Another 512(f) Claim Fails–Ouellette v. Viacom
By Eric Goldman Ouellette v. Viacom Intern., Inc., 2012 WL 850921 (D. Mont. March 13, 2012). Prior blog post on the case. Ouellette brought a 17 USC 512(f) claim against Viacom for sending bogus takedown notices. As we know, it’s…
Suspension for Facebook/YouTube Rap Video Critical of High School Coach Does not Violate First Amendment – Bell v. Itawamba County School Board
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Bell v. Itawamba County School Board, 11CV00056-NBB-DAS (N.D. Miss.; Mar. 15, 2012) [.pdf] Bell posted a rap video while he was a senior at Itawamba Agricultural School. The video, which was shared which over 1300 of…
Irrational Copyright Lawsuit Over “Pi Symphony” Gets Sliced–Erickson v. Blake
By Eric Goldman Erickson v. Blake, 2012 WL 847327 (D. Oregon March 14, 2012). The complaint. A prior ruling in the case transferring it from Nebraska to Oregon for jurisdictional reasons. Techdirt’s coverage (1, 2). This case could be an…
Facebook’s “Browsewrap” Enforced Against Kids–EKD v. Facebook
By Eric Goldman E.K.D. v. Facebook, Inc., 3:12-cv-01216-JCS (S.D. Ill. March 8, 2012). The complaint. This opinion reaches two interesting conclusions. First, it says children-users can’t disaffirm Facebook’s terms of service (TOS) so long as they keep using the site….
Facebook Faces Jurisdictional Hurdle in its Trademark Lawsuit Against Faceporn–Facebook v. Pedersen
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Facebook v. Pedersen, 10-Cv-04673 (N.D. Cal.; March 2, 2012) Facebook sued Pedersen, a resident of Norway, alleging that Pedersen’s use of the “Faceporn” mark infringed on and diluted Facebook’s trademarks. After the complaint was filed, Pedersen…
TheDirty Gets Its First 47 USC 230 Win–S.C. v. Dirty World
By Eric Goldman S.C. v. Dirty World LLC, No. 11-CV-00392-DW (W.D. Mo. March 12, 2012) thedirty got a 47 USC 230 immunity–the first time it has qualified for Section 230–in the lawsuit by Stephanie Crabtree (S.C.). This isn’t thedirty’s first…
Jan.-Feb. 2012 Quick Links, Part 5 (Advertising, Consumer Reviews & Search Engines)
By Eric Goldman Advertising and Marketing * CLRB Hanson Industries, LLC v. Weiss & Associates, PC, 2012 WL 20539 (9th Cir. Jan. 5, 2012). Ninth Circuit rejected a challenge to the CLRB Hanson v. Google settlement over AdWords budget caps….
Another Newspaper Isn’t Liable for User Website Comments Per 47 USC 230–Spreadbury v. Bitterroot Library
By Eric Goldman Spreadbury v. Bitterroot Public Library, 2012 WL 734163 (D. Montana March 6, 2012). Magistrate’s Findings and Recommendations from November 2011 (Spreadbury v. Bitterroot Public Library, 2011 WL 7462038 (D.Mont. November 30, 2011). The Justia page. It’s not…
Jan.-Feb. 2012 Quick Links, Part 4 (Evidence Edition)
By Eric Goldman * E.E.O.C. v. Management Hospitality of Racine, Inc., 2012 WL 37112 (7th Cir. Jan. 9, 2012): “The Defendants also suggest that Shisler was not subjectively offended by Gutierrez’s crude comments because her MySpace page contained a sexually…