Meaningless. The man is professionally known as Spike Lee. Just as Archibald Leach was known as Cary Grant, Julius Marx as Groucho, Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain, etc., etc. Any disclaimer would have to refer to him as such to make any sense or to have any hope of ameliorating confusion.
Ok, fine.
“Not associated with Shelton “Spike” Lee”
FranticMad added
Before you ascribe too much importance to that, you might visit Mr. Mark Roesler’s website. It’s the biggest piece of self-agrandizing puffery I"ve seen in a long time. Very professionally done(but, hey! That’s his JOB).
Roesler’s firm sued more than five other companies in the 1990’s about marketing merchandise with “X” as a logo. Spike Lee was just one of many. I’m not sure, but I think Lee agreed to pay a royalty to the estate of Malcom X on merchandise sold.
It was, in no way, about Spike Lee feeling “that other people’s monikers belong to him too.”
Who gives a fuck if the guy was a valedictorian? He also was a “roofer.” He sued, and all of the companies he sued ultimately settled with the estate. I doubt that there was a legal judgement by the courts. Nothing evil to see here. Move along.
Yeah, the point was to mock Lee, not to be a useful disclaimer.
No one. It’s called satire. The ironic implication is that valedictorians seem to enjoy launching lawsuits these days. There are other ironies, but it seems futile to explain them while you’re being so darn serious about a frivolous topic (i.e. Spike Lee’s apparent ego, not the meticulous details of law).
TNN should changes its name to “Shelton”
Spike Owen is still around, though.
Yep, bubkes.
Preliminary note - in NY, the Supreme Court is the lowest court, the trial court. The high court, which would be the Supreme Court in other states, is called the Court of Appeals.
Point the first - the judge has not determined that the case merits going to trial. The judge has only issued a temporary restraining order. There are still several opportunities to get this case bumped before trial, including motions to dismiss and for summary judgment.
Point the second - to get a TRO, you don’t need to put on any evidence about the alleged merits of your claim, except your own word. Further, you can get a TRO ex parte, that is, without even having to allow the other side an opportunity to be heard (though most New York judges will at least try to get the opposing attorney on the phone).
Point the third - the paramount issue at the TRO stage is not the merits of the claim, but instead whether, absent the TRO, the party seeking it will (if they eventually win) suffer an injury that cannot be compensated by money. Basically, the standard is that the judge assumes what the party seeking the TRO says is true (unless it’s completely ludicrous on its face), and then decides whether the alleged injury is nonmonetary.
So no, the judge hasn’t addressed the merits at all.
Sua
Now the first Spike gets into the act. 
Update: the State Supreme Court upheld Spike Lee’s injunction.
Can I just add that, whether or not Lee’s lawsuit has merit, I think “Spike” is a ridiculous name for a television network?
Sua. Thanks for explaining the intricacies of NY court terminology. It never occured to me that “Supreme Court”, whether in a state setting or a National one, would imply a court that was less than the highest court in that jurisdiction.
But, having read the Washington Post/Interrobang!? link, I’m even more confused.
The article says that
So, the five State Supreme Court justices are appellate judges?
Maybe it’s the beer.
Is NY just weird? Or did the article use incorrect language?
All the imaginative names have been taken. ABC, NBC, BBC – all gone and protected by copyright. Even Mulder wouldn’t say “Fox” until he was tortured by aliens. “Spike” is a wonderful name for a TV channel – not as good as “Rover” or “Benji”, but good nonetheless.
He’s 5"5’.
I’m 5"5’…
–What the fuck are you trying to say??? That I’m a midget?
I prefer “little person”, asshole.
Ooops,
I mean 5’5",
The soft spot on my head hasn’t matured any since I was an infant (along with my stature), and I get hit in the head often, so… excuse the mistake.
Now they need to turn around and try to name it “Shelton TV.”
Cyberhwk, I hereby order you to cease and desist from posting that Viacom should name their network “Shelton TV”. In a post prior to yours on this thread, I posted that Viacom should name their network “Spike.” It’s nothing personal, I just fear that your post might be associated with mine.
Now to get working on that injunction against Captiva Island. The hard part is going to be getting the venue moved to New York, where the judges are apparently all idiots.
And this thread stagger to its inevitable end–the Clownish Mr. Lee settles out of court.
http://dnj.midsouthnews.com/news.ez?viewStory=59869&Form.sess_id=332008&Form.sess_key=1057669955
Errr… Who the fuck is Spike Lee?
From the above linked article:
Ironically, I (and probably many others) am now far more likely to think of Spike Lee every time I see “Spike TV” than I would have been if he’d kept his big mouth shut instead of bringing a lawsuit. If he’d quietly disassociated himself, it wouldn’t have occurred to me that he was involved. His conspicuous absence would be enough proof of that; he’d be doing commercials and billboards and other ads if it really was his project.
Damn! Damn! Damn!
Shelton doesn’t deserve a thin dime.
Let us pray that ‘settle’ means they’ll let him air his little show if he shuts the fuck up already.