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For the first time in her life, Judge Judy is suing a lawyer for using her in his ads to promote his firm. Footage from her show, which has been running for eighteen years, was combined with footage showing Haymond, the defendant, and his daughters. The lawsuit states, "By trading, without consent or authorization, on Sheindlin's well-known persona, the Haymond Defendants have irreparably harmed and damaged Sheindlin's hard-earned professional and artistic reputation, dignity, and prestige."

She does not promote businesses and has never agreed to do so, because she feels it's inconsistent with her career. So, he has not only used her image, he's also taken footage from her show.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/judge-judy-sues-connecticut-lawyer-article-1.1719561

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/03/12/judge-judy-files-suit-against-conn-lawyer/

The game 'Trademarkville' makes fun of games like 'Candy Crush Saga' and 'Farmville' who try to trademark everyday words. The game gets increasingly frustrating as the player tries to rename a title/word, only to find out that they can't use that word because it's been trademarked. And then, once you've guessed a word that works, it becomes trademarked by the wizard lawyers of the fantasy kingdom in which the game takes place. I'll have to give this game a try.

http://kotaku.com/anti-candy-crush-game-trademarks-all-of-your-words-1536381547

Copyright law is being twisted by the MPAA to make it so they can secure more profits. This bites back when it can be used to stop them from outsourcing and getting subsidies. MPAA's response? Lobbying that says copyright law in this case only applies when it benefits them. In a twisted backwards way they are admitting that copyright abuse hurts the economy and jobs so it shouldn't be enforced, unless it benefits them at the cost of everyone else in which case it should. 

3D Realms sold the rights to the Duke Nukem games and all future games made from it to Gearbox Software. The new company is now suing the old company for trying to make a game when they don't own the rights to it anymore. The trailer for the new game came out earlier this month.

Last week's assignment for Group 2(the fighting game based of Dota characters), reminded me about a case that happened last February. A company by the name of Mane6 created a fighting game based off the popular show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. They named their game Fighting is Magic, and used characters from the show, along with copying the style.

Hasbro sent them Cease and Desist letters, and they had to cancel the game. It was a fan-made game that Hasbro did not endorse.

However, Lauren Faust, the creator of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, liked the idea and irony of the game and contacted Hasbro. She is now working with Mane6 to create a new game similar to the original, but with new characters that aren't ponies anymore. http://www.mane6.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Is_Magic

It reminded me of our class discussions. Language warning.