James Nichols, the brother of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, says he was tricked into appearing in the documentary Bowling for Columbine, according to a federal lawsuit filed against filmmaker Michael Moore.

Nichols also alleges in the lawsuit, filed Monday in Detroit, that Moore libeled him by linking him to the terrorist act.

Nichols accuses Moore of libel, defamation of character, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. His lawyer is asking for a jury trial and damages ranging from $10 million to $20 million on each of nine counts, the Detroit Free Press reported.

A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with Moore's publicist.

In the film, Moore asks Nichols for an interview and steers the subject from the Oklahoma City bombing to gun ownership. Nichols tells Moore he has a gun under his pillow, and Moore asks Nichols to show him.

In the lawsuit, Nichols, who lives in Decker, said Moore misled him about the purpose of the interview.

Bowling for Columbine won the feature-length documentary Academy Award earlier this year.

Nicole Kidman Wins Libel Case Over Adultery Slur

LONDON (Reuters) - Oscar-winning star Nicole Kidman won a five-figure sum and an apology Tuesday from a British newspaper that said she had had an affair with actor Jude Law and was to blame for the break-up of his marriage.

At London's High Court, the tabloid Sun newspaper admitted the allegations about Kidman, which were published in March, were untrue.

"The defendants apologize to the claimant for the distress and embarrassment this article has caused," said the Sun's lawyer Daniel Taylor.

Kidman, who was not in court, said in a statement she was glad the case was over.

Two months ago she won damages against another British newspaper that had published the same claims.

The marriage split between "Road To Perdition" star Law and his wife Sadie Frost triggered widespread media coverage in Britain earlier in the year.

Courtney Love faces drug charge in L.A.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Singer-actress Courtney Love was charged with a misdemeanor drug count Tuesday, less than a week after she allegedly tried to break into a Los Angeles home.

Love is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Los Angeles, said Frank Mateljan, spokesman for the city attorney's office. Love's drug tests were still pending, he said.

Love, 39, was arrested Oct. 2 outside a Los Angeles home where she had allegedly broken the windows in an attempt to enter, according to police.

She was arrested and booked for investigation of using illegal drugs, posted $2,500 bail and was released.

Hours later, police and paramedics in Beverly Hills responded to an emergency call and took Love to a hospital to receive treatment for an overdose, police said.
Her representatives did not return a call for comment Wednesday, and had refused to discuss the case previously.

The performer is the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide in 1994. She received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the 1996 movie "The People vs. Larry Flynt."

Phil Spector Might Flee The Country

The New York Daily News reports that legendary '60s record producer Phil Spector, who was arrested in February on suspicion of killing actress Lana Clarkson at his California mansion, may have plans to flee the U.S. before his October 31 hearing.

Los Angeles law enforcement officials reportedly received a tip from a member of Spector's camp. A source told the newspaper, "Spector has a private jet. The sheriff's office has been told that he might use it to take off. The police said they appreciated the information, but that they didn't have the manpower to keep watch on him 24 hours a day." Just last week, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge extended Spector's $1,000,000 bail to the date of his hearing.

Despite the tip, some L.A. officials are not too concerned with Spector leaving the country. Captain Frank Merriman, head of the L.A. sheriff's homicide bureau, said, "If we felt it was necessary to watch him, we would. I'm not worried about him. If he's charged, he'll either turn himself in or he'll flee. But where's he's going to go? Let him run. We'll catch him."

In September the L.A. County coroner ruled Clarkson's death a murder. Spector is the only suspect in the case.

Spector is known for his "Wall Of Sound" production technique that fueled the hits of many '60s pop acts including the Beatles, the Ronettes and the Shirelles.

SPECTOR UPDATE

The Los Angeles Times reporting that sheriff's detectives have reportedly submitted their findings to prosecutors that legendary record producer Phil Spector was behind the shooting death of a B-movie actress at his Los Angeles mansion. "It's not an accident. It's not a suicide," Capt. Frank Merriman told the Times Friday. "Phil Spector shot her."

TICKET TO LEGAL FIGHT

The Beatles management company, Apple Corps., seeking a court injunction against Apple Computer Inc. on Friday, claiming the computer company breached the band's trademark by using the Apple name in the moniker for its Apple iTunes online music store.

DOGGONE IT

A U.S. federal judge ruling on Thursday that Taco Bell must pony up an extra $11.8 million in interest to two men who claim the chain swpied their idea for an ad campaign featuring a talking Chihuahua. The total amount awarded the men now stands at $41.9 million.

HIGH TIMES

Comedian Tommy Chong, one half of pot-happy duo Cheech and Chong, sentenced to nine months in federal prison and fined $20,000 Thursday for selling bongs and other drug paraphernalia over the Web.

Music Firms Sue 261 Online Song Swappers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A recording-industry trade group said on Monday it had sued 261 individuals for distributing hundreds of thousands of songs over the Internet without permission, and said many more suits are on the way.

The Recording Industry Association of America said it filed copyright-infringement suits in U.S. courts across the country, marking the first time the group has taken legal action against the millions of Internet users who copy music directly from each others' hard drives.

Until now, the trade group has focused its courtroom efforts on Kazaa and other "peer to peer" networks that enable such activity, which the industry blames for a decline in CD sales.

"Nobody likes playing the heavy and having to resort to litigation, but when your product is being regularly stolen there comes a time when you have to take appropriate action," RIAA President Cary Sherman said.

Those facing the lawsuits had opened up their hard drives to other users, making an average of more than 1,000 copyrighted songs available to others over peer-to-peer networks, Sherman said. Users who simply copied songs and did not share their own music collections were not targeted, he said.

One suit filed in New York includes computer "screen shots," which show a Kazaa user with the nickname "touchofcream" distributing songs by Frank Sinatra and Shania Twain.

"The conduct of Defendant is causing and, unless enjoined and restrained by this Court, will continue to cause Plaintiffs great and irreparable injury that cannot fully be compensated or measured with money," the lawsuit says.

Sherman said the RIAA continues to investigate online song copying and plans to file thousands more lawsuits.

The trade group also unveiled an amnesty program that would remove the threat of prosecution from those who promise to refrain from such activity in the future and erase all copyrighted music they have downloaded. The program will not be available for those who are already being investigated, he said.

SETTLEMENTS LIKELY

Under U.S. copyright law defendants could face penalties of up to $150,000 per song, but few settlements are likely to involve such large sums. The trade group has already settled several cases for around $3,000 each, Sherman said.

"We expect to hear people say, 'Well, it wasn't me, it was my kid.' If they would prefer that the lawsuit be amended to name the kid, we can certainly do that," he said.

The president of peer-to-peer service Grokster, which is fighting a courtroom battle of its own with the industry, said the tactic would only waste money and alienate music fans.

"I feel sort of like the Russians fighting Napoleon," Grokster President Wayne Rosso said, adding that traffic on his network is nearly back to levels it reached before the RIAA announced its intention to sue users in late June.

In addition to Grokster and Kazaa, defendants used the Gnutella, Blubster and iMesh networks, Sherman said. Nearly all had previously received instant-message warnings that the activity was considered illegal, he said.

Musicians' unions, songwriters and Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, who chairs an intellectual-property subcommittee, praised the RIAA's move.

Gigi Sohn, who as executive director of the Washington-based nonprofit Public Knowledge frequently clashes with the industry on copyright issues, said she was pleased that lawsuits were only filed against the most blatant violators. But the amnesty program could actually put Internet users at risk because it would not prevent lawsuits from music publishers or other copyright holders, she said, and legal, industry-sanctioned services do not yet provide a compelling alternative.

Separately on Monday, two industry-authorized music services reported strong business. Apple Computer Inc. said it had sold 10 million songs through its iTunes service since it launched in April, while RealNetworks Inc. said traffic on its Rhapsody service had more than doubled during the same period to 16.4 million songs temporarily "streamed" per month.

RIAA members include Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group; Sony Corp.'s Sony Music; AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Music; Bertelsmann AG's BMG; and EMI Group Plc.

Toymaker Sues Paramount Over 'Dickie Roberts'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wham-O Inc.'s famous outdoor water toy, Slip 'N Slide, figures prominently in Paramount Pictures' newly released film comedy starring David Spade, but the toy maker is not amused.

Wham-O filed suit against the Viacom Inc.-owned studio in federal court on Monday, claiming its trademarked yellow water slide was used in the movie, "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," without the company's permission.

The suit also names as a defendant the Happy Madison production company owned by Spade's former "Saturday Night Live" co-star Adam Sandler.

"Dickie Roberts," which opened as the No. 1 film at the U.S. box office over the weekend, stars David Spade as a former child actor-turned-parking valet who tries to rekindle his career by reliving his youth. He goes so far as to pay a suburban family to take him and teach him the ropes of being a "normal kid."

In one key scene that appears in Paramount's trailers for the PG-13 film, Spade's character launches himself belly first across a dry Slip 'N Slide -- not realizing it's supposed to be wet first -- then rolls over with red welts on his chest, crying "Oooooh, it stings." In another scene, Spade lubricates the toy with vegetable oil, then slides into a fence.

"Wham-O is concerned about the depicted misuse of its product in the film and its advertising, particularly the potential for injury to children and even adults who, after viewing the scene, might use the product in the same reckless manner," said Peter Sgromo, marketing director of Wham-O's toy division.

He said the movie "violates all safety guidelines that are clearly marked on the product and the packaging." Those guidelines limit the slide's use to children aged 5 to 12, weighing less than 110 pounds and under 5 feet tall. In addition, the product must be inflated, wet and connected to a hose before being used.

The suit goes on to say that advertising for the film may leave the public with the false impression that Wham-O in some way authorized or sponsored the Slip 'N Slide scenes.

Paramount's vice chairman and chief operating officer defended the film in a brief statement, dismissing Wham-O's claims as "entirely without legal merit."

The trademark infringement suit seeks a court order requiring Paramount to remove the Slip 'N Slide scenes from the film and its trailers. Barring that, Wham-O, whose brands also include the Frisbee and Hula Hoop, wants the film to carry a "don't-try-this-at-home" disclaimer.

'Idol' Ruben Paid to Wear Jerseys on Show

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Owners of hip-hop clothing maker 205 Flava Inc. say they secretly paid Ruben Studdard to wear the company's bright jerseys on "American Idol," despite a ban by the program on such deals.

A lawyer for owners Willie and Frederick Jenkins responded Monday to a lawsuit filed by Studdard last week accusing the brothers of wrongly profiting from his image as the second "American Idol" winner.

The Jenkins' lawyer, at a news conference, showed copies of $10,000 in checks made out to Studdard's brother, Kevin Studdard, and his manager, Ron Edwards.

Lawyer LaVeeda Morgan Battle, who spoke on behalf of the Jenkins brothers, said Studdard told them to "keep this confidential" because the Fox network prohibits "American Idol" contestants from entering into contracts while on the show.

Studdard refused comment Monday. "The public will hear from us soon," said Studdard's lawyer, Byron Perkins.

Willie Jenkins had told The Birmingham News about the payments in a June interview. "When he wore the clothing, we paid him," he said at the time.

Studdard approached 205 Flava around March about being paid to wear the jerseys on the show, Battle said.

He asked for $1,000 a week to wear the merchandise, and payments eventually grew to $1,500 a week as the singer advanced in the show, Battle said.

"The payments were made as full and fair compensation," Battle said.

"We have major sponsors like Old Navy," said Michael Jaffa, vice president of business and legal affairs for American Idol Productions Inc., explaining the ban on outside contracts. "There were issues promoting a brand in competition with our sponsors."

Studdard's lawsuit says it was his idea to print 205 — the area code of his hometown, Birmingham — in large numbers across the jerseys. Battle said that design was used before Studdard ever wore them.

Studdard's lawsuit also says the men weren't authorized to use his image to promote their jerseys on the company's Web site. They didn't remove the image immediately because they were hoping to reach a deal with Studdard's management, Battle said.