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Monthly Archives: July 2011
Since the summer of 2009, Drew Peterson has been in prison in Illinois, awaiting trial on murder charges. Police suspect that Peterson killed his third wife, and some think that he killed his fourth wife as well. A policeman for nearly 30 years in a Chicago suburb, Peterson came into the public eye after his fourth wife disappeared, prompting authorities to re-examine the remains of his third wife. When they reversed a finding that her drowning death was accidental, a grand jury indicted Peterson for her murder. Peterson and his attorneys are now threatening Lifetime Television over the network’s plan to film a movie about him. Its title is “Ladykiller: The Drew Peterson Story,” and Rob Lowe will be playing Peterson. Peterson’s claims stem from publicity rights, which celebrities often use to protect their name and image from being used without authorization. Peterson’s lawyers sent a cease and desist letter…
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After starting off in gospel music, changing record labels three times, and working on her music for years before making it big, singer Katy Perry burst onto the scene in 2008 and has had a string of hit songs since then. Earlier this month, a Rolling Stone poll asking “who is the queen of pop?” ranked Perry seventh. Over the past year, she made $44 million according to a recent Forbes magazine ranking of the “Best-Paid Celebrities Under 30.” Perry is worth a lot money for the foreseeable future, and the companies that represent products associated with her are going to court to prevent unauthorized trademark use. Based in Los Angeles, Bravado International Group Merchandising Services, Inc. (“Bravado”) is the sole company authorized to sell Katy Perry souvenirs at her tour locations. Bravado went to federal court to request a court order to allow the seizure and destruction of counterfeit…
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Once again, the rise in popularity of a person, TV show or even phrase has led to trademark and intellectual property problems. This case involves “Pawn Stars,” the History Channel TV show that follows life in a pawn shop in Las Vegas. The show debuted in 2009 and has run for four seasons, airing 104 episodes. “Pawn Stars” has become the History Channel’s highest rated TV show. Frank Bishop runs a pawnshop named “Pawn Star” that is located on the other side of the country in central Florida. Lawyers from A&E Television Networks, which owns the History Channel, sent cease-and-desist letters to Bishop in the first week of July. They told him that the name of his shop constitutes fraud and trademark infringement. They specifically mentioned Bishop’s Facebook page, which the lawyers said people went to when they meant to visit the page of the show. Bishop wrote them a…
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