Murder trial defendant asks for Garfield to return to comic page
I couldn’t resist posting this as it happened a couple of towns over from where I live and involves my local paper. Jeremy Lee Valdes who is on trial for two counts of aggravated murder wrote a letter to the editor to The Standard Examiner questioning the credibility of his ex-girlfriend and the police officer [...]
Posted on: Jul 26, 2010, Section: Comic strips, Legal, Comments: 9 Comments
Anti-South Park blogger charged with terrorism
Zachary Adam Chesser, who allegedly threatened South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone with a fate similar to Theo Van Gogh for “insulting” the prophet Mohammad during it’s 200th episode, has been arrested on charges of providing material support to a Somali extremist group tied to al-Qaeda. From the Christian Science Monitor: According to [...]
Posted on: Jul 22, 2010, Section: Legal, Mohammed Cartoon, Comments: 1 Comment
Dawson: Limits and moral copyright responsibility
A good read from Ted Dawson as he questions the limits of protection, respect, and moral responsibility of copyright. While many countries still permit Work for Hire, which removes a writer or artist’s authorship, other countries enforce what they call Moral Rights. Moral rights protect the creator’s right of attribution to and integrity of her [...]
Posted on: Jul 20, 2010, Section: Comic history, Comic strips, Legal, Comments: 0 Comments
Capt. America gets community service for groping woman
A 55 year-old doctor named Raymond Adamcik was arrested for allegedly groping a woman while dressed up in a Captain America costume. The story gets richer than that if you can believe it: Adamcik approached a woman while holding a burrito and began to talk dirty. He then reached his hand between her legs and [...]
Posted on: May 27, 2010, Section: Comic Books, Legal, Comments: 6 Comments
Senator Franken uses Tom Toles cartoon
Senator Al Franken, a former comedian and comedy writer (painfully) uses a cartoon by Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Tole to argue support for his bill.
Posted on: May 11, 2010, Section: Editorial cartooning, Legal, Comments: 12 Comments
“Snoopy” arrested while breaking into prison
A man dressed as Snoopy was arrested while trying to free an inmate in Britain. Thesun.co.uk reported on Monday that jail workers were stunned when confronted by the Peanuts character waving a gun. When the man dressed as Snoopy and an accomplice failed to break down a door, they pelted prison officers’ cars with concrete [...]
Posted on: May 10, 2010, Section: International, Legal, Comments: 9 Comments
Jihaad Jane and Jamie waive right to speedy trial
The two women arrested for allegedly plotting to carry out a plot to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks appeared in court and voluntarily waived their rights to a speedy trial. The woman Colleen LaRose and Jamie Paulin-Ramirez (dubbed “Jihaad Jane” and “Jihaad Jamie” by the media) have pleaded not guilty. Their trail could start as [...]
Posted on: May 7, 2010, Section: International, Legal, Comments: 2 Comments
Seth MacFarlane: Arizona law is like Nazi Germany
Caught by Comics Riff: MacFarlane, speaking in a Reuters Television interview, said the Arizona law was more shocking than his own irreverent, hot-button shows. His animated comedies “Family Guy,” “American Dad” and “The Cleveland Show” all air on Fox. “It’s too much. It’s kind of a slap in the face, it’s not the way to [...]
Posted on: May 3, 2010, Section: Legal, Television, Comments: 25 Comments
Second woman charged in JihadJane case
The AP reports that terrorism charges have been filed against Jamie Paulin-Ramirez. Originally from Colorado, she was one of the seven arrested in Ireland allegedly plotting to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks. Paulin-Ramirez is linked to Colleen LaRose (aka JihadJane) who was earlier arrested in Pennsylvania.
Posted on: Apr 5, 2010, Section: International, Legal, Comments: 0 Comments
Stu Rees responds to Copyright Czar’s request for comments
Last week I posted news that the White House Copyright Czar was soliciting comments from copyright holders on ways to improve copyright protection. I’ve received the following response from entertainment attorney Stu Rees, who was awarded the 2007 Silver T-Square by the National Cartoonist Society for “demonstrated outstanding dedication or service to the Society or [...]
Posted on: Mar 23, 2010, Section: Legal, Comments: 4 Comments
White House seeks input to improve copyright protection
Thank you Lynn Reznick for forwarding this to me. Summary: The new White House copyright czar is collecting comments from artists on how to improve copyright protection. See below for details. All comments must be received by Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at 5 p.m. EST. Please read and submit your comments. FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP [...]
Posted on: Mar 19, 2010, Section: Legal, Comments: 5 Comments
DC Comics hires big gun in Siegel suit
Newsarama is reporting that DC Comics has replaced their “local outside counsel with Los Angeles “Super Lawyer” Daniel Petrocelli.” Time Warner’s decision to bring on such a high-profile litigator as its new outside counsel would seem to signal that the company does not expect a settlement with the Siegel family in the foreseeable future. It’s [...]
Posted on: Mar 2, 2010, Section: Comic Books, Legal, Comments: 5 Comments
Judge rules against Tribune Co. over Dick Tracy
A judge has ruled against the Tribune Co. which sought to dismiss a lawsuit filed Warren Beaty over the rights of the Dick Tracy character. Beaty sued the Chicago media company after it notified Beaty that they were taking back the rights since he had not exercised them since the 1990 movie in which Beaty [...]
Posted on: Feb 22, 2010, Section: Comic strips, Legal, Comments: 1 Comment
Winnie-the-Pooh heirs sue Disney. Again
The family of the late Stephen Slesinger, who gave Winnie-the-Pooh his trademark red shirt, has sued Disney over alleged unpaid royalties. The family had previously sued Disney and lost over licensing rights. The court decision established Disney as the owner, but the family was due 2% royalties which the family now alleges Disney is underreporting. [...]
Posted on: Nov 16, 2009, Section: Animation, Legal, Comments: 5 Comments
Ex-New York Post editor sues paper
Sandra Guzman, who was fired from her editing job at the New York Post for being critical of the paper after it ran Sean Delonas’ dead chimpanzee cartoon has filed a lawsuit against the paper. The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan alleges the she was “subjected to a hostile work environment in [...]
Posted on: Nov 11, 2009, Section: Editorial cartooning, Legal, Newspaper industry, Comments: 0 Comments