WME vs. Level 1 lawsuit details

yeah guys if you're gonna send emails to WME you could at least pretend to be something you're not, like don't say you support level 1 or anything, because then people will assume you're a human being and not some robot programmed to take both sides on every issue.
 
I know it's a slippery slope indeed, but can they really use that against level1. I mean if there was no direction from level 1 to do so, what is to stop me from making a sign telling who I'm upset with and who I support. It's free speech and protest right?? Why not give the full story to people your trying to deter from WME.
 
it probably wouldnt do shit in court but still this storey is getting some face time and face time is what freeskiing needs and it would be a shame to see the spot light on the extreamist one sided teen supporters of level one rather then say how great it is that a comunity can come together to call out a bad company just becuase what there doing is bad for the sport, not just level 1.i way to show that we support EVERY ONE BUT wme we all know that is the truth but if you boycott wme and say SUPPORT LEVEL 1 the "media" might see it as a cult following rather then a community united ya dig?
 
Yeah I was thinking more in the direction of using signs with stuff on it like you listed above. I wouldn't put anything on the signs that says anything about Level 1 Productions. I was wanting to put something on them that would be stating my stance as favorable to Level 1 Productions and the ski industry in general. So the examples you put are perfect, fo sho, since they are pro L1P but without mentioning their name.
 
double post, but i take that back. posting the in WME forum could be a waste of time. After reading through some of the topics, one being "Who is the greatest skier of all time?" not one person mentioned McConkey...they dont get it
 
WARRENMILLER.NET IS LEGITIMATELY OWNED MY WARREN HIMSELF. this is not the place to spam. it is his website for the warren miller foundation, which he legitimately owns and operates. warrenmiller.com is the website you want to visit to get your point across. this is thw WME website.
 
"I am talking about a full fledged, un-lubricated, assfucking of their brand and reputation"

Hahahaha, i hope WME gets fucked over in the long run for this, We have to make sure they do
 
It doesn't surprise me at all that this is happening. Its part of the business world. I have looked into the situation because I know people who know the owners Bonnier/WME. Apparently they still own the copyright to the "likes of Warren Miller", which includes his voice, slogans, name, etc. When a company pays millions of dollars for that type of shit, and another company uses your copyrighted material without permission, you don't let it slide. If the lawyers had let this happen without doing anything then it sends the wrong type of message to other competitors/ the action sports film industry. WME is protecting their own ass.

I hate to say this, because it really does suck for Berman and Level 1, but WME is doing the smart thing. Also, i think it is important to point out that Warren Miller (the old guy) probably knew exactly what he was doing and that it was very unethical.

Its a horrible situation, and from what I have heard WME feels bad about it, but you really can't let this type of thing happen without standing up for yourself. Hopefully you NS'ers understand what I'm trying to convey and don't jump down my throat.
 
yea we all know that WME has the rights to warren's voice, but i mean come on. thats just so they can put in recordings of warren in their movies, but it just doesn't seem right that they would be so against warren working with someone else. i mean the guy started the company, the entire industry really, and you would think they would be able to let the guy do what he wants in his old age. and level 1 really didnt do anything wrong, it probably never even occurred to josh that WME would get so mad at the guy who gave everyone at WME their careers. poor josh
 
Are you sure you understand what is going on? Level 1 didn't use recordings of Warren Millers voice, they actually used Warren Miller unlike WME. WME owns copyrights to the recordings of Warren Millers voice.

Like JD has said I doubt any of us has any idea the legality of any of this. We're all biased towards Level 1 :) (WME is still a bunch of lying, cheating, bastards regardless of our bias)

 
corect me if im wrong but isnt shit like this what skiing is against. i always pictured our skiing community as people against major corperations taking over stuff. at im that way. whyt does WME think they are so fucking cool. their movies every year are the exact same thing anyway. wtf.
 
They own the right to his likenes, not just copyrights of the recordings. So the idea is that could expand to any marketing of his voice even if it was freshly recorded.
 
that's ridiculous, you can't own what Warren Miller says before he even says it unless he is saying it for you (unless the world is actually more fucked than i think it is). I think WME is overstepping the boundaries of their ownership.
 
The world is more fucked up than you think it is. Though it actually depends on the purpose for which the voice is used.
 
"Hello. I am writing to express my sadness and disappointment over your

recent legal action towards Level 1 Productions. Although I am 29

years old now and married with a new baby, I will always be a ski bum

at heart. While earning my B.A. in Business Administration, I learned

that protecting your brand is very important. In this way I understand

the motivation behind your actions. On so many other levels however, I

do not understand at all. Obviously I do not know all the details of

the situation, but I do know that Warren Miller (the human being)

should be able to participate in the sport he loves in any way he

chooses, including with small independent film makers such as Level 1.

If you guys (WME) have some sort of contract with Warren Miller where

he is prohibited from speaking in any other film (besides being sad...)

you should sue Warren Miller himself. Again, having a business degree

I realize how bad of a PR move this would be. It makes me sad that the

alternative seems to be to use your size to intimidate a small

film-maker into submission, at the expense of the greater skiing

community. Many many real skiers are not happy about this, and I

suspect soon you will realize the damage to your brand is being

compounded the further along you take this legal action. Please make

the smart business decision, drop these frivolous charges and continue

to build goodwill in the skiing community. Until then we will continue

to advise against your patronage and circulate this disappointing

result to everyone we know. "

just sent this to: feedback@warrenmiller.com

which came from the WME website. WRITE!
 
yeah i was looking at the premiere schedule/calender on level 1's site and saw that his wedding date was listed on there. that sucks soooo much for him having to deal with a lawsuit that could potentially (knock on wood) be devastating to the company he started and put so much work into.
 
Overall bad situation for Level 1. What were both parties thinking (Level 1 and Warren Miller) when they did this...I mean I hate this big corporation over the small one but they did fuck with the big name's brand. If there is a specific contract that states warren miller's voice is not to be used in another movie and it is still valid....then a few people are going to have to come up with some good explanations for why this happened.
 
well, how long was the voice thing, cuz if it was only a couple seconds it would be kinda gay to lawsuit that.

Plus i dont think a guys voice is gonna like make people like Level1 more than WME or something
 
south lake premier that night.... and MSP premier at Squaw.... fuuuuuuuuuuuck. that's a tough one, im not gonna lie.
 
Warren Miller the person will be getting involved and making a statement soon... Then you can see things from his and Level 1's POV, they havent came out with anything legal to defend themselves you will soon see the other side of the story
 
I would like to add that we should also look at this on the plus side too because I talked to a friend of mine who is a lawyer and he said that WME is simply giving Level 1 "free publicity" ......I thought that was VERY interesting. People who never knew that level 1 productions even existed are now going to find out. So hopefully Level 1 wins the lawsuit AND they get the free publicity!
 
This case has gotten attention even outside the ski world it came up in my media law class about when does someone own the rights to someones voice.... This suit is bigger than just a ski company vs a ski company.... No matter what this isn't going to be a clean fight... I really hope to see Berman come out of this not deciemated, even if I have some what negative feelings against some of his past business deals...
 
been a while since i've posted or even been on ns (the motorcycle forum gets my time in the summer...) but this seriously sucks.
 
review i wrote on wme's fan page:

I am a long time free skier and at the hearty age of 24, I have never been to your premiers in Boulder, nor have I seen one of your movies. I have no grounds to speak on you as a production company without first hand knowledge of your films ability to promote progression in free skiing. I can say, however, that I have bought level 1, pbp, and matchstick movies as well as those from many smaller companies over the years and I have to say these are the companies that are really keeping the sport on cutting edge. Your movies subscribe to older desk jockies who may have skied once or twice but never really had the feel for it. These people typically embrace your movies because it will make them feel connected in a way to the skiing community almost as if they had broken the cycle and ventured out for a few years after college or after catching a small break in the working world.

What you have done with your recent lawsuit, is in effect cut the cord to any chance of recovering some notoriety with skiing's younger generation. Not only have you failed to support and promote the ACTIONS of the legendary man who began and popularized the company, but you have also browbeat an up and coming company, who in all likelihood, will still continue to grow at the rate you had in decades past.

If i had more of a voice in writing, I would make sure your part in this debacle was known to many a weekend warrior as the greedy corporate scab on the skiing community that it really is. You don't need to worry about any "newschooler" fans. You will never win them back.

Good luck fuckheads. this is the interwebs
 
Well, obviously the only ones who really know all the details are WME and Berman, however, yes I do feel that I understand what is going on.....at least I do better than you! Check out this quote:

A 1995 agreement between WME and Miller submitted to the court states that “WME owns the exclusive right, in perpetuity, in all media, to the name, the personal endorsement, use of voice, and the likeness of Warren Miller, when used with its existing business, and the fruits of its related efforts.”

The above text was taken from an article from: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-4364-Skiing-Examiner~y2009m9d23-Warren-Miller-Entertainment-sues-Level-1-Productions-for-Refresh-ski-film

It says straight up: WME owns the "likeness" of Warren Miller as well as "use of voice". I may be wrong, but I think you are the one who doesnt know shit about whats going on.
 
actually... I dont' want to go into all of the reasoning...but Warren Miller Entertainment is not suing for any of the reasons you mentioned..they don't stand a chance with that contract in court..so they are suing on the grounds that Level 1 did irreversible damage to the WME name...
 
The reason you see that "irreversible damage" in there is because they're NOT trying to get money damages. The damage to the WME name is called depreciation of goodwill or dilution of goodwill, which is associated with trademark infringement (there's no copyright or contract issue in this context). A voice can be trademarked. But they put it that particular way ("irreversible damage") because in order to get an injunction (a court order, which in this case would mean no more premieres and all dvds would have to be re-edited to exclude Miller's voice) you need to prove that you've suffered damages that cannot be compensated monetarily. So that's that part of the analysis, at least.
 
i hate to say it but level 1 is gonna get totally fucked by this. But warren miller entertainment just fucked themselfves too
 
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