Entertainment Law News for 11.12.09

• A heads up to those fascinated by song-theft lawsuits: The case of whether Beyonce Knowles and Destiny’s Child ripped off a Chicago songwriter’s tune will be heard on December 10 in Illinois District Court. The trial was delayed because of Beyonce’s busy schedule. She’ll testify.
• The new technology called “auto-tune” has been adopted in pop hit after pop hit. Naturally, the technology developer is now fiercely protecting the trademark on “auto-tune,” sending cease-and-desist letters to those marketing iPhone apps with the phrase.
• AmLaw Daily interviews two lawyers behind the scenes of  “Sesame Street” on the show’s 40th anniversary. Muppet acquisition and muppet infringement are just two of the things that have made the show tick through the years.
• Former New York Post editor Sandra Guzman has filed a scathing 38-page complaint that accuses The New York Post and its top editor of explicit racism and sexism. Guzman says virtually all of the paper’s employees are white men and accuses some of the paper’s executives and editors of specific lewd acts.
• In March, Playboy’s “Lawyer of Love” columnist Corri Fetman  sued the publication for $4.5 million for sexual harassment. Now, Playboy has filed a trademark suit against Fetman for stealing the phrase “Lawyer of Love” from them.
• EMI Music has appointed Kyla Mullins as its new general counsel. She was most recently group legal director at ITV.
• Over the years, many lawyers have been curious about how much consideration Google pays to copyright and privacy law when conducting new business ventures. According to CEO Eric Schmidt, the company pays attention to what he calls “the creepy line,” a quasi-ethical ick factor, when deciding what to do next. For example, Google only publishes satellite data for Google Maps that’s a month old rather than in real-time.