It’s really, really cold out. I’m a New Englander who grew up with lots of snow and ice every winter, and I pride myself on my ability to stand up to even the most frigid temperatures. That being said, here in D.C. it was in the single digits when I walked to work this morning, and I’m really not okay with that. Luckily, a Kentucky town by the name of Harlan City thinks it has tracked down the culprit. It’s not climate change though, or a polar vortex. It’s Queen Elsa from the recent Disney blockbuster “Frozen.” In fact, Harlan City Police are so sure that she’s the one to blame that they’ve issued a “warrant” for her arrest. They’re taking the concept of a “cold spell” quite literally.

Anna is worried.

For those of you who somehow escaped 2013 without seeing the movie, it’s a story about two sisters from a fictional kingdom called Arendelle, most likely located somewhere in Northern Europe. The older sister, Elsa, has a variety of cold-related powers, including being able to inflict a deep freeze on her entire kingdom when she gets a little overwhelmed. Although everything ends up alright in the movie, the people of Arendelle certainly have an chilly few days while Elsa’s sister Anna works to reverse the cold snap.

The newest “Frozen” news came from Harlan City Police’s Facebook page, where they posted an “arrest warrant” for Queen Elsa of Arendelle. They described the “suspect” as follows:

Suspect is a blonde female last seen wearing a long blue dress and is known to burst into song ‘Let it Go!’ As you can see by the weather she is very dangerous. Do not attempt to apprehend her alone.

Harlan is a tiny city, with less than 2000 people. Apparently the police are right, too, it’s been getting very cold there; it was in the single digits yesterday.

The police are taking all the attention over their post in good stride. After the original post announcing the arrest warrant pretty much went viral, the department posted a follow up on its Facebook page, saying:

Wow. We were just having a little fun and didn’t expect this! It has been fun and we had to have a little fun after this week’s weather. But as a reminder, do take the precautions you need to keep you, your friends, family, neighbors and pets safe during the snow queen’s mad spell.

Frozen” was a huge phenomenon, and the hubbub still hasn’t died down. Actually, I’m sure some parents would totally support Elsa getting arrested just so they wouldn’t have to hear the song “Let it Go” ever again. Like this guy, for example, who is clearly pretty tired of the film:

Either way, this was definitely all in good fun, and a cute way for Harlan City Police Department to remind everyone to bundle up this winter. In the meantime:

Stay warm, everyone!

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Kentucky Town Issues Arrest Warrant for Elsa from “Frozen” appeared first on Law Street.

Last month fellow Law Street writer Joe Perry published a great article about Isabella Tanikumi, a writer who is suing Walt Disney Company for $250 million. For what you ask? Well, Tanikumi claims that Disney’s smash hit “Frozen” — the animated insta-classic that’s spawned a countless musical renditions (I suggest you check out this one and this one if you need a pick me up) — is based on her life as documented in her autobiography, “Living My Truth.”

This month the hilarious duo of YouTube personality Kevin and his grandma got into the Frozen game. Watch the video below to see Kevin convince his grandmother that Frozen is actually his life. Jump to the 0:25 mark to see Kevin’s grandma “recall” seeing Frozen character Ana the “ginger” at the house.

Can we not all relate to this type of conversation without grandparents? Too funny. Happy weekend!

Click here to read Joe Palmisano’s original article, “Author Sues Disney for $250 Million Claiming ‘Frozen’ is Based on Her Life.”

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Chelsey Goff (@cddg) is Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University in DC. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at cgoff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Joe Penniston via Flickr]

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Another Guy Claims Life is “Frozen,” But This One’s Hilarious appeared first on Law Street.

So, it seems the self-touted “fearless” leader of North Korea is suffering from some sort of ankle, foot, or other lower body-related ailment. Until footage surfaced of Kim Jong-un walking with a cane, he hadn’t been seen in over a month. He was last seen before his disappearance attending a ceremony commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the death of his grandfather, the first leader of North Korea.

His sudden absence kicked off a slew of strange, but somewhat positive events, including a high-status official admitting to the use of prison camps in North Korea. Prior to this statement conceding simply that they exist, North Korean officials denied it wholeheartedly. Admitting the truth is the first step to making progress.

While he was gone, political leaders from North and South Korea met to discuss the state of affairs between the enemy nations. They sat at the SAME table in the SAME room and even appeared to share a laugh about the SAME remark. Even a forced laugh is a step in the right direction as far as foreign relations go.

OMG, North Korea, you have the BEST sense of humor…

Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, was thought to be in charge of the country during his absence. This should have pleased feminists — “yay women in power” and all — despite the fact that she was probably just as bad as her brother.

Yes, the time of his unexplained absence could have been seen as a nice time. Theoretically, we could all look back on it as fondly as an old, single cat lady would reminisce about her senior prom. Unless she is a single cat lady by choice because she hates people, in which case her overbearing mother probably forced her to go to the prom in order to live vicariously through her daughter.

However, despite the good that occurred in his absence, the international community didn’t seem thrilled. Let’s all admit it, we sort of…missed Kim Jong-un. I mean, I sure did — it was tough to find things to poke fun at during his absence. The international media had a bit of a collective panic attack inquiring where the man could possibly BE!

Come back to me, Kim Jung Un!

Now our buddy Kim Jong-un is back, most likely along with his bull-like determination to thwart or prevent any positive relationships from forming between his “perfect” nation and other parts of the world. No one knows how to rule a kingdom of isolation better than he does. I think if he were to claim that Disney stole the plot for Frozen from his life, he would be more likely to win damages than that woman from the U.S. I mean, he is EXACTLY like Elsa in that they both run isolated kingdoms and have a sister. Woah, crazy similarities! North Korea is also cold. WHAT? Maybe he even has some powers to freeze things with his emotions and the media doesn’t know about it yet! Disney clearly based Elsa off of Kim Jong-un. Those creative thieves!

I digress…

Welcome back, Kim Jong-un! Time to start doing the crazy things for which you are known, so we all have something to make fun of. Maybe something a little more bonkers than usual to make up for lost time. It’s good to have him back, isn’t it?

Comedic gold

Marisa Mostek

Marisa Mostek loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post We Missed You, Kim Jong-un appeared first on Law Street.

If you’ve believed that motion pictures like “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” and “The Little Mermaid” were fictitious, which seems plausible since they’re, well, animated and also contain imaginary characters, then you may be sadly mistaken. According to a federal court complaint, Isabella Tanikumi, whose pseudonym is L. Amy Gonzales, has sued the Walt Disney Company for a whopping $250 million because Tanikumi believes that Disney plagiarized her life story in order to make its most successful animated film of all time, “Frozen.”

Tanikumi alleges that Disney took her life story from her autobiography, “Living My Truth.” Tanikumi claims that “Frozen” plagiarizes “Living My Truth” in 18 ways, including its plot, characters, and story. According to Fox News, the most interesting claims are that “Frozen” and “Living My Truth” both take place in the snow-covered mountains; the sisters’ Elsa and Anna in the movie have different colored hair, own horses, and love each other just like Isabella, the main character in the autobiography, and her sister; Isabella’s two love interests in the book are Hans and Christof, just like Anna’s romantic interests are Hans and Kristoff in “Frozen;” and Elsa’s sister, Anna, dies in an accident just like Isabella’s sister.

Moreover, Fox News reports that Tanikumi alleges that the movie’s now-famous soundtrack is plagiarized too because songwriters and the movie writers took portions of her life story to develop it.

When I think of Tanikumi’s lawsuit, the case that comes to mind is Nichols v. Universal Pictures. In that case, an author who wrote a play entitled “Abie’s Irish Rose” — which was about a young Jewish man who marries an Irish Catholic girl against the wishes of both of their fathers — alleged that the producers of “The Cohens and Kellys” — which was about a young Catholic man who marries a Jewish girl against their fathers’ wishes — infringed the play’s copyright. The doctrine that came out of Nichols is called “scenes a faire,” which is a French term meaning “a scene that must be made,” and refers to scenes and elements in a book or film that are obligatory for a genre. For example, westerns have protagonists who have guns, holsters, and ride horses, as well as an obligatory scene where the protagonist has a showdown with the antagonist, which are uncopyrightable because authors need those elements and scenes to create other western films and stories. The Nichols court said that as long as “The Cohens and Kellys” took “scenes a faire,” then they didn’t infringe the copyright of “Abie’s Irish Rose.”

In Tanikumi’s case, Disney may point to the “scenes a faire” doctrine of its coming-of-age tale to refute the writer’s claims. However, it is more likely that Disney will argue that Tanikumi has a “failure to state a claim,” which means that Tanikumi has no case because her life story is not “substantially similar” to “Frozen,” which is an element needed to prove copyright infringement.

I will be surprised to see if this case moves very far, but nevertheless, I will be eagerly watching to see the next development.

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Joseph Perry (@jperry325) is a 3L at St. John’s University whose goal is to become a publishing and media law attorney. He has interned at William Morris Endeavor, Rodale, Inc., Columbia University Press, and is currently interning at Hachette Book Group and volunteering at the Media Law Resource Center, which has given him insight into the legal aspects of the publishing and media industries.

Featured Image Courtesy of [Dawn Ashley via Flickr]

Joseph Perry

Joseph Perry is a graduate of St. John’s University School of Law whose goal is to become a publishing and media law attorney. He has interned at William Morris Endeavor, Rodale, Inc., Columbia University Press, and is currently interning at Hachette Book Group and volunteering at the Media Law Resource Center, which has given him insight into the legal aspects of the publishing and media industries. Contact Joe at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Author Sues Disney for $250 Million Claiming “Frozen” is Based on Her Life appeared first on Law Street.

Various companies with recent intellectual property disputes are taking us back for a nostalgic look at our 90s childhoods. Chances are that at least once in your life you witnessed a jungle gym proposal involving the iconic Ring Pop.

Topps Co., the distributor of the Ring Pop, filed suit on August 21 in New York against the Ohio-based Primary Colors Design Corp. claiming trademark infringement. Topps asserts that three months ago Primary Colors revealed a product too similar to the Ring Pop at the National Confectioners Association’s Candy and Snack Show. According to Topps, Primary Colors showcased the Valentine Ring Lollipop — a sugary candy gem mounted on a plastic base in the design of a ring.

Topps requests a court order that would ban Primary Colors from producing and selling the candy item, in addition to financial damages.

It looks like there may only be room for one candy jeweler on the playground. But in case you weren’t the romantic type but more of a young businessman, you may have found yourself trading Pokémon cards in the sand box.

Courtesy of Kate Haskell via Flickr

Last week, Pokémon Co. International sent a cease and desist notice to Shapeways Inc. demanding it halt sales of its 3-D printed planter, which resembles the Pokémon character Bulbasaur. Although Shapeways did not officially label the planter as a Pokémon character, calling it a “succulent monster” instead, more than one reference to the Pokémon franchise was included in the listing.

After receiving the notice, Shapeways removed the listing from its website, but Pokémon International  is “asking for all the money associated with this model.”

So as children, after summers of Ring Pop proposals and Pokémon transactions, when winter rolled around, Disney movies were the go-to form of entertainment.

Last month, Disney found itself in its own winter nightmare when it was unsuccessful in convincing a court in San Francisco to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit. Kelly Wilson, a California filmmaker, sued The Walt Disney Co. over a trailer for the popular new Disney movie Frozen. Wilson claimed that in the trailer, the snowman character Olaf too closely resembles a character in his film The Snowman.

Courtesy of HarshLight via Flickr

A federal judge denied Disney’s motion to dismiss this case, writing, “the sequence of events in both works, from start to finish, is too parallel to conclude that no reasonable juror could find the works substantially similar.”

Although Disney’s Frozen features the famous song “Let it Go” with the lyric, “No right, no wrong, no rules for me I’m free!” the lawsuit is likely to go to trial.

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Alexandra Badalamenti (@AlexBadalamenti) is a Jersey girl and soon-to-be graduate of Fordham University in Lincoln Center. She plans to enroll in law school next year to study Entertainment Law. On any given day, you’ll find her with big blonde hair, high heels, tall Nashville dreams, and holding a newspaper or venti latte.

Featured Image Courtesy of [Elizabeth Albert via Flickr] 

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