Intellectual Property Law

WalMart video scandal

and who at Wal Mart
failed to get the IP rights to the video UP FRONT???
Wake UP WalMart....
God is in the details....(or see the related story on WalMart selling bible action figures....)
see www.bbc.co.uk

Video embarrassment for Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart store
The footages shows Wal-Mart executives in unguarded moments

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, faces embarrassment and potential lawsuits after its corporate video archive was made public.

Flagler Productions, which worked for Wal-Mart for almost 30 years, has made its footage available to lawyers, unions and media organisations.

The archive includes clips of male store managers parading in drag.

Wal-Mart dropped Flagler in 2006 and only offered the firm $500,000 for the video library.

Flagler had asked for $150m before reducing its price to $145m, according to a letter on Wal-Mart's website.

The footage captures Wal-Mart executives and employees in closed meetings and unguarded moments.

A lawyer stumbled on the archive when representing a 12-year-old boy who suffered extensive burns after a gas canister bought at Wal-Mart exploded.

She found footage of employees joking and playing skits about exploding gas cans, reports said.

Flagler says that since Wal-Mart never signed a contract for its services, the rights to the tapes still belong to the production company.

Reports say the Kansas City-based firm is now charging $250 an hour for video research.

Wal-Mart has not commented on the ownership of the archive.

Full post as published by Idea Lawyer Blog on April 11, 2008 (boomark / email).