'Millionaire' Creators Win $319m Verdict Against Disney

A federal district court judge in Riverside on Tuesday denied the Walt Disney Co.'s attempts to overturn a verdict awarding $319 million in damages and interest to the creators of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," reports the Los Angeles Times.

Judge Virginia Phillips denied Disney's motions seeking to throw out the jury's July verdict or to order a new trial in the 6-year-old dispute. Disney has 30 days in which to appeal the decision.

The British creators of the game show, Celador International, sued Disney in 2004, claiming it had been denied its ability to profit from the success of the game show, which aired on the entertainment giant's ABC network for three years, beginning in the summer of 1999. Celador argued that a series of "sweetheart deals" struck among a clutch of Disney-owned companies kept the show in the red, even as it became ABC's first No. 1 show in more than a decade.

Celador had asked the jury to award damages of up to $395 million, based on experts' estimates of the profit "Millionaire" would have generated had the network paid a fair-market price. The jury awarded slightly less -- $260 million in network fees and $9.2 million in money owed from the sale of related merchandise.

Legal Jobs Decline for Second Straight Month

Despite upbeat forecasts earlier this week, the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows slower than expected growth in the private sector, and a significant drop in jobs in the legal sector.

The report, released Friday, shows that the legal services sector lost 1,100 jobs in November after experiencing a drop in October, as well. Those losses come at a time when many analysts were expecting healthy growth. The New York Times reports that an increase of 150,000 jobs had been the consensus prediction. More.

Comic Book Artist's Estate Sues Marvel To Terminate Lucrative Copyright Licenses

A New York federal judge has weighed in on an important case that could be worth billions of dollars and impact the future of Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, and other iconic super-hero characters.

The case involves the ongoing attempt by the estate of comic book artist Jack Kirbyto terminate a copyright grant over his legendary work. After Kirby's children served 45 notices of copyright termination, Marvel Entertainment sued the estate in New York District Court, seeking a declaration that the creations were "works-made-for-hire" and not eligible for termination. The estate countersued, seeking its own declaration that the termination notices were served properly to Marvel.

Last month, New York federal judge Colleen McMahon rejected a bid by Marvel to throw out the Kirby estate's main counterclaim. The judge decided it wasn't a "redundant" claim, meaning she will soon have an opportunity to shake up Marvel's universe, if she so decides, with a potentially devastating future ruling.

But the judge's decision wasn't a complete loss for Marvel. Far from it.

The studio was successful in avoiding an accounting on how much money is potentially at stake. Judge McMahon agreed with Marvel's contention that it would be premature to adjudicate the issue before it's decided whether or not the Kirby material can be terminated. More.

Catfish Documentary Sparks Fair Use Battle

Ever since Catfish premiered at Sundance in January, the documentary has engendered controversy. Made for just $30,000, it grossed more than $3 million and has left audiences scrambling to figure out whether the amazing story being told is just an elaborate hoax.

We might get an answer to that question, thanks to a lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against distributors Universal and Relativity Media, as well as the directors and producers of the film. The lawsuit filed by Threshold Media seeks statutory damages and profits from the defendants and an injunction.

In one of the crucial scenes of Catfish, Angela-posing-as-Megan sends Nev a song that she claims to be hers. It wasn’t, of course. In truth, it was a YouTube version of the song All Downhill From Here by singer-songwriter Amy Kuney, who is signed to Spin Move Records, owned by Threshold Media Corp. Later in the film, during the closing credits, Kuney's entire song is again played.

At first, Spin Move seemed proud of Kuney’s quasi-involvement in the film, touting it on its website. But the record label soon removed the post.

For some time now, Threshold has been attempting to get filmmakers to pay licensing fees for the song. According to the new copyright infringement lawsuit, the producers have rejected doing so. According to Threshold’s LA lawyer, Neville Johnson, the producers claimed that since the song was part of a real-life documentary, it was a “fair use” of the copyright. More.