Kent Raygor, a partner at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, and Bardia Bakhtari, an associate with the firm, write that while the mockumentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" had audiences around the world laughing, some of the participants were not. The movie's release provoked the filing of several lawsuits, each of which was based on an allegation that the filmmakers had deceived the plaintiff during the production. No plaintiff has yet prevailed, likely due to the short but comprehensive release agreement each signed, one other filmmakers would be wise to emulate.
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Great Success! 'Borat's' Release Agreement Averts Liability
New York Law Journal
July 16, 2008
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