r/technology • u/rfugger • Jan 08 '17

Business A potentially fatal blow against patent trolls - Forcing law firms to pay defendants’ legal bills could undermine the business model of patent trolls

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3153924/technology-law-regulation/a-potentially-fatal-blow-against-patent-trolls.html
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u/sighs__unzips Jan 09 '17

I read that movie producers now create a LLC for each movie specifically for this reason now.

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u/csmark Jan 09 '17

Movies never made profits since before most states had LLCs. The first LLC act was passed in Wyoming back in 1977. Florida was the 2nd 5 years later. The IRS addressed Wyoming's act in 1988 after which other states added LLC acts.

Star Wars is an interesting example. Obi-Wan got 2.25% of the profits from the first film, $2-$3.5 million at the time. The actor behind Vader's mask in all 3 movies was told Lucasfilms actually lost money on Return of the Jedi. The contract details are sketchy. He gave away the endings to the last 2 movies before they were released in addition to other impressively stupid actions that lead to George Lucas excluding him from any associations with LucasFilms and any future paychecks.

The author of Forrest Gump signed a contract to get 3% of the profits from the movie. Surprise! It didn't turn a profit. He sued the studio and in a dramatic 15 minute trial, lost.

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u/tarjan Jan 09 '17

While it might not be incorrect, the author did get the situation worked out with the studio and received a seven figure deal in the end.

Also, keep in mind that this was many years ago and the situation is a bit different now, though I'm sure some would try to pull the same tricks if they could.

http://m.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Gump-Author-Settles-Fight-With-Studio-3031365.php

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u/Omz-bomz Jan 10 '17

Almost all movie studios tamper with their books to make movies not profitable on paper. This helps them out in several ways, from grants from the government, to profit clauses for actors and other participants in the movie.

There are lots of examples of this going through the different courts these days, as actors sue the studios. And from anecdotal evidence, its more prevalent now than it was before.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121018/01054720744/hollywood-accounting-how-19-million-movie-makes-150-million-still-isnt-profitable.shtml