Legendary skateboard and music photographer Glen E. Friedman won a summary judgement last week in his copyright infringement lawsuit against Mr. Brainwash a.k.a. Thierry Guetta (star of the Banksy film Exit Through The Gift Shop), according to a story on The Hollywood Reporter. Friedman had sued Guetta because the “street artist” used Friedman’s iconic photo of Run D.M.C., (seen above in original and Mr. Brainwash version via Boing Boing) without permission. The judge seemed pretty logical on this one:
“To permit one artist the right to use without consequence the original creative and copyrighted work of another artist simply because that artist wished to create an alternative work would eviscerate any protection by the Copyright Act,” concludes Judge Pregerson. “Without such protection, artists would lack the ability to control the reproduction and public display of their work and, by extension, to justly benefit from their original creative work.”
Word. Now, all that is reportedly left is for the courts to decide how much Glen can recoup in damages. We’re guessing it will be quite a lot.
Forest Andrews, an 18-year-old skateboarder who was just hours away from graduation from Hood River Valley High School, died in a longboard crash Friday afternoon, June 10, 2011, according to a story on Oregon Live.
While skateboarding on a sloping Columbia Streetin Hood River early Friday afternoon, Forest Andrews hit a fork in the road at the same time as a semi heading the opposite direction, Hood River Patrol Officer Erin Mason said. . . Andrews jumped off his longboard and tripped while trying to slow down on foot. He rolled under the trailer and was run over.
We can’t even begin to image how Andrews’ parents must feel. Our thoughts are with them and his friends who have to begin summer with this great loss.
Vans, The North Face, and (oh, yeah) Reef parent company VF Corp announced today (June 13, 2011) that they are paying Timberland investors $43 a share for their stock in a buyout valued at approximately $2 billion.
“The Timberland(R) brand is synonymous with high quality outdoor footwear and apparel,” said Eric Wiseman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VF Corporation. “We believe the unique rugged outdoor positioning of the Timberland(R) brand will perfectly complement the premium, technical positioning of The North Face(R) brand, while the Smartwool(R) brand will provide us with a leadership position in a new category. This acquisition will continue the transformation of VF’s portfolio, propelling VF’s Outdoor & Action Sports businesses to 50% of total revenues.”
VF plans to increase Timberland’s sales by 10 percent bringing it close to $1.8 billion in 2011. And that’s how you add nearly $2 billion to annual sales. Follow the jump for the rest. [click to continue…]
It was pretty obvious during Street League Kansas City qualifiers that something big was going to have to happen is anyone wanted to take out Nyjah Huston during stop two of the 2011 Street League Tour. Chris Cole came pretty close. In fact, if it wasn’t for Nyjah’s last ditch Nollie Inward Heel Flip that $150,000 would have gone into Chris Cole’s wallet.
O’Neill regrets to announce the cancellation of the O’Neill CWC Canada for 2011. Extensive consultation and discussion with key event stakeholders, along with a short period to properly prepare for the event, has led to this decision. During preliminary planning it became clear a shorter than usual planning window jeopardized the success of a 2011 CWC in Nova Scotia.
For now it appears there will be no Cold Water Classic Canada. For more of the backstory click here and here.
It was difficult to know if Quiksilver’s new NFL collab is completely sincere or not. At first we sensed some sort of irony, but then we saw the gridiron overlaid on Pipeline and realized that we are just confused. Jocks, of course, won’t know the difference.
Ekstrom developed the first asymmetrical tail design in 1965, based on the idea that the board should better match the surfers own nonlinear stance. In 1988 Ekstrom and Windansea surfer Tom Lochtefeld began working on a stationary wave later dubbed the FlowRider, which made its public debut in a Texas waterpark in the summer of 1991. Ekstrom’s design influence can be found restaurants, military training helmets, Reebok shoes, and beyond. Ekstrom’s asymmetrical surfboard is enjoying a major resurgence with La Jolla surfer Richard Kenvin and the Hydrodynamica crew helping Ekstrom with R&D in and around San Diego environs.
In the competition shapers will be asked to shape anything they want as long as it is asymmetrical. Follow the jump for the rest of the details. [click to continue…]
PPR and Volcom announced today they have received “all necessary antitrust approvals applicable to PPR’s tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Volcom at a price of $24.50 per share in cash.”
The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of the remaining customary closing conditions. As previously announced, PPR’s tender offer for Volcom is currently scheduled to expire at 5:30 p.m., New York City time, on Thursday, June 16, 2011, unless further extended.
Guess that means the deal is still a go. Right? Follow the jump for all the info. [click to continue…]
An easy way to see how core mall retailer Zumiez markets their brand all summer is to watch the Zumiez Couch Tour live. Here it is live from Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah.
Even more interestingly (to us at least) it that this webcast is being produced by We Media Project, the webcasting company owned and operated by former pro snowboarders Tricia Byrnes, Jeff Greenwood, and Lisa Kosglow. Want to go live online with an event? Contact them here.
After six years at the Jarden Corp. (aka K2) it appears that former shred pro and “award winning snowboard product designer” Sean Tedore has made the move to Capita Super Corporation. And we couldn’t be happier for everyone involved.
At CAPiTA, Tedore takes on a multifaceted role of Product Development and US Marketing Manager. He will employ his design knowledge and engineering background on the snowboard development process and also utilize his network of marketing contacts, media and rider relationships, and strategize new ventures for CAPiTA marketing. . . Tedore had this to say about the change, “Blue and I have known each other a long time. We’re from the same area. I’ve always liked CAPiTA’s approach, and it just seemed like a natural progression to come here and work together.”
It’s good to see a talented, educated, snowboarder with deep roots make the move to a more independent snowboard-only brand. Follow the jump for the official details. [click to continue…]
