Digital Media Law Project
Published on Digital Media Law Project (https://www.dmlp.org)

Home > Universal City Studios v. Lavandeira

Universal City Studios v. Lavandeira [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Mon, 09/10/2007 - 15:55

Summary

Threat Type: 

Lawsuit

Date: 

02/20/2007

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Settled (total)

Location: 

California

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Copyright Infringement
Celebrity gossip blogger, Mario Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton), posted topless photo of Jennifer Aniston on his blog. Universal City Studios claims that the photo was part of the production or post-production footage for the movie "The Break-Up." Universal filed a copyright infringement... read full description
Parties

Party Issuing Legal Threat: 

Universal City Studios Productions LLP

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Mario Lavandeira; John Does 1-10

Type of Party: 

Organization

Type of Party: 

Individual

Location of Party: 

  • California
  • Delaware

Location of Party: 

  • California

Legal Counsel: 

Edward Ruttenberg, Louis P. Petrich, Nicholas Morgan, Thomas Peistrup

Legal Counsel: 

Bryan Freedman
Description

Celebrity gossip blogger, Mario Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton), posted topless photo of Jennifer Aniston on his blog. Universal City Studios claims that the photo was part of the production or post-production footage for the movie "The Break-Up."

Universal filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on February 20, 2007. Lavandeira filed an answer on March 23, 2007 without moving to dismiss the complaint. The parties appear to be starting discovery.

Update:

11/01/2007 - The parties settled but no information regarding the settlement has been disclosed. 

Related Links: 

The "Smoking Gun" Posted an HTML Copy of the Complaint
[2]

Justia's HTML Copy of the Case Docket [3]

Perez Hilton Sued for Posting Topless Jennifer Aniston Photo [4]

MLRC's Legal Actions and Developments Involving Blogs [5]

Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

PerezHilton [6]

Content Type: 

  • Photo

Publication Medium: 

Blog

Subject Area: 

  • Copyright
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • California

Source of Law: 

  • United States

Court Name: 

United States District Court for the Central District of California

Court Type: 

Federal

Case Number: 

2:07CV01114

Relevant Documents: 

PDF icon 11-01-2007-Court Order Acknowledging Settlement.pdf [7]
CMLP Information (Private)

CMLP Notes: 

Updated 6/9/2008 - No complaint document available on Pacer; case settled, but no information disclosed about the details of the settlement. (JMC)

DMLP Logo


Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:02pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/universal-city-studios-v-lavandeira

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/universal-city-studios-v-lavandeira
[2] http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0221071aniston2.html
[3] http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-cacdce/case_no-2:2007cv01114/case_id-383367/
[4] http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-02-21-aniston-hilton_x.htm?POE=LIFISVA
[5] http://www.medialaw.org/bloggerlawsuits
[6] http://www.perezhilton.com
[7] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/11-01-2007-Court%20Order%20Acknowledging%20Settlement.pdf