It has always been the practice of businesses and individuals alike to seek justice through the court system, when a party feels he or she has been wronged during the course of business. However we are entering a time where more and more artist and entertainers find themselves or their legal representatives in court defending or filling legal actions against other entertainers or entertainment businesses. Sometimes these cases are valid and need to be aired out through the courts so that both parties involved understand where they go from here to repair the situation.
I am sure many people recall the success of a little awkward film named Napoleon Dynamite. This off beat film made a splash at the Sundance film festival that landed the producers of the film a lucrative distribution deal and a hefty amount of cash according to an article by Eriq Gardner(2011). In his article Gardner states that the producers were promised a large percentage rate of the total net profits of the home sales, and have only been compensated at less than a third of what they were promised. All of this came out in an audit between the parties involved in 2008(Gardner, 2011). Could this have been resolved between the parties involved? It seems to me that maybe the producers tried to give the distribution company the opportunity to correct their actions before proceeding with legal action. It is only right if you have been promised compensation that you receive that compensation for the product or service that you have already provided, but what if there is some confusion about what your role, or obligations are to a company that has been representing you. That can cause a whole different set of problems, problems that Bruno Mars is now becoming familiar with.
According to an article written by Josuhua L. Weinstein(2011)the new crooner is riding high on his Grammy win, but is heading to court to sue his publisher. The company representing Mars initially to told him that he had fulfilled his obligations, and that if they were gonna continue to represent him the option would need to be extended from the company. However upon learning of Mars’s intention to leave they informed him that he had not fulfilled his obligations to the company. This by far is the worst kind of company or person to deal with in my opinion. It is for this reason that it is very important to be aware of what your obligations are to companies that you choose to let represent you, or to be fully aware of what an artist has agreed to. Fully educate yourself to some of the laws for your particular avenue of services or products provided in the entertainment industry. This will help protect you from frivolous lawsuits.
These lawsuits tend to come up when people feel wronged, but there is actually no legal ground from which to operate. However this does not mean it won’t make it to court or make the media circuit. Take for instance Lindsay Lohan Suing rapper Pit bull over his lyrics in a song. According to an article for KSFM radio by Big Al,(2011) the actress and her legal team are claiming “the lyrics, by virtue of its wide appeal, condemnation, excoriation, disparaging or defamatory statements by the defendants about the plaintiff are destined to do irreparable harm to the plaintiff.” (Al,2011) Unfortunately for Ms. Lohan the damage that has been done has occurred through her own actions and mere stating of her name tied to the fact that she has been to jail is not going to win her any quick cash, but who knows in this day and age people will settle out of court to avoid being taken through a long court process.
References
http://ksfm.radio.com/2011/08/21/pitbull-sued-by-lindsay-lohan-over-give-me-everything-lyrics/#comments
http://www.thewrap.com/music/article/bruno-mars-sues-his-publisher-30591
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/napoleon-dynamite-producers-sue-fox-230245
