Sinking under legal bills, the Shaw Family Archives [SFA] has tentatively agreed to a 5-year, $3 million licensing deal with its arch-enemy–the estate of Marilyn Monroe–to pull itself out of bankruptcy. The deal would give the Monroe estate control over commercial licensing of hundreds of Monroe images shot by the late photographer Sam Shaw, and finally end protracted litigation between the two companies.

Under the terms of the proposal, the SFA would grant the Estate of Marilyn Monroe LLC “the sole and exclusive right and license” to exploit photographer Sam Shaw’s many images of Marilyn Monroe for commercial uses. The SFA would continue to license the Monroe photographs–including Shaw’s iconic “blowing skirt image of Monroe–for editorial, fine art and exhibition purposes.

Because the SFA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last summer, the agreement with the Monroe estate is subject to approval by a federal bankruptcy judge. A ruling is expected later this month.

In court papers seeking that approval, the SFA says, “the Agreement is critical to the [SFA's] effective reorganization as it ensures the longevity of the [SFA]  as a business by providing the [SFA] with tangible benefits, including: a minimum income that is more than the [SFA] has made in the last three (3) years…and ending most, if not all, of the litigation” between SFA and Monroe’s estate.

Melissa Stevens, operations manager for SFA, characterizes the deal as “a business arrangement that both parties feel will be mutually beneficial to the continued preservation and promotion of both Marilyn Monroe and Sam Shaw’s legacy.” (more…)

The Swedish photographer and reporter sentenced to 11-year jail terms in Ethiopia  last month are serving “in a a violent, disease-ridden place” where the inmates fight and sometimes cough up blood, according to a noted New York Times columnist.

The columnist, Nicholas D. Kristof, wrote about the plight of the two journalists over the weekend to draw attention to the tyranny and repression of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government. His report was based on an interview with the wife of the Swedish reporter, not his own first-hand account.

“[Reporter] Martin Schibbye, 31, and [photographer] Johan Persson, 29, share a narrow bed, one man’s head beside the other’s feet. Schibbye once woke up to find a rat mussing his hair,” Kristof wrote. “What was the two men’s crime? Their offense was courage. They sneaked into the Ogaden region to investigate reports of human rights abuses.”

The Ethiopian government has been battling insurgents in Ogaden, and has prohibited journalists from that region. Schibbye and Persson were caught traveling in the region last summer with opposition fighters. They were convicted at a show trial December 22 of supporting terrorism, and then sentenced to the long jail terms.

Kristof says Zenawi is making an example of the two Swedes to send a “Don’t you dare mess with me!” message to all foreign journalists.

“So the only proper response is a careful look at Meles’s worsening repression,” Kristof argues. “Sadly, this repression is abetted by acquiescence from Washington and by grants from aid organizations.”

He notes, however, that Schibbye and Persson are likely to be released “because of international pressure. But there will be no respite for the countless Ethiopians who face imprisonment, torture, and rape.”

Related:
Swedish Journalists Seek Pardon After Terrorism Conviction
Swedish Photographer, Reporter Convicted in Ethiopian Show Trial

Reporters Without Borders ranked the United States 47th on their 2011-2012 Press Freedom Index, down 27 places from the previous year, tied with Argentina and Romania.

“In the space of two months in the United States, more than 25 [journalists] were subjected to arrests and beatings at the hands of police who were quick to issue indictments for inappropriate behaviour, public nuisance or even lack of accreditation,” Reporters Without Borders wrote in their report. The US “owed its fall” to arrests and harassment related to coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the non-profit reporters’ rights group said.

The drop saw the US ranked just above Latvia, and Trinidad and Tobago, which fell 20 places due to a scandal involving the government spying on journalists.

In a statement released along with the index today, Reporters Without Borders noted that “Many media [around the world] paid dearly for their coverage of democratic aspirations or opposition movements…. Crackdown was the word of the year in 2011.”

In North African and Middle East, the Arab uprisings greatly affected the rankings of several nations. In Tunisia and Libya rose in the index as censorious regimes were deposed. Egypt, however, fell 39 places in the index due in part to “The hounding of foreign journalists for three days at the start of February, the interrogations, arrests and convictions of journalists and bloggers by military courts, and the searches without warrants,” the report said.

Syria and Yemen were already lowly ranked, so their crackdowns on demonstrations and journalists only caused them to sink a bit lower. Iran fell in the rankings to 175. China, “which has more journalists, bloggers and cyber-dissidents in prison than any other country,” the report notes, also ranked near the bottom of the index at 174.

Eritrea was the worst nation in the ranking for a fifth straight year, and its Horn of Africa neighbors Somalia and Sudan also received low rankings as part of an East African region where journalists are regularly subjected to violence, censorship and lengthy prison sentences served in awful conditions.

The Press Freedom Index is calculated using a scoring system based on a questionnaire distributed to partner organizations, a network of 150 correspondents around the world, and to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists.

For the full report and more on the creation of the index, see the full Reporters Without Borders release.

Related: New York Times Photographer Blocked by NYPD
Photogs Arrested in Raid on Occupy Protest at Zuccotti Park

Two Swedish journalists convicted in Ethiopia last month of supporting terrorism have decided not to appeal the decision, but ask instead for a pardon from the Ethiopian government.

Photojournalist Johan Persson and reporter Martin Schibbye were given 11-year jail sentences for December 27, several days after an Ethiopian judge declared them “guilty as charged.”

According to CNN International, the two journalists issued a statement that said: “There is a tradition of mercy and forgiveness in Ethiopia and we choose to rely on this tradition.”

Schibbye’s mother reportedly told CNN that the two journalists decided to seek a pardon on the advice of unnamed “experts.” They also felt their defense had fallen on deaf ears at trial, so they were not optimistic that an appeal would succeed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says on its Web site that “numerous accusatory public statements by state media and top government officials, including [Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles] Zenawi, appeared to predetermine the outcome of the trial.” CPJ has called for the release of the two journalists.

The Swedish government has also pressed Ethiopia to release the journalists. A Swedish government spokesman said that the journalists’ decision to seek a pardon “does not mean any change in our view that they were there working as journalists and that they should be released as soon as possible,” CNN also reports.

The two journalists were arrested last July in the contested Ogaden region of Ethiopia, where the government is fighting rebels–and restricting access by journalists. The journalists gained access with the help of the rebels, and were with them at the time of their arrest. The Ethiopian government classifies the rebels as terrorists.

The journalists admitted at their trial that they had entered the country illegally, but denied that they were aiding the rebels.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said on its Web site that Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government “is silencing news coverage through use of a far-reaching terrorism law.” Several other journalists have been jailed–three of them on “unsubstantiated terror charges,” CPJ says– attempting to cover the uprising in Ogaden, an oil-rich part of the country.

Related:
Swedish Photographer, Reporter Convicted in Ethiopian Show Trial

Photographer and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield is being sued for defamation by the subject of her new documentary, “The Queen of Versailles,” which is set to premier on the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Institute is also named in the suit, filed on January 10 in Florida District Court, as is Greenfield’s husband, Frank Evers, the executive producer of the film. The suit, which seeks $75,000 each from Greenfield and Sundance, as well as unspecified damages, was first reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.

The content of the film is not at issue; the lawsuit is over the press release for the film.

The plaintiff is timeshare developer David A. Siegel, whose family is the subject of Greenfield’s documentary. “The Queen of Versailles” tells the story of the billionaire Siegels as they attempt to build the biggest house in America, only to struggle as the economic downturn threatens their business and their 90,000-square-foot dream home.

The suit claims that the original press release made three false and defamatory statements: That “[the Siegel's] timeshare empire collapses”; that “[the Siegel's] house is foreclosed”; and that the film tells a “[rags-to-riches-to rags story."

Lawyers for Siegel took exception to the wording of the press release. It was amended and publications that covered the news, including The New York Times, were contacted to correct the information. However the suit alleges that the damage to Siegel's reputation, and that of his timeshare business, Westgate Resorts, LTD. had been done because the original description had already spread far and wide via the internet, appearing on more than 12,000 Web sites, according to the complaint. The suit also alleges that Greenfield kept the false description on her personal Web site after receiving notice from Siegel's lawyers.

"Taken individually and collectively, these [false] statements portray Siegel and Westgate as essentially broke and out of business,” argue Siegel’s lawyers, GreenspoonMarder, in the complaint.

The suit alleges that Siegel and Westgate Resorts have suffered damage to their reputation. It also states that “various owners” and “potential customers” have questioned the financial security of Westgate as a result of the press release.

The divorced guy who suffered public ridicule for suing his wedding photographer and insisting that photographer shoot a re-enactment of his 2003 wedding has spoken out in his own defense.

In reporting on the case, PDN Pulse suggested it was time for the ex-groom move on. But it seems his motive for suing is to hold a business to a pledge, not hold onto his broken marriage, according to a new AP report.

“It was their [the photographer's] failure to deliver after a promise and a handshake” agreement to retouch the photos, according to a statement he provided to The Associated Press, the wire service reports. “How could a business treat a customer this way?”

The ex-groom is Todd Remis of New York, who sued H&H Photographers in 2009 to re-create his wedding photos. H&H photographed his wedding in 2003. He and his ex-wife began divorce proceedings in 2008, and the divorce was final in 2010. Remis has lost contact with his ex-wife, Milena Grzibovska, and has said during court proceedings that he believes she moved back to Latvia, where she was from.

During a deposition he stated, “I need to have the wedding recreated exactly as it was so that the remaining 15 percent of the wedding that was not shot can be shot…so we would need to recreate everything to complete that.”

The New York Times reported Remis’s lawsuit and testimony in November. Remis was branded “Groomzilla” by the tabloids and became the butt of jokes and ridicule on the Web and television. He has declined to be interviewed by the media, including AP.

Related:
Long After Divorce, Groom Sues to Have Wedding Photos Recreated

In Eastman Kodak Company’s most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated January 3, 2012, the publicly traded company reported receiving notice from the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) warning that its stock was in danger of being delisted “because the average closing price of Kodak common shares was less than $1.00 over a consecutive 30-trading-day period.”

The one-time film giant has struggled to re-build its business as photography moves to digital imaging.

According to a report today on the Wall Street Journal Web site, Eastman Kodak Co. may file for bankruptcy if “in the coming weeks efforts to sell a trove of digital patents fall through.”

WSJ.com cited unnamed sources and noted that a spokesman for Kodak refused to comment on “market rumor or speculation.”

Kodak has six months to bring its minimum share price back above a dollar. In a press release (see the full Kodak press release below) about the NYSE notice, Kodak outlined factors that could prevent it from regaining share price compliance within a six-month period.

If Kodak does file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its proposal is accepted by a judge and its creditors, Chapter 11 bankruptcy would allow it to reorganize its finances and restructure its debts without liquidating its assets.

Filing for Chapter 11 would not result in Eastman Kodak Company common stock remaining listed on the NYSE. The company would have to be restructured and relisted. (more…)

The estate of rock ‘n roll photographer Jim Marshall has sued fashion designer John Varvatos for using photos of celebrity musicians without permission in store displays.

According to the lawsuit, Varvatos infringed Marshall’s copyright by reproducing prints of Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, BB King, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and several other rock stars without permission. Varvatos allegedly displayed those reproductions in his own stores, as well as in Bloomingdale’s stores in California and elsewhere.

Bloomindale’s is also named as a defendant in the case, which was filed in federal court in San Francisco on December 29. (more…)

Two months after she settled a copyright suit brought by photographer David LaChapelle, pop singer Rihanna once again has the blogosphere in an uproar. Recently, a LiveJournal blog posted screenshots from her new video, “You Da One,” alongside images by photographer Sølve Sundsbø. The scenes from the video show Rihanna in a bowl-cut wig wearing what appears to be a nude bodysuit with the shadows of various shapes projected on to her body. The shots are remarkably similar to editorial work Sundsbø has done, which Fashionista reported appeared in a 2008 issue of Numero magazine. Neither Rihanna nor Sundsbø, who is represented by Art+Commerce, have released statements regarding these latest accusations.

Earlier this year, Rihanna was sued by LaChapelle for copyright infringement, who claimed scenes from her video “S&M” borrowed heavily from various sadomasochistic images he’s made. The two reached an out-of-court settlement agreement, the terms of which were not disclosed.

Related articles:

Rihanna Settles Lawsuit with David LaChapelle

David LaChapelle Sues Rihanna for Infringement

An Ethiopian court has declared Swedish photojournalist Johan Persson and reporter Martin Schibbye guilty of supporting terrorism and entering the country illegally, according to an AFP report.

“Guilty as charged, period, unanimous vote,” the judge declared, according to the AFP story. The judge added that just because Persson and Schibbye are journalists doesn’t mean they didn’t engage in “criminal acts.”

“They have not been able to prove that they did not support terrorism,” the judge reportedly said.

Prosecutors are calling for 18-year jail terms, and sentencing is scheduled for December 27. (Editor’s note: See update, below.)

Persson and Schibye were arrested last July in the Ogaden region of the country. Ethiopian troops are currently fighting rebels in the oil-rich region and the government has barred journalists from the area. Schibbye and Persson, who is represented by the Swedish photo agency Kontinent, gained access to Ogaden with the help of a group of rebels that the Ethiopian government classifies as terrorists. Persson and Schibbye admitted at trial they had entered the country illegally, but vehemently denied they were aiding the rebels.

The ruling against them was handed down despite the evidence they presented to establish their bona fides as journalists, and despite prosecutors’ admission that video footage used against the journalists had been doctored (the footage reportedly was altered to make the journalists look as if they had been engaged in military training with the rebels).

Calling on Ethiopian authorities to release the journalists, Tom Rhodes, an East Africa consultant for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), says Persson and Schibbye were just doing their jobs. “Their trial is politicized and designed to curb any reporting on the sensitive Ogaden area.”

Amnesty International and the Swedish government have also called upon Ethiopian authorities to release the two journalists.

CPJ says Persson and Schibbye aren’t the only journalists to be charged by the Ethiopian government with serving as messengers for “terrorist” groups. A total of ten journalists have been charged  “with trumped up terrorism charges” since June 2011, according CPJ.

Update: A court in Ethiopia sentence Persson and Schibbye to 11 years in prison on December 27, the Swedish Foreign Ministry announced. Though the sentence was lighter than the 18-year sentence the prosecutor had sought, a spokesperson maintained the innocence of the journalists. “It is not fair that they are sentenced since they are journalists on a journalistic mission.”