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 ó the area code of his hometown, Birmingham ó 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.