Monthly Archives: July 2012

Happy Day for Former Sitcom Cast

TV turnaround

Queue the jukebox: the ol’ gang just got an increase in allowance.

Happy Days actors Anson Williams, Don Most, Marion Ross, Erin Moran, and the estate of the late Tom Bosley have settled with CBS and Paramount over a contract dispute from April, 2011.  Potsie and co. believed they had not received proper royalties for the sales of Happy Days merchandising that used their images, including comic books, T-shirts, and trading cards.  (Yes, nearly three decades after Happy Days aired its last episode, they still make comic books and trading cards with the characters.)  The actors’ contracts included clauses that gave 5% of proceeds from any merchandise holding their image and 2.5% if they’re shown as a group, but they claim that CBS and Paramount never included merchandise figures in revenue statements provided to the actors.  CBS and Paramount’s counterclaim was that, under a separate agreement with the Screen Actors Guild, the companies were allowed to use images from the show to promote sales of DVDs without paying the actors any extra royalties.

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Concussion Lawsuit may be the New England Patriots of Lawsuit Cases

Ominous metaphor

It can be assumed that one who takes part in violent activity is at risk of permanent injury.  In many cases, however, the reward is well worth the occupational health risks. This is a justification that can be seen as far back as Roman Gladiators, who won riches and celebrations across the Empire for their successes despite facing certain death for their failures.  The same holds true today, where aside from stunt drivers or Chris Brown’s girlfriend, a professional football player might be the most dangerous gig in the entertainment industry.  The shelf life of an NFL player, especially those at positions prone to poundings (such as running back), is only a few years. Players who have spent their lives honing their craft are given a very small timeframe to cash in on their talent and to position themselves financially for the future. Even if a player remains healthy, fatigue and athletic decline can be seen by the age of 30. Just ask the guy who drafts Chad Ochocinco in your fantasy league this year.

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Rabbi Takes A Sabbatical To Jail

Hung out to dry

Rabbi Mordchai Fish, of Brooklyn, New York, has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for laundering nearly a million dollars.  In early 2008, Fish accepted checks to charities in New York and New Jersey from admitted Ponzi schemer and FBI informant Solomon Dwek.  The charities, including Boyoner Gemilas Chesed, Beth Pinchas, and Levovous, are called “gemachs”, groups intended to give money to people in need.  Instead, the cash went straight back to Dwek, freshly laundered, with Fish keeping a nice 10% commission for himself in the process.  Too bad Dwek was wired up and handing Fish bait money provided by the FBI.  Over two years, Fish and Dwek, with the latter informing all the while, laundered more than $900,000, a crime punishable by a maximum 20 years in prison and fines up to $200,000.  Fish swam by the recommended 57-month sentence from Judge Joel Pisano, receiving a lower sentence because of his work in the Orthodox community.

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Apple Turnover: iPad Settlement Goes for $60 Million in China

iPad

Apple has agreed to pay a $60 million to a Chinese company to settle a lawsuit over the iPad trademark. Proview Technology will receive a small fraction of their original asking price of $400 million, which might help them recover from the fringe of insolvency.  Certainly not a bad pay day.  Although the technological terror that is Apple Inc. has plenty of money to throw around, I hope somebody lost their job for over-looking the fact that they trademarked the word “iPad” in every country except the largest one in the world.  More details and analysis after the jump.

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Dr. Drew Accepted GlaxoSmithKline’s Illegal Marketing Money

Tough pill to swallow

Sometimes legal settlements reveal more than just boring dollar amounts.  Last week, GlaxoSmithKline agreed to plead guilty to the illegal marketing of the prescription antidepressant Wellbutrin and pay $3 billion in criminal and civil fines.  This settlement followed a 9-year investigation into the company’s marketing practices by the federal government.  In the process, documents associated with the case revealed that TV physician Dr. Drew was among the “consultants” paid to do this illegal advertising.  So what did Glaxo do, and why was it so bad?  And why would a trusted name in science forsake his neutral and beneficial advice in the name of a pharmaceutical company’s profits (hint: it has to do with money)?  Find out after the break.

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