Wal-Mart not carrying Chris Brown’s new CD

From Entertainment Weekly:

Singer Chris Brown took to his Twitter page to express his extreme displeasure with stores, including a Walmart in Wallingford, CT, that are not visibly stocking his new album, Graffiti.

“the[y] didnt even have my album in the back… not on shelves, saw for myself,” he wrote in a series of tweets over the weekend. “im tired of this s—. major stores r blackballing my cd. not stockin the shelves and lying to costumers. what the f— do i gotta do.”
He continued: “im not biting my tongue about sh– else… the industry can kiss my ass.
WTF… yeah i said it and i aint retracting s–”

“we talked to the managers and the didnt even know anything. wow!!! but they had alicia keys album ready for release for this tuesday comin … the manager told me that when there are new releases its mandatory to put em on the shelves.. BUT NO SIGN OF #GRAFFITI. BS.”

“no disprespect to alicia at all,” he continued. “just givin an example to whos album is loaded and ready to go next week.”

The debate continues with fan’s responses and re-tweets on his page, but what do you think, readers? Do stores have the right to decide whether to stock Brown’s album, based on personal objections to his actions this year? Should Brown have perhaps waited to release a new record until his public image was less tarnished?

By the way, Billboard predicts that Graffiti will take the third-place spot on the charts tomorrow, with sales of 95,000 to 110,00; that’s no SuBo, but it’s still better than the much-promoted, scandal-free Shakira and Kris Allen did in their recent chart bows.

Entertainment Law News for 12/14/09

• Terra Firma, the private equity firm that purchased music publisher EMI for £4 billion in 2007, has filed a lawsuit against Citigroup for artificially inflating EMI’s price. In the £1.5 billion suit, Terra Firma accuses Citigroup of lying about the involvement of rival bidders and trying to drive EMI into bankruptcy to bring about a merger with rival Warner Music.
• Trudy Green Management is suing the band Def Leppard for $700,000 for unpaid bills in connection with a tour of the U.S. and Europe in 2008. Halfway through the tour, Green was fired, but she claims she ran extensive marketing and promotion campaigns for the band on the 40-date tour.
• At a hearing on Friday, the EFF pushed for a ruling that would entitle the nonprofit to $400,000 in attorney fees and other damages stemming from fighting a takedown notice sent by Universal Music to YouTube over a video that incorporated a Prince song. Previously in the case, a court ruled that copyright holders must account for “fair use” before sending takedown notices.
• A former contestant on the third season of “The Biggest Loser” is suing several weight-loss companies for defamation by using her photos to promote their products.
• The Black List-topping script “The Muppet Man” might have some legal obstacles to overcome.
• “2012,” “Bad Lieutenant,” “The Blind Side,” and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” are among the top 10 most pirated movies on BitTorrent last week.

“Hulk” Hogan sues his lawyers for $1.5 million

From the ABA Journal:

Wrestling star Hulk Hogan has sued two Florida attorneys, contending that they charged more than $1 million to defend his son in an auto accident case and related matters at billable hourly rates of nearly $500 without telling him his auto insurance company would have paid for legal counsel from the outset.

Partner Morris “Sandy” Weinberg Jr. and counsel Lee Fugate of Zuckerman Spaeder are the defendants in the lawsuit, filed by Hogan (whose real name is Terry Bollea) reports the Tampa Tribune.

Only after exhausting Hogan’s funding, the lawsuit contends, did the two lawyers turn to his carrier, Progressive Select Insurance Co., for payment—and were reimbursed at an hourly rate of $145, the newspaper recounts. Eventually, Progressive terminated their representation of Hogan’s son, contending, as the suit puts it, that “much of the defendants’ billings were grossly unnecessary and grossly inflated.”

Zuckerman Spaeder said in a statement (PDF) provided to the ABA Journal that the firm will “absolutely dispute and will contest the claims he has made against us.

“We did hard work for the Bolleas, and got a good result,” in both the civil case and the criminal case against Hogan’s son, Nick Bollea, the statement continues. “We had a written agreement signed by Terry Bollea and Nick Bollea that laid out our rates, and on request, we provided written estimates of the time and costs we expected to incur. Mr. Bollea paid the bills and did not raise any complaints about our representation.”

New Sports and Entertainment Journal: Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law

The Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law, which is a brand new law journal published by Harvard Law School. The Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Aswhin Krishnan, has said that the Journal’s website is up. He and Josh Podoll (Submissions Editor), also have some additional info on submissions:

* * *

On behalf of the editorial board, it is my distinct pleasure to announce the formation of the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law (JSEL). JSEL will provide the academic community, the sports and entertainment industries, and the broader legal profession with scholarly analysis and research related to the legal aspects of the sports and entertainment communities.

JSEL, published under the auspices of Harvard Law School, is accepting articles, essays, book reviews, notes, and comments regarding legal and/or public policy issues from academics and legal practitioners for its upcoming inaugural issue in Spring 2010. JSEL is one of the few journals in the United States that focuses exclusively on legal topics related to sports and entertainment.

As you are probably aware, legal topics that affect sports and entertainment include antitrust law, civil procedure, constitutional law, contract law, corporate law, copyright law, labor law, and real estate law. In addition, there are many other legal topics that have an impact on the sports and entertainment industries, or otherwise have an application to sports and entertainment.

Submissions are being accepted on a rolling basis. To be considered for our first issue, due to be published in Spring 2010, please send completed submissions no later than November 15, 2009. An indication of your interest before that date would also be greatly appreciated.

All submissions must be sent to Josh Podoll, Submissions Editor, as an attached Microsoft Word document via email to jselsubmissions@gmail.com. Please visit our website for further details regarding the submissions process at www.HarvardJSEL.com. Also, please feel free to contact Josh regarding any questions you may have concerning citation format, topic, or other issues involving the submissions process. If you know of other scholars, practitioners, or students whose work seems appropriate for our journal, please encourage them to submit their work to JSEL.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Sincerely,

Ashwin Krishnan
Editor in Chief

Josh Podoll
Submissions Editor

Super Bowl XLIV & Pro Bowl 2010 Ambassador Program

The South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee’s Volunteer Services Department has endless opportunities for you to get involved with the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl.  You can be one of the enthusiastic Ambassadors who ensure a fantastic Super Bowl and Pro Bowl experience for thousands of visitors.

The Ambassador Application to volunteer for Super Bowl XLIV and Pro Bowl 2010 is now online. To register, please click here or contact the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee Volunteer Services Department at (305) 614-7564 or by email at Volunteers@SouthFloridaSuperBowl.com.

Delaware becomes the 4th state to allow sports gambling

The Delaware Senate voted in favor of Governor Jack Markell’s proposal to legalize sports betting in the state on Tuesday by a vote of 17-2. Markell is expected to sign the bill into law later this week.

“It’s time to move forward and ensure the Delaware Sports Lottery is a success,” Markell said after the vote. “This will generate critical revenue to help fund our core commitments.”

Delaware is one of only four states in the country — along with Nevada, Oregon and Montana — that had sports betting laws on its books when Congress passed the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which banned states from being in the bookmaking business. Markell, whose state is facing a nearly $800 million budget deficit, hopes that bringing sports betting to his state will generate more than $50 million in the first year alone.

Delaware had a sports lottery — basically parlay betting — for one football season, back in 1976. It failed miserably. But for years the state legislature has been trying to bring it back to take advantage of an increased interest in gaming both nationwide and locally, especially along the condensed mid-Atlantic seaboard, where several states have gaming of some kind. However, former Governor Ruth Ann Minner opposed the idea.

The newly elected Markell hinted on the campaign trail he was open to sports betting, and then made it the centerpiece of his plan to reduce the state deficit. But when his bill was initially voted on by the Delaware House earlier last week, it was rejected. Many state legislators disagreed with what the governor was asking struggling local racinos — horse race tracks that carry video slot machines — to pay in newly charged licensing fees and increased shares of their handle. Two days later, after a nine-hour negotiation between Markell and leaders in the state legislature, a compromise was reached. In the Senate, the debate and the vote lasted less than 30 minutes.

“I am very pleased the senate acted so quickly to pass the sports lottery legislation,” Markell said.

Less thrilled are the NFL and the NCAA, who both lobbied against the bill. After the vote passed, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail: “We expect that everyone involved in the administration of sports leagues — professional and amateur — will review today’s action and evaluate its impact as other decisions are made by Delaware officials and the Delaware Supreme Court.”

Markell has been pushing for his sports betting bill to pass through the Delaware House and Senate quickly, so the state could be ready for action by the NFL season. “That’s when we expect most of the betting activity to take place,” Markell said earlier this year.

He’s hoping to do more than offer up parlays, too. The governor has already asked the State Supreme Court to rule whether or not head-to-head betting is legal in the state. The Court declined to rule until after the bill had become law.

Now that it has, Markell is hopeful he’ll get one more vote in his favor.

Article located here.

Not S&E related; Source: Justice Souter to retire?

Justice David Souter is planning to retire after nearly two decades on the Supreme Court, giving President Barack Obama his first chance to fill a vacancy on the high court.

The White House has been told that Souter will retire in June, when the court finishes its work for the summer, a source familiar with his plans said Thursday night. He almost certainly would remain on the bench until a successor is confirmed.

The source spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for Souter.

Souter had no comment Thursday night, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said.

Souter’s retirement is unlikely to alter the ideological balance on the closely divided court because Obama is certain to replace the liberal-leaning justice with someone with similar views.

But the vacancy could lead to another woman on the bench to join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, currently the court’s only woman.

At 69, Souter is much younger than either Ginsburg, 76, or Justice John Paul Stevens, 89, the other two liberal justices whose names have been mentioned as possible retirees. Yet those justices have given no indication they intend to retire soon and Ginsburg said she plans to serve into her 80s despite her recent surgery for pancreatic cancer.

Souter, a regular jogger, is thought to be in excellent health.

Interest groups immediately began gearing up for what could be a grueling battle over a high court vacancy.

“We’re looking for President Obama to choose an eminently qualified candidate who is committed to the core constitutional values, who is committed to justice for all and not just a few,” said Nan Aron, president of the liberal Alliance for Justice.

Rest of article here.

BC student fights warrant seizing his computer

Boston College (BC) is finding itself in the middle of a controversy over its handling of a case involving a student who allegedly sent an e-mail claiming that a fellow student was gay and used a college computer network to change grades.

The alleged action by computer science student Riccardo Calixte resulted in campus and Massachusetts state police searching his dormitory room and seizing several computers, a cell phone, an iPod, storage disks and even a Post-it note on which he was taking notes about the officers’ actions during the search. The affidavit seeking the seizure of the materials claimed that Calixte had broken two state laws involving unauthorized access to a computer and defrauding a commercial service provider.

The March 30 search and seizure is being challenged by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group, and Boston law firm Fish & Richardson, which works with the EFF and has agreed to represent Calixte in the case. In an emergency motion filed last Friday, attorneys for the EFF and the law firm asked for a court trial in Newton, Mass., to quash the search warrant and have the seized property returned to Calixte immediately.

In their motion, the attorneys claimed the affidavit the BC police filed when asking for the search warrant did not show any criminal activity had taken place. Rather, they claim the affidavit was largely based on “cursory, unsubstantiated, and stale” information provided to the police by a student with a grudge against Calixte.

“Nothing cited in the warrant application could possibly constitute the cited criminal offenses,” EFF attorney Matthew Zimmerman wrote in a blog on Tuesday.

A hearing on the motion to quash the search warrant has not been scheduled but could happen as soon as this week, Zimmerman said. A BC spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Calixte, 21, has not been charged with any crime. The affidavit presented by the investigating officer to obtain the search warrant claimed there was probable cause to believe that Calixte had gained unauthorized access to computers and had obtained computer services by fraud and misrepresentation.

The affidavit said Calixte had used a BC list server to send e-mails to the college community claiming that another student was gay. That action caused considerable stress to the other student, the affidavit said, while also presenting evidence gathered from BC’s director of IT security that ties Calixte’s computer to the e-mails. The affidavit also cited Calixte as having used BC’s computer networks to change grades for multiple students and for having “fixed” other students’ computers so they can’t be scanned for illegal music downloads.

 

Rest of the article here.

We’re Having a Bake Sale!

Hey SELS,

We’re having a Bake Sale!

When?: Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Noon – 2pm

Where?: COL Student Lounge

Bring your appetite and your money!!

Southwestern Law School International Entertainment & Media Law Summer Program in London.

Southwestern Law School, a private university in Los Angeles, California with an excellent entertainment law program, offers a 5-week summer abroad program at the University of London in London, England. The program runs from June 21 through July 24. I attended last year and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in entertainment and sports law. Students select two courses from a choice of four and receive six-credit hours. More can be found here.

Hurry! Space is limited and the payment deadline is May 1st.

NFL Player Moats held up by police while relative passes away

A police officer was placed on administrative leave Thursday over a traffic stop involving an NFL player whom he kept in a hospital parking lot and threatened to arrest while his mother-in-law died inside the building.

Officer Robert Powell also drew his gun during the March 18 incident involving Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats in the Dallas suburb of Plano, police said.

“I can screw you over,” he said at one point in the videotaped incident. When another officer came with word that Moats’ mother-in-law was indeed dying, Powell’s response was: “All right. I’m almost done.”

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle apologized to the family and announced that Powell would be on paid leave pending an internal investigation.

“When we at the command staff reviewed the tape, we were embarrassed, disappointed,” Kunkle said. “It’s hard to find the right word and still be professional in my role as the police chief. But the behavior was not appropriate.”

Powell, 25, a three-year member of the force, stopped Moats’ SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano after Moats rolled through a red light.

Police officials said Powell told his commanders he believed he was doing his job, and that he drew his gun but did not point it. Kunkle said Powell was not necessarily acting improperly when he pulled his weapon out, but that once he realized what was happening should have put the gun back, apologized and offered to help the family in any way.

“His behavior, in my opinion, did not exhibit the common sense, the discretion, the compassion that we expect our officers to exhibit,” Kunkle said.

Moats’ wife, who was in the car along with other relatives, said Powell pointed his weapon at her.

Rest of the article is located here.