Facebook Beats Privacy Lawsuit Alleging Persistent Tracking
This is a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that it tracked people visiting websites throughout the web even if they were not logged on to Facebook. As the court describes the allegations, Facebook uses a persistent cookie that tracks a person’s…
Amazon AppStore and Google Play Defeat Lawsuit Over Infringing App Name–Free Kick Master v. Apple (Forbes Cross-Post)
Plaintiffs often target app stores for issues with third party apps. A recent court ruling in favor of Amazon’s AppStore and Google Play highlights the legal risks faced by app stores, as well as the benefits to consumers and society…
Anti-Employer Chatter On Facebook Protected By NLRA–Triple Play v. NLRB
We previously blogged about this case, which involved employees who were discharged by Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille (the employer) for their Facebook activity: “NLRB Invalidates Employer’s Blogging Policy And Reverses Firing Based On Facebook Posts“. On appeal, the…
Call for Projects/Papers/Participation for Sixth Annual Internet Law Works-in-Progress, March 5, 2016
[Eric’s note: I’m passing along this invitation from Ari Ezra Waldman, who is running the 2016 edition of the Internet Law Works-in-Progress conference. Some background about the conference series. Due to my family situation, I still have placed a hold…
Commenting on Viral Video Is Fair Use–Equals Three v. Jukin Media
This is a copyright lawsuit over viral videos. Jukin Video apparently finds and acquires the rights to viral videos. It reached 1 million subscribers on YouTube and has over 17,000 videos available for licensing. Equals Three produces short humor programs…
Another Censorial Copyright Case Results In a Big Fee Shift–Inglewood v. Teixeira
I recently wrote about Katz v. Chevaldina, where a real estate tycoon didn’t like a candid photo taken of him, so he bought the copyrights to the photo and sued a blogger to suppress the photo. The courts had no…
Why Attorneys Dislike Consumer Reviews (Reviewing an Article by Cassandra Burke Robertson)
I recently read an article by Prof. Cassandra Burke Robertson (Case Law) entitled “Online Reputation Management in Attorney Regulation.” This article discusses two of my favorite topics: (1) why do professional service providers struggle with online reviews more than other…
App Users Aren’t “Subscribers” Under the VPPA–Ellis v. Cartoon Network
Many VPPA cases involve free online streaming services. Here, plaintiff alleged that he downloaded the Cartoon Network app, and Cartoon Network then disclosed to Bango, an ad network, plaintiff’s device ID and the videos he viewed. Plaintiff also alleged that Bango…
The Perkins v. LinkedIn Class Action Settlement Notification Was Badly Bungled (Forbes Cross-Post)
Recently, millions of LinkedIn users received an email titled “LEGAL NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION.” The email told recipients about a proposed class action settlement in Perkins v. LinkedIn, involving “LinkedIn’s alleged improper use of a service called ‘Add…
Threatening to Post Sex Video to Facebook Isn’t a True Threat
Two post-Elonis cases show divergent approaches to true threat and harassment jurisprudence. Harrell v. State (Georgia): Harrell was charged and convicted of attempting to intimidating a court officer and animal cruelty. Apparently, he was charged with some violations as a…