A California Sikh, Dr. Randeep Dhillon, has filed a lawsuit against Jay Leno, alleging that the Sikh community was the unfair butt of The Chin’s joke on the January 19^th episode of The Tonight Show.  The joke at issue portrayed Mitt Romney, the uber-wealthy Republican presidential candidate, as the summer resident of the Golden Temple of Amritsar—the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion.

Seizing on the buzz created by the release of Romney’s tax records for 2010-2011—when he earned $42.5 million in income—Leno mocked the candidate’s wealth by showing Newt Gingrich’s and Ron Paul’s homes, saving “Romney’s” gilded temple for the final zinger.  Romney’s net worth, an estimated $190 million to $250 million, makes him one of the all-time wealthiest candidates to ever run for the presidency, not to mention several zeros and commas ahead of the other Republican primary runners.

In the complaint, Dr. Dhillon seeks general and punitive damages for libel.  He claims that the joke “clearly exposes plaintiff, other Sikhs and their religion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy because it falsely portrays the holiest place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort owned by a non-Sikh.”  For Dr. Dhillon to be successful on his claim, he must prove the five elements of libel—publication, identification, defamation, fault, and injury.  Noticeably absent in the complaint, however, is any showing of how the clearly satirical dig at Romney has or will cause hatred, contempt, or ridicule towards Sikhs.  Dr. Dhillon will be hard-pressed argue that Leno’s portrayal of Romney defamed the Sikhs and caused anyone to actually believe that the Sikh Temple is the Mormon candidate’s summer residence.  Also, how many Tonight Show viewers would recognize the photo Leno briefly displayed as the Golden Temple of Amritsar or even connect it with the Sikh religion?  Dr. Dhillon is arguing not just a claim of personal libel, but a claim alleging injury to the Sikh religion as a whole.  Proving that Leno’s statements actually injured all Sikhs—in other words, that no one within the Sikh religion understood the true target of the joke—will be a nearly impossible hurdle.

IPLJ is proud to report that staffer Meredith Hatic has won second place in the New York State Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section’s 2011 Annual Law Student Writing Competition! Meredith is a 2L at Fordham and is planning on pursuing a career in entertainment law upon graduation.

Meredith’s paper examines whether and to what extent tattoos should be protected under copyright law.  As long as tattoos meet the statutory requirements, they should be afforded at least some copyright protection.  However, in light of the conflict between a copyright owner’s exclusive rights–for example, the exclusive right to prepare derivative works–and the constitutional right to control one’s own body, copyrighted tattoos should enjoy thinner protection under the 1976 Act.  Meredith argues that a solution to the conflict between an artist’s exclusive rights and a subject’s right to bodily autonomy seems to lie in contract law.  Either the artist and the subject should sign a written agreement before the creation of the tattoo to determine which parties will enjoy which exclusive rights, or the courts should recognize an implied license in the absence of a written agreement.

We really are so proud to have such a talented and insightful group of law students make up our IPLJ family.

Congratulations Meredith! Bravo!

This week, Twitter announced that it would block certain messages upon request in countries where they are deemed illegal. The new policy has sparked outrage among many users, who argue that it will cripple a vital outlet for free speech in countries with autocratic regimes. Twitter and other social media platforms played a crucial role in the uprisings of the Arab spring. On the other hand, Twitter users may be able to circumvent the controls by manually setting their location as “worldwide.” Twitter, along other social media platforms, played a crucial role in the uprisings of the Arab spring, but it remains to be seen whether the new policy will allow Twitter to continue its revolutionary role.

Special thanks to staffer Heather Crawford for the links!

PIPA and SOPA may be shutting down the Internet just in time– sales tax! boo!

Because a web pirate is one of those dangerous criminals we don’t want out on the street before trial. . .

What about a 3D Pirate?

This just might mean that Google = God, for better or worse.

Antivirus firm hacked and they didn’t even know it. Oh boy, what does that mean for the rest of us?

FBI being sued for shutting down Megaupload. Wonder who is gonna win this one. . .

Politicians not reading the terms of laws they support passing. Anyone surprised?

February 1st is Change Your Password day.

Kinda ridiculous: a designer tried to profit off of Jay-Z and Beyonce’s baby. USPTO immediately denies the trademark bid.

This drink sounds delicious gross.

Court finds a copyright trolling lawyer in contempt.

Poland considers anti-piracy treaty (considered by some to be worse than SOPA.) Protests ensue.

In the eye of the beholder: Judges acting as art critics to determine copyright issues.

Hollywood has had some crazy lawsuits over the years. Here’s 18 of ‘em.

That’s a wrap! Have a great weekend!

Thanks to Editor in Chief Jacqueline P. McMahon for the links!