WME vs. Level 1 lawsuit details

If that's true then either this law firm is even more of a podunk collection of nobodies than it looks like and the guy is a hack (which the notice 15 hours before appearance makes him look like), because I don't see how they could possibly pull in all that much at the door. I would've assumed loss of sponsorship would hurt them the most, and not having sources of footage anymore. Compare your average law firm's billing policy to the door you get from putting on a premiere and suing starts to look like a waste of a lot of money.

Publicity hurts more. Especially if you can work the parent company in there somehow and extend the boycott to other affiliates.
 
This is wrong. I don't know much about US Tort law but I do know you guys do NOT have a "loser pays winner's fees" rule like we do up here. Which is one reason I'd never do business down there.
 
What a joke!!! lets make sure no one shows up to the Boulder shows. They have no right to sue Berman or the level 1 crew, this is complete craziness and they are trying to grasp to an industry the is passing them up. I say f@*k em.
 
im sending this to them right now.

i would encourage you all to take 15 minutes to do something similar.

every single one of us knows Josh and everyone at Level 1 are great people.

first off I would like to state that I grew up going to see your movies at the beginning of each season with my family and before warren left your company, the movies were all outstanding. but over the past few years i have seen a rapid decline in the quality of the movies. half of your footage is bought from other companies and the shots that you as a company get are less than sub par. if you as a company want to stay in this game for very much longer you need to step it up. you need to target the younger market, and you are not. you are actually turning them away, and this lawsuit against a local colorado movie company is just icing on the cake. make no mistake, the freeskiing community already knows about this and is heavily flaming you and your brand for the legal actions you took against Josh Berman and level 1 productions, and the way in which you went about doing it. just in hearing this ludacris claim, you have lost a life long viewer of your movies and please trust that at your premier you hold every year at my college, I will be there protesting. its is utterly ridiculous that you have filed a defamation lawsuit against level 1 for using Warren's voice. they are the best, and i repeat best movie company in the state of Colorado. they have brought more colorado skiers into the professional spotlight that you have ever even attempted to. Josh Berman is a cinematic genius when it comes to ski moves, and you all would do well to get off your lazy asses and take a page out of his book. just because all of your employees suck at their jobs does not mean you have the right to go after someone whom the founder of your company, who may i remind you left under not so pleasant terms, has decided to work with. he obviously sees the quality, drive, and love of the sport in everyone involved in Level1. i would suggest you make a public apology as soon as possible to try to smooth some of this over. I am from the Gunnison Crested Butte area and most folks around here are firmilar with Mr. Berman. that being said I wouldn't even waste my time sending a premiere up here. you can trust that our skiing community will band together and boycott this film, and films to come. your response in kind to this letter would be greatly appreciated.

Yours in Shred
 
WME seems like a fucking scum of a company.

Props to Berman to making THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME. Truly mind-blowing.

Support Level 1 and Josh Berman!
 
i said most likely and this is why.............. should WME's lawsuit be dismissed as frivolous then that immediately opens the door for Level 1 to counter sue to recoup their legal fees. once the original suit is labeled as frivolous and Level 1 committed no wrong doing then they should easily be able to win their counter claim.

again it all depends on if Level 1 wins the lawsuit against WME. from the facts that have been spilled onto this website it looks like they may have a pretty good shot. in any event we should all support Level 1 and buy something from their website even if its just a sticker pack!
 
Which I believe would involve, at minimum, bad faith. You have to have a COA for a countersuit just like you do a normal lawsuit. But this is stupid, none of you have ANY idea what you're talking about and I don't know much at all about the US system. Arguments on the internet about the law are pointless and misleading. If L1P wants to know what to do, they will make an appointment and talk to a lawyer in person, which I'm almost sure is what they're doing today.
 
This is ridiculous. All the best to Berman. Maybe MSP should figure out a way to sue WME because the Children of Winter (or whatever last year's flick was) poster/video cover was a shot of TJ from an exclusive MSP shoot the year before.
 
If Jiberish and Level One make a collab shirt this season, is should just say FUCK WME in really big letters. I'd pay 32 bucks for that.
 
Uh, no we don't. Quebec has a civil law system. The rest of Canada is common law, and unlike the US all our laws actually ARE inherited from England, some are even still in force.

An IP matter is a matter of civil wrong, so I used the word "tort" to describe it generally, but of course IP will be governed by the applicable statute (probably a trademarks act). There can't be a copyright infringement because, obviously, Refresh is a completely original work.
 
From the book, "Civil Litigation" By Laurence M. Olivo, Mary Ann Kelly, "Although there are exceptions, a judge usually orders the losing side to pay part of the legal costs of the winning side. "the jurisdiction of the court to award costs is provided in s. 131 of the Courts Justice Act. The amount of costs or whether costs are awarded at all are all matters totally in the discretion of the court. Although costs usually "follow the event" (that is, are awarded to the winner) the court sometimes awards costs or denies costs to express its disapproval of the way that one of the parties has conducted itself during the rpoceeding (rule 57.01(2)). For instance, if parties have prolonged the proceedings unnescessarily the court may refuse to award them costs, even if they have won the case. Moreover, dpending on the severity of the conduct during the litigation the court may even order the winner party to pay costs to the losing side"
 
ha ha - i think you'll have to join the line of NS ers....

Anyone had a response from their emails yet?
 
So, one good thing to do if you like to boycot or protest WME is check on their site for local tour dates. Gather info on the company and make flyers. Hand them out in front of the theater or post them up around the area of the theater. As long as the facts are correct their is nothing they can do for you.

Remember you never want to do anything that maybe considered slander or lies. I notices in MA there are 7 tour stops, one at Berklee in Boston. (http://www.skinet.com/warrenmiller/events/ma).

I hope L1P comes out on top and makes WME look like another greedy company.
 
watch yourself, im in my third year of law classes, im focusing more on business law and the uniform commercial code, but that doesn't mean i don't know my shit. i would say that level 1 will be fine under their first amendment rights to freedom of speech, in reading my law book now, they have privilege to any uncopywrited material. that is to say you copyright everything someone says. anyone can say anything at anytime, and taking what they say and using it is not copyright infringement so long as the phrase, or phrases are not copyrighted.i highly doubt WME copyrights everything wren says. though they do have rights to all audio from past movies, hence why they use them so much in their movies now, if warren wants to go contribute to another company on his own accord, he is legally able to do so. if you want me to give you exactly what the first amendment does and does not state, i can do that for you. but this is in more laymens terms. you dont want the legal jargan, trrust me. also, in regards to property law, which most certainly will come up, warrens voice is not a set of legally enforceable interests because he is no longer associated with WME.
 
im working with business law by smith and roberson 14th edition. it is the exact same text used in the harvard law school. its a great book to have around.

P.S. the burden of proof is on the plantif. i.e. WME

this interest me cause i doubt they have even seen the movie. bt who knows, maybe they have?
 
So you're an undergrad taking an undergraduate business law survey course? Your business law textbook is not even an introductory resource to copyright and trademark law.

Unless you are in law school, and have taken an IP class, you know absolutely nothing whatsoever.

Even if you ARE in law school, and have taken an IP class, you know next to nothing.

Neither of us know anywhere near enough to make a meaningful contribution to a discussion of the law in this area.
 
i know exactly what i'm talking about. muammar gadhafi of libya has just claimed that it was actually L1's fault that JFK got shot up, AND has announced his support for WME and their commitment against the 'terror council'. this is some serious shit.

fuckin gadhafi.
 
why does it always have to assumed that everyone on here is a 15 year old know it all. Ive taken my fair share of business law classes. im not trying to argue with anyone on here nor trying to give Level 1 advice that they dont need. of course they will hire a lawyer and take the necessary steps to defend.

i was just trying to state that its probably going to a rough ride but should they win they probably have a fair shot at recouping their out of pocket expenses. i think thats a reasonable assumption.
 
So i really hope this doesnt become a line anthem issue!, I want refresh and i'll be rip shit if level1 has to bail on production to avoid insurmountable legal fees.

Not gonna lie, my dad and i used to go every year to a warren miller premeier. The movies were average but it was just a tradition for us. That tradition ended this year
 
regardless of what you may believe i have an excellent knowledge of the us legal system, my professor is one of the most successful trial lawyers in the state of colorado and i will tell you that what i have learned in his classes, is so much more relevant than what most business law classes learn. the guy is seriously my favorite teacher because he wants us to know the important things like this, not just the basics. with my outlines in hand and my book, i guarantee you that i could sort myself through most legal matters. save international law.

im not saying im as good as a lawyer at all. let me make that clear.

but i think the explanations i have put forward are more than sufficient to explain to the people on this website what is going on.
 
i agree, i would hope that level one seeks real legal council on this matter. its that pressing of an issue for sure. im just trying to make light of it for kids who are not in the know.

like i said, i am not a lawyer, so take my legal advice with a grain of salt.
 
sorry dude. i have the fucking swine flu and i just woke up and started writing. im FUCKED up on drugs right now. who gives a shit how professional it looks going to a company like that. the message is what is important.
 
I say sticky.......we need to ban together to support a ski industry that reflects us. Not the Bull that WME puts out.
 
Here is my letter to WME:
I am a ski movie enthusiast and have been for many years. As a ski bum, I identified with many Warren Miller classics. Recently, however, I've felt as though your films are out of touch with our community. From buying other company's B-footage to neglecting where sport has moved to using washed up athletes instead of Warren for your voice-overs, it seems to me like you think pretty highly of yourself to do such a poor job and charge as much as you do to see your films.
And then you sue Level 1 because Warren Miller the person realizes as such and wants to protect his legacy? Once again, you've just demonstrated how incredibly out of touch you are with the real ski and snowboard communities. I support Warren and Level 1's effort to create a true ski movie. I wish you would too, either by creating quality products or letting them do their thing.
This season, I will put my money where my mouth is. I intend to see Refresh, buy the DVD and encourage my friends to do so. In addition, I will boycott Dynasty and encourage my friends to do the same until you prove you are worthy of my dollars again.
Thanks for proving what I have long suspected,Jeff
 
mine:

Your company has lost whatever credibility it had left (not much). Josh Berman and Level 1 Productions have for years made films that capture the creativity, camaraderie and overall enjoyment of the sport. Your company has not made a legitimate ski movie for a decade. You should be ashamed of yourselves for attempting to halt the progression and exposure of our sport. The future of skiing lies in the hands of people like Josh Berman, and him including a legend such as Mr. Miller in his film would have done nothing but make the next generation of skiers curious about this man. It would have most likely led to an increase in the circulation of whatever terrible movie you have made this year, however, the damage you have done to your reputation will not be repaired with the new generation of skiers.

I was at the Level 1 world premiere in Denver recently, and I can assure you that there was a genuine excitement in the crowd when Mr. Miller's voice was first heard. No one was thinking "Man, this really damages WME's reputation." The general consensus was how great it was that a legend of the industry was reaching out to a new generation. Perhaps if your company understood where the sport is heading, you would realize that Miller's voice in a Level 1 movie is the best thing to happen to your company in who knows how long because no one pays attention to your company except gapers from New Jersey and Texas. If your company sincerely cared about the sport, you would drop this ridiculous lawsuit now and pay Mr. Berman and Level 1 Productions a hefty sum of money for the best advertising your company has received in years.
 
Wow. I just couldn't believe this yesterday. Hopefully this one of those stories that's just too ridiculously asinine to not garner a lot of bad press for WME. Some newspaper will pick up on it.
 
I'm all up for financially helping L1P by buying their product, but how likely is it that I preorder Refreshe and not receive it seeing as they might suspend shipment of the film due to this pending lawsuit?

 
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