So Sue Me...

Artist Shepard Fairey has admitted that he lied in court about which Associated Press photo was the basis for his famous Barack Obama posters, then fabricated evidence to support the lie. The AP alleged that Fairey used this photo:

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When news hit last month that a local porn actress had tested positive for HIV, it caused the typical panic in the adult industry. Less predictably, it ignited a legal battle between the adult industry and the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA). After the government agency's push for the health clinic that conducted the HIV test on the porn actress to reveal her identity, the performer has filed suit against Cal-OSHA to protect her privacy. AVN.com has details:

Although AVN has been unable to obtain copies of the suit papers, reliable sources have said that the basis of the lawsuit is that "Patient Zero," the porn star whose HIV test came back as positive on June 6, has become aware of actions taken by Cal-OSHA to attempt to learn the person's identity, including but not limited to serving an administrative subpoena on AIM [the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation], which was the clinic which drew the blood for Patient Zero's HIV test.

However, both the privacy provisions of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as well as California's own Health and Safety Code, make it illegal for OSHA even to ask for either the identity of Patient Zero or any information that could lead to the disclosure of his/her identity, and the California code makes it a crime for AIM to provide that information, even if served with a court order to do so.

Seems porn actors have rights just like the rest of us. Imagine that.

Previously on FBLA:
HIV Case Underscores Power Struggle Between Porn Industry And Health Department

A settlement has been reached between prosecutors and Chris Brown. Brown won't do any jail time for "allegedly" beating the crap out of his former girlfriend Rihanna. From the AP:

Chris Brown has plead guilty to one count of felony assault on pop star Rihanna.

Brown entered his plea before a preliminary hearing was scheduled to start in Los Angeles on Monday. Brown is in the process of waiving his rights.

Brown's alleged victim, Rihanna, had been on standby to testify on Monday.

Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos (GEHR'-uh-gohs), says the deal includes five years of supervised probation and six months of community labor.

The iconic Obama poster created by last year by local street artist Shepard Fairey blurred the line between political propaganda and modern art, and earned it's creator much-deserved worldwide attention. It also inspired the Associated Press to hire lawyers. The poster is based on a photograph taken in April of 2006 by photographer Mannie Garcia on assignment for the AP. The AP owns the copyright to the photo, and believes they are entitled to credit and compensation for its use. Fairey's attorney sees things a little differently. From an article by, well, the AP:

"We believe fair use protects Shepard's right to do what he did here," said Fairey's lawyer, Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University. "It wouldn't be appropriate to comment beyond that at this time because we are in discussions about this with the AP."

Fair use is a legal concept that allows exceptions to copyright law, based on several factors, including how much of the original is used and what the new work is used for.

We encourage you all to create your own Shepard Fairey-style posters with copyrighted AP images using the nifty little program here.

Peter Letterese, who filed a $265 million lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and Tom Cruise, just won't let the Scientols alone.

Now, he's offering to reimburse (press release here) anyone as much as $100 million (out of his lawsuit settlement) who feels Scientology stole from them or even misled them.

"I have been thinking for some time...concerning thousands and thousands, perhaps millions of people who have stated that they severely regret having placed their trust in (L. Ron) Hubbard and Scientology only to have been...both lied to as well as defrauded by Scientology across the world over many decadeds," Letterese railed.

The ex-Scientologist wants to make whatever earnings he may glean from the Church available to reimburse "lost savings or college funds, to rescue overstressed mortgages or help rectify any other financial crisis which their 'investment' in Scientology may have or contributed to."

Nobody is quite convinced that Letterese will win in court, but if he does, it may be party central in Florida.

He includes his personal email in case you're interested: endjudicialabuse@aol.com.

One of FBLA's favorite actors stands accused in Las Vegas of attacking a paparazzi last August, according to blackvoices.com.

Mos Def, who gave stellar turns in films like "The Italian Job" with Mark Wahlberg, "Something the Lord Made" opposite Alan Rickman and "16 Blocks" with Bruce Willis, went ballistic on a fashion photogapher at Vegas's annual Men's Apparel and Garment Industry Convention. It was unclear what provoked him.

Allegedly, Mos snatched photographer Volker Corell's camera from around his neck before smashing it to the ground and taking off with the busted equipment. And apparently the photographer was left with a cut on his left hand following the incident.

A warrant was issued Mos Def's arrest in Las Vegas.

He faces faces charges of felony robbery and malicious destruction of private property.

First we are not a celebrity gossip site. We don't actually care about Britney Spears. We care about the people covering Britney Spears...in theory. Anyway, we posted about the Verne Troyer sex tape because the woman in it looked slightly like Mayrav Saar - which was/is hilarious.

Then we got a letter from Troyer's lawyer saying that the image we had up was a violation of his privacy. TMZ was getting sued by Verne for releasing the tape. We talked to our lawyers and took the image down.

Then we emailed Troyer's lawyer and asked:

Do you think that someone that makes a sex tape actually has a reasonable expectation of privacy? Really? It seems to be the number one reason for not making a sex tape and especially not a copy of said tape. Don't you think?

We have yet to hear back - but if we do - we'll post it.

Anyway, today the tape and images are BACK on TMZ.com.

The dumb thing is - we don't care about Troyer or any one else's sex tape. Couldn't care less. And here we are miffed about being told to take down images when another site doesn't have to or just won't.

The moral of the story is: You know your throw away joke has horribly backfired when you are sent a temporary restraining order.

Yep, LA's infamous private dick is going to have to tap behind bars for the next 8-10.

LAT has the full story.

Everyone wants to be a celebrity assistant, but some celebs don't want to play along. Gabrielle Union's suing some Georgia-based pranksters who advertised, via Craigslist, for an worker bee to assist the actress.

Here's the sad part--no one, other than a friend, answered the ad.

Union did not have such a staff opening, does not know the defendants and never authorized them to act on her behalf, the complaint says.

But who can blame her for being touchy? She'd survived a brutal attack back when she was 19, (thanks to the lessons she learned from watching Oprah).

Allison Hope Weiner might want to do some research into the curious case of Jim Taricani, the Providence, RI investigative reporter who did 6 months for refusing to name a source.

Weiner, readers may recall, got served a temporary restraining order aimed at stopping her from posting audio tapes of Anthony Pellicano and his clients on her HuffPost blog. The NY Times made the tapes available as well (Pellicano and his indicted lawyer Terry N. Christensen), but where's their TRO? Christensen's trial will start about a month after Pellicano's ends, and his legal team says that the tapes compromise his right to a fair trial.

The NYT has lawyers just sitting around, waiting for someone to try interfere with freedom of the press, but is the Huffington Post likely to stand by their blogger? Weiner's represented by Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. The hearing hasn't been scheduled yet.

While covering the Plunder Gate case of former Providence mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr, Tarcani received a surveillance tape from a source to whom he promised anonymity, and aired it, in defiance of a federal court order against the dissemination of such evidence. He was cited for contempt of court, fines ratcheted up, and he did 6 months of home confinement, with NBC underwriting his legal defense.

Robert Iafolla, writing in the LA Daily Journal, takes the "it can't happen here" tone. Weiner's CDs were subject to a protective order issued in April 2006, although she's not actually bound by that order. It's a safe bet that Pellicano didn't give them to her, and unlikely that she found them at a yard sale, so that leaves, oh, who knows? the defense team?

The whole motion is probably designed not to not put a gag order on Weiner but to get her testimony per the source of whoever actually violated the protective order. Or course, that puts the Huffington Post in an uncomfortable spot.

Earlier:
HuffPo Blogger Weiner Served --Restraining Order at Pellicano Trial