Darth Vader Passes Bar Exam, Witness Chokes Up
It’s been awhile since I did a Strange Suits post– here we go:
Inside Counsel Magazine has a monthly humor feature called Strange Suits: brief summaries of four unusual lawsuits, and a cartoon about one of them. They send me the descriptions, I sketch out ideas for each, they pick the one they like best.
Most recent winner: George Lucas challenged a United Kingdom court ruling that allowed the sale of replicas of the Stormtrooper helmets featured in his Star Wars films. Surprisingly, the U.K. Supreme Court rejected the challenge, ruling that the helmets were props, not sculptures. In the U.K., props only have copyright protection for 15 years. “Sculptures” have protection for 70 years.
Scroll down to see the rough sketches for the suits that weren’t selected.
Former Chicago Bulls basketball player Scottie Pippen decided to invest in a personal airplane. He named his company Air Pip. He lost millions, and the failed venture resulted in multiple lawsuits. In August, a Miami court awarded Pippin more than $2 million in a case involving a former business partner.
An Italian immigrant is suing tv celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich for $5 million. The plaintiff, also a chef, alleges that Bastianich lured her to America with promises that she’d be working alongside Bastianich. Instead, the woman claims she was forced to work, without pay, as a 24/7 home attendant for Bastianich’s elderly neighbor.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali is suing Kobo Inc., a Canadian company which makes and sells the eReader, an e-book reader similar to Amazon’s Kindle. The suit alleges that Kobo used Ali’s famous slogan “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” in a print ad for the eReader without permission. It claims the slogan is a registered trademark that Muhammad Ali Enterprises licenses to third parties. 
And here’s the original rough sketch for the Star Wars lawsuit.
What do you think? Did you have a favorite? Do you enjoy weird lawsuits? Hate ’em? Love ’em and hate ’em?? Hope you’ll leave a comment.
And if you enjoyed this post, I invite you to subscribe. Just click on the Subscribe button below the Portfolio Thumbnails in the sidebar at the top right of this page.
Mark Armstrong Illustration Specializing In Content Marketing Advertising Editorial Infographics Animation Videos and Social Media 
This is hilarious! 😀
LikeLike
Making you smile is my #1 priority– and may The Force be with you!! : )
LikeLike
Some of the wierd cases are far-out.
I was a law librarian for over 7 yrs., so I can relate to the law world culture. Also the judges’ world, since 1 of my job’s was working for a judges’ library.
There are judicial jokes or jokes pertaining to the judiciary. Some strange work situtations:
*A power failure through the whole of downtown Toronto. I was working inside the courthouse. The 3 judges hearing a case….did not evacuate the building. They continued to hear the case!
*Or the story of 1 judge our library served, who asked a lawyer to leave, who was presenting her case in court. Because her orange suit was too bright for him.
Anyway….it’s a whole legal world unto itself!
LikeLike
Always a pleasure, Jean, good to see you. Loved your anecdotes. The one about the lawyer who got the heave-ho for wearing the orange suit really made me laugh. If she ever wears it for a bicycle ride, she won’t have to worry about being visible to motorists!! Many thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
Honestly I needed to read this article many times to get the point. I am quite slow, LOL…
And now I can laugh loud….
Thanks, Mark!
LikeLike
Ah– you’ve taken exactly the right tack. It’s always best to approach these things slowly, let the mirth build up, and then simply roar with laughter!!
I heard you from here– what a lovely, merry sound is laughter! (yours, especially) Cheers, Inge!! : )
LikeLike
Yoda: It’s guilty you are.
Darth Vadar: (deep, unearthly breath) “I find your lack of faith disturbing” (right before strangling the witness for disagreeing with him.)
LikeLike
I always suspected you would make a good comedy writer– I can see I was right! : )
Live long and quipster!
Er… I mean, May the Jest be with you!! : )
LikeLike
Thanks for that. If corny humor and puns ever makes a comeback, I’m in. 🙂
LikeLike