Bert Deixler: Last News

man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album “Nevermind.”Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the grunge rock group alleges that he has suffered “permanent harm” as the band and others profited from the image of him underwater in a swimming pool, appearing to grab for a dollar bill on a fish hook.The suit says the image violated federal laws on child sexual abuse material, although no criminal charges were ever sought.A federal judge in California threw out the lawsuit last year but allowed Elden to file a revised version, which the judge later dismissed on grounds that it was outside the 10-year statute of limitations of one of the laws used as a cause of action.Thursday’s decision by a three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in California reversed that ruling and sent the case back to the lower court.The appellate panel found that each republication of an image “may constitute a new personal injury” with a new deadline and cited the image’s appearance on a 30th-anniversary reissue of “Nevermind” in 2021.“The question whether the ‘Nevermind’ album cover meets the definition of child pornography is not at issue in this appeal,” the court wrote, according to the New York Times.In an email to The Associated Press, Nirvana attorney Bert Deixler called the ruling a “procedural setback.”“We will defend this meritless case with vigor and expect to prevail,” he wrote.The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Elden has.

Nirvana‘s second album ‘Nevermind’ (1991) constitutes child pornography has been dismissed by a US District Judge in Los Angeles.Spencer Elden, who appeared as a baby on the classic record’s front cover, had sought damages from the surviving members of the band (Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic) as well as the estate of Kurt Cobain, photographer Kirk Weddle, and numerous record labels.Elden, now 31-years-old, was four months old when he was photographed by Weddle for the artwork.The latest ruling will prevent Elden from filing a fourth lawsuit. Lawyers representing Nirvana have in turn claimed that the suit has come to a “final conclusion”, although Elden has said he will appeal.“In short, because it is undisputed that [Elden] did not file his complaint within ten years after he discovered a violation… the court concludes that his claim is untimely,” District Judge Fernando Olguin wrote (via Rolling Stone).“Because plaintiff had an opportunity to address the deficiencies in his complaint regarding the statute of limitations, the court is persuaded that it would be futile to afford plaintiff a fourth opportunity to file an amended complaint.”Bert Deixler, a lawyer for Nirvana, told Reuters: “We are pleased that this meritless case has been brought to a speedy final conclusion.”Stating that Elden “intends to appeal” the decision, his lawyer Margaret Mabie added: “Under this reading of the law, child pornography remedies vaporise once the victim in the contraband image turns 28 years old.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorAtlas Entertainment, which scored a box office hit this year with Sony Pictures’ “Uncharted,” has taken legal action to block a crypto firm from marketing a new coin tied to the movie based on the hit PlayStation video game.Atlas Entertainment insiders were shocked last month to see online references to an “Uncharted” coin with PR materials that referenced Atlas Entertainment, used the company’s logo and even referencing Atlas’ historic movie credits such as “The Dark Knight” and “Wonder Woman.”Last week, Atlas Entertainment attorney Bert Deixler, of Kendall, Brill & Kelly, sent a cease and desist letter to Net Savings Link and Silverbear Capital, two entities cited in the PR materials that alerted Atlas to the unauthorized use of its moniker. Net Savings Link issued a press release on April 6 announcing the launch of the UNCHARTED token, which asserted that “Uncharted is backed by Atlas Digital Entertainment, a subsidiary of Atlas Entertainment.” “This partnership intends to have NSAV and UNCHARTED explore the infinite possibilities of NFT as a creativity infrastructure and to subvert existing content and value sharing models with community co-creation,” the April 6 release stated.The release appears makes a subtle distinction in spelling the token in all capital letters, while references to Atlas use the conventional spelling with only a capital U.