Frank Chindamo. Writer/producer for ABC/Disney and their new “Micro-Mini Series” which will air in prime-time in 2004. His films have appeared on HBO, Showtime, CBS, A&E, Playboy, MTV and Comedy Central. A one-hour retrospective of his films aired on PBS in 1998. He is also currently teaching screenwriting at USC and film producing at the Art Institute of California.

Kevin Mills was retained as an expert witness in a lawsuit involving claims for invasion of privacy and misappropriation of name and likeness under both the common law and Civil Code sections 3344, et seq. The case is between a famous motorcycle X-rider, Clifford Adoptante and his former clothing sponsor, Russell Enterprises, and involves alleged use of the athlete's name and likeness in advertisements and promotional material which aired after the termination of their sponsorship agreement.

The Music Business Institute, as part of its Cutting Edge Entertainment Law Series, invited Kevin Mills to participate in its seminar held in New Orleans, LA entitled: “Indie Films: Development Through Distribution.” Mr. Mills appeared on the panel “The Write Stuff: Pitching, Options and Acquisitions of Literary Rights-Books, Screenplays, Life Stories” along with Grace Barry, Professor LSU Law School, and Christine Wiltz, author of “The Last Madam in New Orleans.” Also participating in the seminar was Michele LeBlanc, Esq., Howard Frumes, Esq. and Larry Tanz, CEO, LivePlanet (Project Greenlight).

How funny is that? A Los Angeles court has just awarded an unsuspecting victim $302,100 for injuries and emotional distress suffered during a prank pulled by Candid Camera at an airport security checkpoint. Reality programming sure can seem real sometimes.

The secret is out. Victoria's Secret sued Victor's Little Secret (a purveyor of prurient paraphernalia) for dilution of the distinctive quality of its famous trademark. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that since there was evidence only of a mental association between the names-and not of a lessening of consumer's ability to distinguish between them-summary judgment was not available to Victoria's Secret. However, Victoria's Secret may still present evidence of actual dilution at trial.

“Shiver me timbers”-Internet Pirates. The Economist magazine recently reported that as many as 500,000 illegal downloads of motion pictures occurs everyday. And it is reported that pirated DVDs are spreading into countries that have never before had a serious piracy problem, such as Britain and Australia. These factors promise to significantly impact the economics of the entertainment industry. Kaye & Mills is monitoring these developments closely so that we can better serve our clients in this changing environment.

Christopher Tuffin currently has two productions in principal photography: “2001 Maniacs” in Georgia and “Moscow Chill” in Russia. Confidentiality considerations prevent our giving additional information here but it is safe to say that you will be hearing much more about these films in the near future.

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