BY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, NOVEMBER 20, 2012 - In general, publishers of books, newspapers and magazines are legally liable for the content of the materials they publish, while book stores, newsstands and other distributors of publications are immune from liability for such content. The rationale behind the legal principle is that publishers can research, review and edit the content they publish whereas distributors often cannot easily do so for the content they distribute. With the advent of the Internet, however, the line between publisher and distributor became blurred. For example, if a company encourages users to submit content to its website, comments to its Facebook page or videos to its YouTube channel, is it deemed to be a publisher or a distributor? Early court decisions in this area arrived at unintuitive results. In particular, a company that made no effort to filter defamatory content submitted by its users was held to be an immune distributor, but another company that actively filtered and edited defamatory content in good faith was held liable as a publisher for failing to screen and remove all such unlawful content.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, OCTOBER 24, 2012 - Sony Computer Entertainment has featured the fictional character “Kevin Butler” portraying a Sony employee in a series of advertisements for its PlayStation 3 game system. Sony recently filed a complaint against Bridgestone Tires over an advertisement featuring the same actor, allegedly portraying Kevin Butler as a Bridgestone employee, using and speaking excitedly about the competing Nintendo Wii game system. The case provides a good opportunity to review the laws relating to the protection of fictional characters which implicate unauthorized sequels and adaptations of existing works, the popular and widespread subculture of fan fiction, and many other applications.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, OCTOBER 24, 2012 - In Hannibal Saldibar v. A.O. Smith Corp., the court recently denied post-trial motions filed by Tile Council of America, a licensor trade association, essentially holding it liable in connection with a death caused by licensed products that Tile Council neither manufactured nor sold. Tile Council’s liability was predicated on its detailed specifications governing all aspects of certain asbestos-containing products. The case presents an excellent opportunity to review the laws of trademark licensor liability for injuries caused by licensed products.
Read MoreOctober 16, 2012, London, U.K., – Leading international brand licensing agency, Beanstalk today unveiled several new brands that have recently joined its prestigious client roster at Brand Licensing Europe. The announcement comes amidst news of major new license agreements secured by Beanstalk for celebrated British fashion designer Matthew Williamson in footwear, handbags and interiors, as well as the retail launch of the official MovieStarPlanet magazine by Egmont Kids U.K.
Read MoreOctober 12, 2012, London, U.K., – Leading international brand licensing agency Beanstalk announced its partnership with games developer Lima Sky for exclusive representation in the U.K. of its global app sensation, Doodle Jump. The phenomenally successful digital property entered the Apple App Store in April 2009, and subsequently received an Apple Design Award for excellence in design, user experience and quality. Recognized by Apple as the third all-time top paid app in March 2012, Doodle Jump has remained in the Top 25 Paid Apps for over two years. With tens of millions of game downloads on over 2,700 mobile handset models worldwide, Doodle Jump has established itself as a modern classic in the mobile application space.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES LEGAL CORNER, OCTOBER 11 2012 - Beanstalk Chief Legal Office, Oliver Herzfeld, addresses the long running dispute between the University of Alabama and the artist Daniel Moore in his recent Forbes post.
Read MoreOctober 11, 2012, London, U.K., – Leading brand licensing agency, Beanstalk, today announced a number of licensing agreements secured for its client Matthew Williamson, the celebrated British fashion designer, to extend his brand into additional fashion and lifestyle categories including footwear, handbags and interiors.
Read MoreOctober 11, 2012, London, U.K., – Leading brand licensing agency Beanstalk has secured a representation agreement with The Phat Food Co. to expand across a range of food and drink categories under the ‘Phat’ brand. Starting out as The Phat Pasty Co., The Phat Food Co. was conceived by husband and wife team Paul and Laura Clark, ‘The Phat Controllers,’ who built its reputation on quality, tasty Cornish pasties with ‘no nasties.’ Having both acquired extensive expertise in the food-service industry through work with large branded restaurant chains, the Clarks launched The Phat Pasty Co. as a franchise operation, which operated a fleet of iconic Phat Pasty camper vans travelling the U.K. selling pasties and other sandwich items.
Read MoreBY MICHAEL STONE, FORBES CMO NETWORK, OCTOBER 8, 2012 - On the heels of a very unsuccessful 2011 fall TV lineup, television networks are hoping this year’s newly commissioned primetime starters can simply move beyond their pilot episodes and inaugural seasons. However, those producers with grander aspirations seek more than a contract renewal for a second season. In his latest article, Michael Stone reviews what
Read MoreBY MICHAEL STONE, FORBES, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 -In his latest Forbes column, Michael Stone offers expert insight into the ability of popular entertainment apps to transition into merchandising, but retailers are hesitant to fully warm up to these digital properties.
Read MoreJune 13, 2012, London, U.K., - Egmont Kids Media, the UK’s leading specialist children’s publisher for babies to teens, has announced a worldwide partnership (excluding USA) with MovieStarPlanet for both book and magazine publishing.
Read MoreJune 12, 2012, New York, NY., – Beanstalk, a leading global brand licensing agency and consultancy, today announced a business partnership with television star, NeNe Leakes. As NeNe’s licensing agency of record, Beanstalk will leverage NeNe’s aspirational style and outspoken personality to develop a brand that empowers women, of all shapes and sizes, through fashion. Beanstalk will collaborate with NeNe’s management agency, The Collective, and legal representation at Fox Rothschild, LLP, on the program.
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