So is that a Record... for quickest copyright infringement suit after the launch of a new network? Reuters reports that "'Game' author sues CW over similarities." From the article: "The suit, filed September 14 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims Robinson gave a manuscript of the novel to 'Game' executive producer Mara Brock Akil in 2001, when she interviewed for a writers assistant post at Kelsey Grammer's Grammnet Prods. Akil and Grammnet are named as defendants in the suit, along with CW and its owners, CBS and Warner Bros."

Interesting Limitation. Reuters reports that "Judge orders made-for-TV band to change name." From the article: "But U.S. District Judge John Houston ruled on Wednesday that his court order does not apply to the CBS network's reality show 'Rock Star: Supernova,' which concluded that night when Toronto native Lukas Rossi was plucked from obscurity to become the new band's lead singer."

So Should Stars Do Global Clearance Searches for Nicknames? E!Online reports that "Combs Must Get Riddy of Diddy." From the article: "Britain's Diddy sued the American version after the latter changed his stage name four-plus years ago. Combs, who had originally called himself Puffy, then Puff Daddy, then P. Daddy and then P. Diddy before abandoning the P altogether, was targeted in a lawsuit by his namesame across the pond, who claimed the British music market wasn't big enough for two similarly named artists. "

An Interesting One to Watch. Law.com reports in "No Happy Ending for Net Movie Renters." From the article: "Netflix argues that it has patents covering its many online features, including allowing subscribers to keep DVDs for as long as they want without incurring a late fee, obtaining new DVDs upon return of those already watched and prioritizing their own personal movie list."

Interesting New Patent Fight. The AP reports that "Patent fight rattles academic computing." From the article: "Critics say the patent claims nothing less than Blackboard's ownership of the very idea of e-learning. If allowed to stand, they say, it could quash the cooperation between academia and the private sector that has characterized e-learning for years and explains why virtual classrooms are so much better than they used to be."

That Would be Evidence that You Don't Want to Have at Trial... Law.com reports that "Bar Prep Co. Ordered to Pay $11.9M for Copying Multistate Exam Questions." From the article: "In one ad, a student is quoted as saying that 'dozens of nearly identical questions appeared on the actual exam,' and another says he 'breezed through the exam because I recognized so many of the questions from PMBR.'"

So is it Normal for a Judge Accused of Bias to be on the Panel that Decides the Accusation? Law.com reports that "9th Circuit Rejects Claim That Judge Had Conflict in Trademark Cases." From the article: "A company called M2 Software Inc. had sought to vacate the rulings, but the 9th Circuit issued an order Tuesday denying the petitions, and Pregerson, who again sat on the panel, attached a concurrence noting that his financial interest in both suits is 'remote in nature' and that his impartiality should not be questioned."

That's an Interesting Settlement Term. CNet reports that "Apple settles with Creative for $100 million." From the article: "Apple can get back some of the $100 million payment if Creative is able to secure licensing deals with other MP3 player manufacturers, said Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman. He declined to specify exactly how much Apple could recoup or how many deals it would take to trigger the payments."

So Are We Going to See Internet Companies Opting Out of Operating in France? Reuters reports that "French firms target eBay in anti-counterfeit drive." From the article:

In addition, it is asking the French government to revise its laws on electronic commerce to make online auctioneers 'co-responsible' for the goods that are sold on their sites, Jamet said.

Unifab believes its case has been strengthened by a Paris court's decision in June to fine online search engine Google 300,000 euros ($385,000) over advertisements for counterfeit goods generated by its sites. Google had based its defense partly on the existing French e-commerce law.

No! Don't Take My DVR! Reuters reports that "EchoStar must disable DVRs, judge rules." From the article: "Thursday's ruling from U.S. District Judge David Folsom in Marshall, Texas, demands that within 30 days EchoStar must basically render useless all but 192,708 of the DVR units it has deployed." Should we start a pool as to when the settlement is announced?

So Would the Eagles Have a Trademark Claim... against the Eagles of Death Metal?

Today's Funny.

Did Their Lawyers Clear This? Counterfeit Chic reports in "Oxes Gored?" From the post: "A Baltimore punk band, Oxes, claims the kitschy clothing chain owned by Gap Inc. ripped off one of its concert fliers to use on a T-shirt sold in Old Navy stores." Hat tip Marty.

Sounds Like a Multiple-Choice Exam Question. The WSJ reports in "Law Blog Rocker of the Day: Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz." From the article: "Wentz's father advised his son against using the song title, for fear that the group would be sued. Did the younger Wentz listen? 'No, because he was my dad. He advised me against a lot of things that I do,' he said with a playful hint of mischief in his voice. According to Wentz the Younger, the band's lawyers also told them they'd be slapped with a hefty lawsuit, and offered up a few options - they could sign a waiver; include a reference to Ruffin in the song (which somehow would shield against a lawsuit); or change the name of the song. Fall Out Boy went with the third option. Says Wentz: 'We just decided it was a good idea not to get sued.'" Hat tip Marty.

So How Much Did Foley & Lardner Waste on its Rebranding?. Law.com reports that "Law Firms' Trademark Dispute Over 'Foley' Name Is Put on Hold." From the article: "Foley & Lardner, which has its largest office in Milwaukee, is mulling changes, according to the firm's general counsel, Jim Clark."

I've Clearly Been Out of the Loop. I just noticed this post over at Bag and Baggage. Denise's post has generated quite a large number of posts around the blogosphere, a few of which are rounded up by Dennis Kennedy here and here. Julie Fleming Brown points to a few particularly, uh, enlightening responses here. (Compare and contrast: Tom Collins' The Work/Life Balance Issue Continues to Damage the Legal Profession and Work Life Balance in Law Firms. Both spoken by a non-attorney.)

So That's Who We Have to Blame... E!Online reports in "You, Me, Dupree & Steely Dan's Wrath." From the article: "In a profanity-laced mock-angry letter posted on the band's Website, Becker and Fagen suggest that the film character of Dupree rips off their song, which tells the tale of a slacker--named Dupree, of course--who is staying on his aunt's couch and starts lusting after his cousin."

So Do You Have a Duty to Mitigate Your Own Copyright Damages? ZDNet reports that "YouTube sued over copyright infringement." From the article: "Since learning of Tur's suit, YouTube has removed his clip, the company said in its statement. Tur didn't ask that the company remove the clip prior to filing his suit, YouTube said."

Break Out the Champagne The TTAB Blog reports that TTAB Sanctions Leo Stoller: Vacates All Extensions Granted Since November 2005." From the order: "'... the exhibits from your website do not demonstrate your offering for sale any goods or services, other than the 'rental' of the marks themselves, nor do the website exhibits demonstrate the use of any of the asserted terms as trademarks. These excerpts from your website, rather than evidencing support of any purported claim for damage, reinforce the conclusion that you are holding up thousands of applications in an attempt to coerce applicants to license, i.e., 'rent,' trademarks to which you have not demonstrated any proprietary right.'"

What Is This Mysterious Thing They Call the Internet? I still don't understand why run-of-the-mill UDRP complaints are still considered newsworthy. Is it a slow news day? Reuters reports that "Goldman challenges Goldmansex.com." From the article: "Goldman Sachs last week submitted a complaint to the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) arguing the Internet domain name goldmansex.com would cause confusion and contained links to objectionable 'adult' material. The NAF mediates corporate disputes including those over Internet domain names."