At Least One Disney Lawyer Needs to Be Launched Into the Sun

Aug 16, 2024

Donald Trump, a prominent political figure and current presidential candidate, joins the discussion to dive into his $100 million lawsuit against the U.S. over alleged privacy violations from an FBI search. The hosts humorously dissect the implications of his lawsuit during his campaign. They also explore a bizarre Disney case where corporate legal strategies are questioned after a tragic allergy incident, and they discuss the ongoing battles artists face regarding the unauthorized use of their music in political contexts.

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

A Legal Quagmire: Privacy, Politics, and Unprecedented Lawsuits

01:59 • 2min

Tragic Allergy Incident at Disney Restaurant Sparks Legal Concerns

03:39 • 3min

The Tragic Cost of Corporate Arbitration

06:40 • 12min

Legal Strategies and Musical Controversies

18:44 • 5min

Art, Misinterpretation, and Legal Battles in the Music Industry

23:19 • 2min

The Legal Labyrinth of Music Licensing

25:07 • 16min

Legal Ramifications of Cyberbullying in France

41:08 • 6min

Controversies in Sports and Social Discourse

47:10 • 2min

OA1060

This week Matt breaks down four very different legal actions:

1. Donald Trump is suing the United States--yes, the same United States that he is running to be the President of--for $100 million based on the FBI’s alleged violation of the Florida common law tort of “intrusion upon seclusion” in executing a valid search warrant on Mar-A-Lago two years ago. Is Trump just spiking the legal football after his big win in front of federal judge Aileen Cannon in Jack Smith’s documents case, or is there actually something worth talking about here?

2. Is the Walt Disney Corporation actually arguing that signing up for a 30-day trial of its Disney+ streaming service protects them from the tragically fatal consequences of negligence at a restaurant in its Disney Springs shopping center? Could that really be a thing that licensed attorneys wrote down, printed, reviewed, signed, and filed with a court? We consider what might be one of the most bizarrely evil defenses ever raised in a wrongful death suit.

3. Soul singer Isaac Hayes’s family has joined the dozens of artists who have spoken out against their music being used at Trump rallies, issuing a cease-and-desist letter to the campaign alleging that it has used Hayes’s song “Hold On! I’m Coming” at least 134 times even after being asked to stop. To what extent do artists have “moral rights” under US intellectual property law, and what alternatives are available to them when they don’t? We riffing on a particularly interesting failure to harmonize copyright and antitrust law.

4. French authorities have announced that they will investigate claims of cyberbullying against Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif, a ciswoman from Algeria who was harassed online by J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and many more of the world’s finest people with completely baseless claims that she was not a biological woman. We debate the merits of this uniquely European approach to criminalizing speech and marvel at the unmatched powers of TERF ideology to rot the human brain (and soul).

Hayes Enterprises cease and desist letter (8/11/2024)
BMI’s “Political Entity Licensing Terms”
“License to Rock,” Leah Scholnick, Cardozo Law Review (4/7/2022)
Doctor dies after eating dinner at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Disney Springs, lawsuit alleges | FOX 10 Phoenix (2/26/24)(includes full text of plaintiff’s complaint)