The Popsquire Beat: Sept. 8-12
The Popsquire Beat provides highlights from this week’s best pop culture/law collisions…
Anne Hathaway’s ex, Raffaello Follieri, pleaded guilty in federal court this week to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. He is expected to serve five years in federal prison when he is sentenced in October. In short, The Devil Wears Stripes!
J.K. Rowling successfully convinced a New York federal court to prevent the publication of The Harry Potter Lexicon, a proposed companion guide/encyclopedia to the Harry Potter series. The judge ruled that the book was not protected under fair-use provisions of copyright law and ordered the publisher to pay minimal damages in the amount of $6,750. J.K. was not J/K’ing!
A New York federal court dismissed a lawsuit filed against Twentieth Century Fox and Sacha Baron Cohen for embarrassing various individuals in the successful Borat film. The court dismissed their claims because each of the plaintiffs had signed an “explicit waiver” with “unambiguous” language. No joke needed if Borat is smarter than you…
Have a great weekend. Please don’t drink and drive!
