Last Wednesday, on August 12, 2009, a federal district court judge in New York ruled that the defamation case filed by Anna Nicole Smith's former attorney and companion, Howard K. Stern, against the publisher and author of the book "Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death" should proceed to trial against the author, MSNBC investigative reporter, Rita Cosby. Judge Dennis Chin's decision provides several interesting legal tidbits as well as a glimpse into the media frenzy that followed Smith and her death.

"Blonde Ambition" made several explosive revelations about Smith, Stern, and Larry Birkhead, Smith's other love interest and father of her baby, Dannielyn. Cosby wrote among other things that (a) Smith caught Stern and Birkhead having oral sex with each other at a party in Los Angeles, (b) Smith remarked that Stern was gay, (c) Smith watched a sex tape of Stern and Birkhead on a regular basis as witnessed by her nannies, (d) Stern regularly "pimped" out Smith to others to have sex with and (e) Stern played a role in Smith's death. As expected, these revelations made Cosby's book an instant best-seller. However, also as expected, Stern was none too pleased with the contents of that book -- and sued Cosby and her publisher for defamation in New York.

The following are the highlights of Judge Chin's decision. You can see a copy of Judge Chin's ruling here.

Since the election of Barack Obama, there appears to be a rash of lawsuits filed by rock and roll stars against Republican candidates for office. I previously wrote about Jackson Browne's federal case against the Republican National Committee and Senator John McCain over the use of Browne's song "Running On Empty" in an Ohio internet campaign spot. That case reportedly has apparently settled on confidential terms, resulting in an apology from the McCain camp.

In April, Eagles star, Don Henley, and Mike Campbell, guitarist for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers followed suit -- literally. Henley and Campbell filed two lawsuits against Republican California State Assemblyman, Charles DeVore who is running for the Senate seat currently held by Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. The lawsuits arise from DeVore's use of of the music in the songs "Boys of Summer" (which Henley and Campbell co-wrote) and Henley's "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" in political spots where DeVore replaced the original lyrics with his own politically motivated lyrics.

While many are surprised that the RNC, McCain and the Ohio Republican Party settled so quickly, the issues in the Henley/Campbell suit seems less likely to favor the rockers.

It's been a while since I wrote a new post on this blog. I apologize for that. I thought I'd make my first post in some time to comment on Pope Benedict's June 29, 2009 Encyclical Letter "Caritas in veritate" -- Truth in Charity.

In his latest and third encyclical letter, Pope Benedict comments about the current global economic crisis and mentions certain intellectual property rights, the litigation of which constitutes a large part of my practice. The sentence in the Pope's letter which has generated reaction in the intellectual property community is this: "On the part of rich countries there is excessive zeal for protecting knowledge through an unduly rigid assertion of the right to intellectual property, especially in the field of health care."

Here are my thoughts on the subject -- from the perspective of a Catholic intellectual property lawyer and Coldplay fan.

Technology and the explosion of social networking sites are changing the paradigm of how and when we communicate with each other. Facebook, YouTube and the most recent craze, Twitter, together with rapidly improving camera/video cellular phone technology, allow instant communication to thousands of people. Communication that includes pictures and video, as well as text.

The potential uses for these expanding media are seemingly endless. The question is -- is that a good thing?

Last month, I was summoned to jury duty in a not-so-desirable area of Los Angeles County. I was happy to serve and fulfill my obligation. For a trial lawyer, serving on a jury -- and even just appearing for jury duty and being a part of a jury pool -- is educational. However, some people seemingly will go to great lengths to avoid jury service.

The following is my rant on what I observed some people are willing to do to avoid serving on a jury.

Jackson Browne's 1977 iconic song "Running on Empty" is the focal point of a federal court lawsuit which highlights the tension between the First Amendment's strong protection for political speech and the rights of an artist to control his work. Browne sued the Republican National Committee (RNC), Senator John McCain and the Ohio Republican Party (ORP) because the ORP used "Running on Empty" in a web ad during the 2008 presidential campaign without Browne's permission. Browne, a well known activist who favors liberal causes and candidates, sued.

Here's the video of my appearance this afternoon on the "Kababayan LA" television show on KCSI-TV 18 in Los Angeles hosted by the lovely Jannelle So.

The Philippine American Bar Association of Los Angeles (PABA) and the PABA Foundation have confirmed that Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao will be attending the organizations' annual installation dinner and personally accept the PABA Foundation's 2009 Kababayan Award. The Kababayan Award honors those Filipinos who inspire others through their accomplishments and service to the Filipino community. Manny's success in the ring, as well as his lesser known philanthropic efforts, have inspired millions of Filipinos and others worldwide.

Also receiving awards from PABA will be California State Bar President Holly Fujie (Distinguished Advocate for Diversity Award), Assemblyman Warren Furutani (Distinguished Community Service Award) and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley (Distinguished Leadership Award).

Pacquiao, Fujie, Furutani, and Cooley will receive their awards at the 2009 PABA Installation and PABA Foundation Awards Dinner, to be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows in Beverly Hills, California, on March 11, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. Channel 7 Eyewitness News (ABC) Health Specialist Denise Dador will be the emcee.

Although PABA is increasing capacity for the event, seating remains limited. The event invitation, with RSVP form, can be downloaded here. RSVP forms should be submitted immediately to incoming PABA President-Elect Angeli Aragon via e-mail (aaragon@hinshawlaw.com) or fax (310) 909-8001. Individuals responding on or after March 6, 2009 should bring checks for their admission on the night of the event, payable to “PABA Foundation.”

The manner in which we view television programs has changed. The advent of digital video recorders like Tivo means that viewers are regularly "copying" content. While copying for personal use has been upheld by the courts, new technologies allowing cable companies to provide digital video recorders from a remote, central location have given rise to a number of cases across the country.

In August 2008, the Second Circuit considered the issue of whether such a "remote digital recorder" violated content providers' copyrights. That court reversed a ruling in the Southern District of New York and held that these remote DVRs did not infringe upon the providers' rights. However, just last month, the United States Supreme Court requested the government to weigh in on the issue -- requesting that the Solicitor General submit a brief to express the government's view of the law.

Should content providers really be complaining about a DVR system which appears to be more secure against piracy? Stay tuned to see if your cable's DVR will be upheld to be legal.

In my prior post about protecting celebrities and their reputation, I commented on the defamation lawsuit that Roger Clemens brought against his former trainer, Brian McNamee. Clemens sued McNamee over McNamee's statements to investigators led by former Senator George Mitchell, as revealed in the infamous "Mitchell Report" concerning drug use in Major League Baseball, as well as statements McNamee made to Clemens' friend and Yankee teammate Andy Pettitte. As I previously wrote, a defamation lawsuit is a legitimate aggressive course of action to pursue -- but one which requires complete assurance that the factual and legal grounds of the case is solid, not just an expensive PR gambit.

On February 12, a federal judge in Houston dismissed the majority of Clemens' case against McNamee. Given the many embarrassing facts about Clemens' character and reputation that have been revealed, and now the order which effectively guts Clemens' case, the Clemens lawsuit is another example of that aggressive strategy gone awry.

In my recent post about protecting your reputation, I alluded to the recent trend of filing defamation (libel) cases in the UK because of that country's less restrictive burdens of proof. Lance Armstrong filed such a case over reports in the European press alleging that he used performance enhancing steroids during his incredible cycling career.

It's one thing for a celeb like Armstrong to sue the European press in the UK over a story. The problem comes when libel defendants in the US, who may not have the resources to defend themselves, are sued in the UK.

Here comes the US Congress to the rescue.

The fight over the rights to "Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire" reflects the same battle that has been fought time and again in Hollywood: when is a deal considered a deal. "Push" was the undisputed darling of the Sundance Film Festival last month. The film built up a steady buzz during the festival week. "Push" ultimately garnered the festival's US grand jury and audience prizes. And now, "Push" has spawned dueling lawsuits in New York and Los Angeles filed by the two suitors for North American distribution rights, The Weinstein Company (TWC) and Lionsgate.

So who knew that this drama -- about an illiterate African American teen in late '80s Harlem who is pregnant by her own father and abused by her mother -- could cause such a legal ruckus?

I am the President and CEO of the PABA Foundation and on the Board of Governors of the Philippine American Bar Association. This is a fun evening in which we pay homage to our heritage while honoring leaders of our community. We need and welcome your support. Please RSVP by downloading the formal invitation here. Hope to see you there.

The task of protecting celebrities from public humiliation is difficult and complex. In a recent post, I discussed strategies to protect celebrities and, in particular, the need to be absolutely sure about the true facts before embarking upon aggressive response strategies. Recent revelations about the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball illustrate the problems for celebrities facing scandalous allegations.

The way different players handle these difficult issues can provide lessons on how to deal with such accusations against any celeb.