Avvo’s Lawyers in the News.
1. Premier Exhibitions Inc. settled with the Attorney General of New York, Andrew Cuomo, this week, over their controversial “Bodies… The Exhibition”. Allegedly the cadavers, who are plasticized and formed in various positions, were Chinese prisoners, who were tortured and executed. The terms of the settlement are that the exhibit cannot obtain new bodies without proving the cause of death. “Respect for the dead and respect for the public requires that Premier do more than simply assure us that there is no reason for concern,” Cuomo said. “This settlement is a start.”
2. MGA, who created the Bratz doll, is now immersed in a lawsuit with the Mattel’s Barbie. Mattel claims that the rights to Bratz should be theirs, since the designer created the concept while he was a Mattel employee. Barbie sales have been down recently, even though they have done their best to revamp her during her mid-life crisis. People argue that Bratz is the more hip of the two choices… but who’s to say who will reign as queen in this battle of the plastic, pouty, hourglass figured, scantily clad dolls. Barbie is represented by John Quinn, and Bratz is represented by Tom Nolan.
3. The Rat City Rollergirls are up against Starbucks in a trademark scuffle. Starbucks has requested that the Rat City Rollergirls alter their logo, as it’s too similar to theirs. Yep, they both have circles within circles and a female in the middle and two stars. Rat City’s Lawyer, Quinn Heraty, asked Starbucks to support their local Seattle team, however the Rollergirls look a little too scary for Starbucks to associate themselves with. “Let’s resolve the issue, but that doesn’t mean that Starbucks owns all of the concentric circles in the world,” Heraty said. “It’s not like the word Starbucks is even unique. “They took that from ‘Moby Dick.’
