History Main / ScrewedByTheLawyers

* ''You've Been Trumped'' and its sequel ''You've Been Trumped Too'' are documentaries by British filmmaker Anthony Baxter describing the controversy surrounding the construction of a golf resort in on a beach in northern Scotland by real estate developer-turned-US President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, and the legal fights between Trump and the locals who opposed the golf course's construction. In both cases, Trump unsuccessfully strongarmed BBC and the filmmaker into not screening the films with legal threats and [[FrivolousLawsuit frivolous lawsuits]].

UsefulNotes/{{Copyright}} and UsefulNotes/{{Trademark}} law have gotten in the way of or forced cancellation for many works. No matter how [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal promising, popular or profitable]] a show is, it's still apt to get canceled if it would be ''illegal'' to keep broadcasting.

* Toys/{{Lego}} ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' took certain character names and concepts from various Polynesian cultures, mainly Maori. However, [[CommonKnowledge contrary to a widespread belief]] they did not try to trademark them. The closest they got to that was with the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance game ''Tales of the Tohunga'' -- unknown to LEGO at the time, the word Tohunga (usually defined as "expert" or "craftsman") carried a very culturally sensitive historical meaning (ostracized traditional healers and medical practitioners). Due to threats of legal action from Maori tribal groups, LEGO changed tack, replaced Tohunga with the made-up word Matoran, changed the game's title to ''Quest for the Toa'' and [[MyNaymeIs altered the spelling of many other names]]. With this they managed to avoid a lawsuit, but going forward, LEGO would instate their own legal procedure for creating ''BIONICLE'' names: each name was given an elaborate legal check that reportedly cost a whopping $10,000 per word. This ensured that they would not accidentally use words that had inconvenient double meanings in other languages. As well, nearly all Polynesian-influenced concepts like the deities Papu and Rangi (based on Papatūānuku and Ranginui) or the ritualistic Haka dances were wiped from canon before they were even introduced in media, and the entire ''BIONICLE'' franchise was reorganized behind the scenes to remove its spiritual or mystical elements.

* About the UsefulNotes/{{Ital|y}}ian [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]] set of painting of the ''Art/SevenVirtues'' (1470), the reason Creator/SandroBotticelli painted only one, ''Fortitude'', is because Piero del Pollaiolo wrestled the commission from him in his favor after contesting the choice of artist by the Tribunale di Mercanzia (the legal body that regulated craftsmanship guilds in UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra, arts included) of UsefulNotes/{{Florence}}. Pollaiolo then painted the six others.

* About the UsefulNotes/{{Ital|y}}ian [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]] set of painting of the ''Art/SevenVirtues'' (1470), the reason Creator/SandroBotticelli painted only one, ''Fortitude'', is because Piero del Pollaiolo wrestled the commission from him in his favor after contesting the choice of artist by the Tribunale di Mercanzia (the regulating organ of guilds in UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra, arts included) of UsefulNotes/{{Florence}}. Pollaiolo then painted the six others.

* About the UsefulNotes/{{Ital|y}}ian [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]] set of painting of the ''Art/SevenVirtues'' (1470), the reason Creator/SandroBotticelli painted only one, ''Fortitude'', is because Piero del Pollaiolo wrestled the commission from him in his favor after contesting the choice of artist by the Tribunale di Mercanzia of UsefulNotes/{{Florence}}. Pollaiolo then painted the six others.