Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Davos 2012
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Gregg Easterbrook
Nader Mousavizadeh
James Saft
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Money
Money Home
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Life & Culture
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Article
Comments (0)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Exclusive: North Korea's military to share power with Kim's heir
|
21 Dec 2011
North Korea's Kim "blocked the howling wind of history"
21 Dec 2011
Rooney Mara preps for stardom with "Dragon Tattoo"
21 Dec 2011
Banks gorge on ECB loans, market cheer short-lived
|
21 Dec 2011
Yahoo to weigh deals for Asian assets: sources
21 Dec 2011
Discussed
158
Ron Paul strongly defends anti-war policies
126
Slumping Gingrich promises sharper counter-punch
114
North Korea state TV says Kim Jong il has died
Watched
France warned over genocide vote
Wed, Dec 21 2011
Japan picks the F35 as regional uncertainty rises
Mon, Dec 19 2011
Jingle Cats brings a feline navidad for 2011 holidays
Wed, Dec 21 2011
Judge tosses lawsuit over Jimmy Kimmel sketch
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Analysis & Opinion
Record $285 ml fee award is Strine’s message to plaintiffs’ bar
YouTube’s new look: Web surfing meets channel surfing
Related Topics
Entertainment »
Fashion »
NEW YORK |
Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:31pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York court has dismissed a lawsuit by a man dubbed the "Flying Rabbi" against TV network ABC and late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" over its use of the man's image in a parody involving basketball star LeBron James.
At a taping for the ABC show on August 10, 2010, host Kimmel told audiences that James had met with Rabbi Yishayahu Yosef Pinto to seek "business advice" -- a meeting which had in fact occurred that month, according to the website TMZ.
Kimmel then told the audience he too met with Pinto, and he showed a video of himself in a car talking with an individual dressed in Jewish religious clothing and speaking in a different language.
In fact, Kimmel never spoke with Pinto. The footage of the conversation was assembled using a video of Kimmel in his car spliced together with footage of the plaintiff, Brooklyn, New York's David Sondik, taken from a series of YouTube videos showing Sondik greeting people on the street and talking animatedly. The videos refer to Sondik as the "flying rabbi."
Sondik, described as a "neighborhood character" by his attorney Robert Tolchin, objected to the show's use of his image. He sued in December 2010 accusing the Kimmel show of falsely presenting him as Pinto and failing to seek his permission before turning him into the butt of the joke.
Because "Jimmy Kimmel Live" is produced and filmed in California, Sondik sued under California law -- which recognizes a common-law right to sue based on an invasion of a person's right to privacy.
But in a ruling December 14, Justice David Schmidt disagreed and dismissed the suit, holding that it must be brought under New York law because Sondik lives in New York and the alleged injury took place in the state. New York law does not recognize common-law actions based on violations of privacy or publicity rights, Schmidt noted.
In his ruling Schmidt also said New York law allows unauthorized use of an individual's image for "newsworthy events or matters of public interest."
" review of the DVD of the segment supplied by defendants demonstrates that the clip of plaintiff at issue was used as a part of a comedic (or at least an attempted comedic) or satiric parody of Lebron James' meeting with Rabbi Pinto, itself undoubtedly an event that was newsworthy or of public interest," Schmidt wrote.
The judge also dismissed Sondik's claims of defamation against Kimmel.
"Even though plaintiff is not a public figure, there is no allegation in the complaint or inference that can be drawn from the DVD suggesting that the use of plaintiff's clip was mean-spirited or intended to injure such that its use would be excluded from First Amendment protection," Schmidt wrote.
Tolchin said his client intended to appeal the ruling that Kimmel's use was protected by the "newsworthiness" of the James story.
"A story about LeBron James and Rabbi Pinto is perfectly valid, you can put that on the news," Tolchin told Reuters in an interview. "But my client is a private citizen. Jimmy Kimmel took my client's image and said it was Rabbi Pinto, which he isn't. That's a lie."
"My client was the butt of the joke and made to look like a fool in front of millions of people," Tolchin said.
Calls to an attorney and a network representative for "Jimmy Kimmel Live" were not immediately returned Wednesday.
(Reporting by Jessica Dye; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
Follow us on Twitter @ReutersLegal
Entertainment
Fashion
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
Entertainment News From the Wrap
National Geographic Films Shutting Down, Say Insiders (Exclusive)
12:58am EST
The studio has brought in a scant $1.7 million in revenue this year, with five films in release including “The Last Lion,” “The First Grader,” “Life in a Day"
There Will Only Be 8 Oscar Best-Picture Nominees -- Here's Why
21 Dec 2011
We counted the Critics' Choice Movie Awards ballots the same way the Motion Picture Academy now tallies its votes and got some interesting results
Kris Humphries' New Basketball Contract Will Last Longer Than His Marriage
21 Dec 2011
Kim Kardashian's soon-to-be ex nabs a one-year, $8 million contract
Awards Buzz Spurs Early NYC Release for Tilda Swinton's 'Kevin'
21 Dec 2011
Oscilloscope psychological thriller "We Need to Talk About Kevin" will hit New York theaters Jan. 13
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.